Peace brokers proclaimed a breakthrough in efforts to halt the Gaza conflict Jan. 7 as Israel’s cabinet considered a Franco-Egyptian initiative and Russia pressed for a diplomatic solution in talks with Hamas. Israel stopped short of saying whether the plan… Read moreDeath toll approaches 700 in Gaza assault; ceasefire in sight?
The TamilNet news service reports that Red Cross and other aid and medical evacuation vehicles are being barred access to the northern pocket of Sri Lanka still held by the Tamil Tiger rebels, which has come under heavy bombardment in… Read moreSri Lanka: Tamil territory under siege, bombardment
An Anglo-French oil company is poised to send more than 1,000 workers into a remote part of the Peruvian Amazon inhabited by uncontacted indigenous tribes. The company, Perenco, has just been given the go-ahead from the Peruvian government to drill… Read morePeru: oil company poised to enter uncontacted tribes’ territory
In a victory for constitutional rights, two Transportation Security Authority (TSA) officials and JetBlue Airways have paid Raed Jarrar $240,000 to settle charges that they illegally discriminated against the US resident based on his ethnicity and the Arabic writing on… Read moreHomeland Secuity to pay in airport discrimination case
Israeli tanks and troops surged into towns across the Gaza Strip Dec. 6, battling Hamas fighters through the streets and alleys of Gaza City in the heaviest fighting of the 11-day-old offensive. Israeli air-strikes hit three UN-run schools, killing at… Read moreGaza day 11: Israel bombs schools, pressure mounts for ceasefire
Turkish warplanes and Iranian artillery bombarded Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq on Jan. 5, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) said. “Turkish planes and Iranian artillery bombarded Aquwan and the Iranians bombarded Maradu. The bombardment lasted for… Read moreTurkey and Iran in joint air-strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan
The Palestinian death toll reached 530 as Israel’s assault on Gaza entered its tenth day Jan. 5, and Israeli ground forces encircled Gaza City. Defense Minister Ehud Barak declared the city “partially besieged.” Israeli air-strikes continued, and armed Palestinian groups… Read moreDay ten: Gaza City “partially besieged”
Latin American governments and organizations generally condemned the assault on the Palestinian territory of Gaza by Israeli military forces. There were also a number of street protests, which the media reported were mostly small. The strongest condemnations came from leftist… Read moreLatin America: reactions to attack on Gaza
On Dec. 26 supporters of Mexico’s rebel Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) began the “World Festival of Dignified Rage” in the Federal District (DF, Mexico City). The series of events marks 15 years since the mostly indigenous group took the… Read moreMexico: EZLN celebrates 15 years
Cuban president Raúl Castro Ruz led a subdued celebration on Jan. 1 for the 50th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. The ceremony took place in the eastern city of Santiago, where Castro’s brother, former president Fidel Castro,… Read moreCuba: Revolution turns 50
Israeli troops and Hamas fighters battled at dawn in Gaza Jan. 5 amid tank, artillery and air strikes, as the death toll from the offensive passed 510. Israeli forces moved into the outskirts of Gaza City as families fled or… Read morePalestinian death toll passes 500 as Israeli army moves on Gaza City
From the General Federation of Workers’ Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI), Dec. 13: Dear Brothers and Sisters in the global struggle for workers’ rights, peace and justice: Plans are underway to hold an International Labor Conference in Iraq in… Read moreIraq unions call for international labor conference in Irbil
