The Caribbean
US Supreme Court turns down Cuban Five case
The Supreme Court declined to review the case of the “Cuban Five,” despite appeals by Günter Grass, Rigoberta Menchú and eight other Nobel Prize winners.
Author: CounterVortex
The Amazon
Brazil: bill on Amazon land transfers advances
Brazil’s Senate approved a bill regulating government transfers of land in the Amazon region that environmental groups say will enable companies and individuals to keep lands they seized illegally.
The Amazon
Peru: radio silenced, legislators suspended
Peruvian authorities shit down Radio La Voz de Bagua on grounds that it encouraged the Amazon protest movement, while opposition lawmakers were suspended for protesting the Amazon repression.
The Caribbean
Dominican Republic: campesinos protest cement factory
Campesinos in a protest encampment at Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic are surrounded by the military. The camp was established to prevent construction of a cement factory.
The Caribbean
Haiti: students protest for minimum wage
Students have repeatedly clashed with security forces in Haiti this month in protests over the failure of President René Préval to raise the minimum wage.
Iran
Iran: seven dead as protests escalate
As Iran’s embattled President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Russia June 16, Iranian state radio reported that seven people were killed in clashes overnight, escalating tensions after days of unprecedented demonstrations that have forced a formal review of elections results. The… Read moreIran: seven dead as protests escalate
Africa
Sudan: Khartoum backing tribal militants to destabilize South?
Khartoum is accused of providing arms that were used to attack barges carrying UN food aid, in a bid to spread dissent between rival ethnic groups ahead of the vote on South Sudan independence.
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.
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.