On Dec. 12, some 1,300 federal prisoners staged an uprising at the privately run Reeves County Detention Center in Pecos, Texas, to demand better medical treatment after a detainee died at the facility, allegedly of natural causes. The Reeves County… Read moreTexas: immigration detainees protest death, seize hostages
On Dec. 10, ICE agents arrested 15 immigrants who were employed as contract janitorial workers at the BP oil refinery in the town of Whiting in northern Indiana. ICE said the arrests stemmed from “a two-year critical infrastructure worksite enforcement… Read moreICE raids Indiana oil refinery
On Dec. 4, ICE agents raided Idaho Truss & Component Co., a wood framing company in Nampa, Idaho, just west of Boise, arresting 16 of the 22 workers present. The workers, all Mexican men, were expected to be placed into… Read moreIdaho ICE raid protested
Five people were killed and nearly 40 wounded in two bomb blasts in Afghanistan Dec. 29. Two US soldiers and their interpreter were among about 20 people wounded in a suicide car bombing in the small town of Charikar, 50… Read moreAfghanistan: wave of suicide bombings
From the International Transport Workers’ Federation, Dec. 28: Trade unionists and human rights activists are sending a strong warning signal to the international community following the detention of trade unionists by the Iranian secret police over the holiday period. The… Read moreIran: unionists arrested in new wave of repression
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order reimposing certain sanctions against Iran. In a press statement, the White House criticized the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of July 2015, signed by Iran, Germany, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the EU. The US withdrew from the JCPOA in May, prompting a legal challenge from Iran before the International Court of Justice. The White House stated that JCPOA "threw a lifeline of cash to a murderous dictatorship that has continued to spread bloodshed, violence, and chaos." The administration claims Iran used funds obtained from the JCPOA to fund nuclear-capable missiles, terrorism, and to support conflict abroad. (Map: Myket.ir)
Israeli air-strikes continued on Gaza for a second day Dec. 28, bringing the death toll to 292, with more than 1,000 injured, 180 of them seriously. (Ma’an News Agency, Dec. 28) At the 36-hour point in Israel’s “Operation Cast Lead,”… Read moreGaza Strip death toll approaches 300 in two days of air-strikes
A Greek government official’s car was firebombed Dec. 26 while a petrol bomb was thrown at a bank and another group attacked a police car, authorities said. The car, used by a junior environment minister, Stavros Kaloyannis, was hit in… Read moreGreece: anarchists attack police, banks, officials
China’s official media reported the arrest of 59 Tibetans Dec. 25 on charges of inciting protests during the March unrest in the region. Reports cited Xin Yuanming, deputy director of the public security bureau of Lhasa, as saying “some people… Read moreTibet: more arrests, forced relocations
A deadly US military raid on an Afghan house Dec. 25 sparked protests and produced conflicting reports over who was killed. The US said the dead were 11 armed Taliban militants, part of a bomb-making cell in the Maiwand district… Read moreAfghanistan: US air-strike sparks protests —as White House escalates
A suicide bomber on a bicycle in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul targeted a protest against the Israeli air-raids on the Gaza Strip, killing one civilian and wounding 16 on Dec. 27. The protest was sponsored by the Sunni-backed Iraqi… Read moreIraq: pending troops agreement background to sectarian struggle
UN rights officials praised the Nicaraguan government’s decision to give the indigenous Awas Tingni community official title to its traditional lands, marking the culmination of a decades-long struggle by the group to gain recognition and protection of its ancestral territory…. Read moreNicaragua: indigenous rainforest community wins title to ancestral lands
