The US has halted aid to three Colombian army units after officers and soldiers were implicated in the killing of civilians, a senior US official told Reuters. “We have determined that three army units are no longer eligible to receive… Read moreUS blocks aid to tainted Colombian army units: report
From The Hill, Nov. 11: Newly designated White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Sunday that the incoming Obama administration opposes attaching the Colombia Free Trade Agreement to an economic stimulus package in order to get the approval of… Read moreEmanuel: Obama won’t link Colombia FTA to stimulus package
Around 30 MPs opposed to Mauritania’s ruling junta boycotted the opening of the country’s parliament Nov. 10. The boycott followed a statement from the head of the five-party Front for the Defense of Democracy (FNDD), Mohamed Ould Moloud, who called… Read moreMauritania: opposition boycotts parliament; regime claims al-Qaeda threat
Unprecedented Muslim representation was seen at the Nov. 10 “Special Event Promoting Tolerance Throughout the European Continent” at the European Parliament in Brussels. Representatives of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Morocco, Turkey and Malaysia, among… Read moreMuslim states to join EU Kristallnacht memorial
Now they tell us. From the New York Times, Nov. 10, links and emphasis added: Secret Order Lets U.S. Raid Al Qaeda WASHINGTON — The United States military since 2004 has used broad, secret authority to carry out nearly a… Read moreNYT: secret executive order approved strikes on al-Qaeda
The Afghan government accused US forces of killing up to 14 security guards for a construction company in the eastern province of Khost Nov. 10. The US says the victims were militants who were carrying rocket-propelled grenades and opened fire… Read moreAfghanistan: US kills 14 security guards
At least 28 people were killed—including women and schoolgirls—and dozens wounded in a triple bombing in a Baghdad market on Nov. 10, the deadliest attack to rock the Iraqi capital in months. The attackers first detonated a car bomb, blowing… Read moreIraq: media garble sectarian slaughter
Via the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), Nov. 4: The Iraqi parliament voted on Monday, November 3rd on the issue of reserved seats for the Assyrians, Yezidies, Shabaks and Mandeans. The final vote of the Iraqi parliament is a huge… Read moreIraq: minorities denounce new election law quotas
From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), Nov. 6: A letter to Mr. Barack Obama on his election as President of the United States of America Greetings… On behalf of the Iraq Freedom Congress, I would like to congratulate you on… Read moreIraq’s civil resistance to Obama: end the occupation
Greek Orthodox and Armenian worshipers got down to fisticuffs Sunday Nov. 9 in East Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christian denominations jealously guard their divided areas of the traditional site of the crucifixion. Dozens of worshipers dressed in… Read moreMonastic slugfest rocks Holy Sepulchre —again!
Venezuela plans to build five military bases along its border with Colombia, Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami announced Nov. 9 on a visit to the mountainous border zone, saying the bases will help President Hugo Chavez’s government fight drug smuggling,… Read moreVenezuela to militarize Colombian border
Mitsubishi, which plans to release its own electric car soon, estimates that the demand for lithium—a critical ingredient in the batteries—will outstrip supply in less than 10 years unless new sources come on line. And those sources are in the… Read moreNext in Bolivia: lithium wars?
