Greek journalists Jan. 9 harshly criticized police conduct at a protest in central Athens. Fourteen lawyers were among those detained after an estimated 3,000 people, chiefly teachers and students, took part in the demonstration to commemorate the 1991 murder of… Read moreGreece: police attack journalists, lawyers as protest wave continues
The head of the Basque government and his chief opponent went on trial Jan. 8 over alleged past contacts with Batasuna, banned political wing of the armed separatist group ETA—just weeks before they are to face off in regional elections…. Read moreSpain: Basque candidates face charges ahead of elections
Leonidas Vargas, one of Colombia’s most notorious drug lords, was shot dead in his Madrid hospital bed Jan. 8, Spanish authorities said. At least one gunman entered the room in Madrid’s Doce de Octubre Hospital where Vargas was being treated… Read moreColombian drug lord shot dead in Spanish hospital
Thousands of fishermen in Mexico went on strike last week to protest the rise in the cost of diesel fuel, which they say has reduced their profit margin to zero. The strike, dubbed “Zero Fishing 2009,” was declared in the… Read moreMexico: fishermen strike over fuel prices
The US is the major weapons supplier to Mexico’s bloody drug cartels, according to a report the Mexican Cabinet submitted to President Felipe Calderón.
During a live broadcast the night of Jan. 6, at least five masked gunmen riding in two pickup trucks fired high-caliber weapons and tossed a grenade outside the studios of the Televisa network in Monterrey, in the northern Mexican state… Read moreMexico: narcos wage terror campaign against media
From Witness Against Torture, Jan. 8: WASHINGTON – On Sunday, January 11 – the seven-year anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo – more than 200 human rights advocates will join 60 people who are beginning a nine-day… Read moreActivists fast to demand Obama close Gitmo
Israel carried out new deadly air raids on the Gaza Strip early Jan. 9, even as the UN Security Council finally passed a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable” ceasefire leading to the “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza…. Read moreGaza: air-strikes continue —despite Security Council resolution
Survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims protested in front of the US Embassy in Sarajevo Jan. 8 to demand Washington call a halt to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. Said Munira Subasic, who lost her… Read moreBosnia genocide survivors protest Gaza offensive
In reaction to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, a coalition of Egyptian opposition parties are seeking to ban an Israeli delegation of up to 300 pilgrims from visiting a Jewish shrine. The shrine—believed to be the tomb of a… Read moreEgypt: opposition seeks to bar Israeli pilgrims from Jewish shrine
Iraqi and US military forces will beef up security ahead of landmark provincial elections set for Jan. 31, when up to 15 million Iraqis could go to the polls in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. Already candidates have been targeted… Read moreObama inspires Black Iraqi freedom movement
Finnish officials are deliberating on whether to offer asylum to former terror suspects detained at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay. The US has proposed that Finland take in Uighur prisoners, members of the Turkic minority in western China…. Read moreFinland, Sweden consider asylum for Gitmo Uighurs
