Afghanistan

Blackwater black ops behind Pakistan terror wave?

A Pakistani judge demanded the Interior Ministry reply to a petition requesting disclosure on the activities of Blackwater in the country, alleging a corporate role in the relentless terror attacks.

Africa

More than 65,000 Eritrean refugees languish in Sudan

Sudan hosts more than 66,000 Eritrean refugees, the first of whom arrived in 1968 during the war of independence against Ethiopia. They say they now fear persecution in Eritrea and refuse repatriation.

Greater Middle East

Torture systematic in Egypt: rights groups

Egypt has become a police state where citizens receive no protection from torture, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) charges in a new report.

Central America

Honduras: did abstention win the vote?

Honduran de facto authorities announced that Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo Sosa of the right-wing National Party had won the presidency—but resistance leaders claim 70% abstentionism.

Central America

Guatemala: campesinos continue land protests

Thousands of campesinos blocked highways in Guatemala to press demands for new allocations to the National Lands Fund for renting farmland to be used by more than 100,000 families.

The Caribbean

Haiti: charge manipulation in 2010 elections

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council rejected 16 of the 69 parties that submitted candidates for upcoming legislative elections—including the Lavalas Family of ex-president Jean Bertrand Aristide.