The Andes
Bolivia inaugurates indigenous autonomy
Bolivian President Evo Morales declared his second inauguration the founding of a “pluri-national state,” as constitutional provisions for indigenous autonomy take effect.
Author: CounterVortex
Planet Watch
Disappearing Alaska village takes climate suit to Ninth Circuit
The Native Alaskan coastal village of Kivalina, its lands rapidly eroding, is appealing a suit against oil and power companies, charging that climate change endangers their community.
Planet Watch
Canada: sea ice melting faster than expected
Sea ice in Canada’s Arctic is melting faster than previously expected, Ottawa’s largest climate-change study yet has found—raising a worst-case scenario of an ice-free Arctic by 2013.
Watching the Shadows
Pentagon abandons two-war doctrine —but not the two wars
In the new Quadrennial Defense Review, the Pentagon abandons the long-held doctrine that the US must prepare to wage two simultaneous major wars—just as this scenario has come about.
The Andes
Judge: missionaries’ suit can proceed against Chiquita in Colombia killings
Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach, Fla., ruled that a lawsuit brought against banana giant Chiquita Brands by the families of missionaries killed in Colombia can proceed.
Mexico
White House asks Congress for $410 million under Merida Initiative
The White House asked Congress for $410 million in Merida Initiative drug war aid to Mexico and Central America for FY 2011, despite ongoing concerns about human rights.
Mexico
Mexican politicos urge drastic drug war measures
Sharp debate over the direction of Mexico’s narco war has broken out in the country’s Congress in the wake of twin massacres in Ciudad Juárez and TorreĂłn last weekend.
Central America
Guatemala: anti-mine activist detained, “un-arrested”
Gregoria Crisanta, an opponent of the local Marlin gold mine, was was freed by a campesino roadblock after being detained by police in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala.
Central America
Guatemala: municipal trade unionist murdered
The International Trade Union Confederation strongly condemned the murder of Pedro Antonio GarcĂa, a member of the Malacatán Municipal Workers Union in San Marcos, Guatemala.
Africa
Somali pirates to aid Haitian earthquake victims?
An account from the pan-Latin American Matriz del Sur agency claims that Somalia’s pirates are seeking to send booty as aid to Haiti’s earthquake victims.
Iraq
Iraq to sue US, Britain over depleted uranium
Iraq’s Ministry for Human Rights will file a lawsuit against the US and UK over their use of depleted uranium bombs based on findings of an increase in birth defects.
Watching the Shadows
Federal jury convicts Pakistani woman of attempted murder of US personnel
A jury in New York convicted Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman with alleged ties to al-Qaeda, on charges of attempting to murder US personnel at an Afghan facility.