North Africa
Mauritania: return to democracy on hold
A power-sharing deal between Mauritania’s military junta and opposition is being delayed by disagreement over the composition of an interim government.
Author: CounterVortex
Africa
Nigeria: Ogoni divided in wake of Saro-Wiwa settlement
Nigeria’s Ogoni people are divided over Shell Oil’s agreement to pay $15.5 million as an out-of-court settlement over accusations that it was complicit in rights abuses in the 1990s.
Iran
Iran: protests claim first life; Guardian Council blinks?
One was killed as a pro-government militia opened fire in protesters in Tehran’s Azadi Square. Iran’s Guardian Council has agreed to hear challenges to the election results before affirming them.
Iran
Iran: resistance spreads
Iran is bracing for a third day of protests after defeated candidate Mousavi called for the election to be annulled. Juan Cole weighs in for fraud, while Ahmadinejad scapegoats George Soros.
East Asia
Beijing deploys chopper in anti-opium op
A helicopter was used for the first time to help local police hunt poppy plantations in suburban Beijing. The chopper was deployed around mountainous areas in Yanqing district.
Watching the Shadows
Gitmo Uighurs to Bermuda; Brits bolloxed
Four Uighurs from Guantánamo Bay have been released in Bermuda where they hailed their new freedom—but the UK reproached its overseas territory, saying it should have been consulted on the move.
Iran
Riots rock Iran following election
As Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed election results that show him winning by more than 62%, supporters of his opponent Mir Hossein Moussavi flooded the streets and clashed with riot police.
Mexico
Mexico: arrest in reporter’s death
Mexican authorities have arrested five men linked to the Zetas narco gang in the assassination of Torreón newspaper reporter Eliseo Barrón.
Mexico
Mexico: Monterrey cops lose cell phones
Having already confiscated their assault rifles, authorities in Nuevo Leon state are barring Monterrey police from carrying cellphones to keep them from communicating with narco bosses.
The Caucasus
Judge assassinated in Ingushetia
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a senior judge in Russia’s volatile southern republic of Ingushetia, the latest in a series of attacks in the largely Muslim region.
Afghanistan
Pakistan: Islamists blow up mosques —again
Militants bombed mosques in two cities in Pakistan, killing at least eight people, including a cleric who was an outspoken critic of the Taliban.
The Amazon
Peru: congress suspends decrees on Amazon resources as protests mount
Peru’s congress temporarily suspended two decrees issued by President Alan GarcÃa that would open vast areas of the Amazon to corporate exploitation, as protests mount across the country.