Several separatist leaders are under house arrest in India-controlled Kashmir, as a complete general strike has paralyzed Srinagar for four days following the death of a protesting youth in the city Aug. 5. Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz… Read moreKashmir on edge; Srinagar paralyzed
The international community is condemning the Aug. 6 military ouster of Mauritania’s President Sidi Mohamed ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Prime Minister Yahya ould Ahmed Waghf. The coup started just hours after a presidential decree that declared the dismissal of Mauritania’s… Read moreCoup d’etat in Mauritania: slave system strikes back?
Georgia declared a cease-fire following an outburst of heavy fighting with separatist forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia Aug. 7. Georgia is blaming Russia for the escalation of violence. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in televised remarks: “The… Read moreGeorgia battles separatists in South Ossetia
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez signed 26 new laws regulating the armed forces, public administration, social security system, banks, agricultural production, and the tourism industry on July 31—the final day of the 18-month period during which the National Assembly granted Chávez… Read moreVenezuela: Chávez issues 26 decrees, extending state power
A meeting between presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Cristina Fernández of Argentina was called off because of violent opposition protests in the southern Bolivian city of Tarija. The leaders had planned to sign energy integration… Read moreBolivia: summit cancelled due to opposition protests
Bolivian national authorities are investigating a clash between miners and police that left two dead and 30 wounded in the region of Huanun Aug. 4, Government Minister Alfredo Rada confirmed. Rada said the incident was sparked when the police moved… Read moreBolivia: two dead as miners clash with police
Salim Hamdan was convicted Aug. 6 by a panel of six US military officers at Guantánamo Bay of “providing material support for terrorism,” but acquitted of “conspiracy.” The sentencing hearing is due to begin immediately. He faces a maximum term… Read moreHamdan convicted at Guantánamo
Four Tibetan youth in Drokshog township, Nangchen county, Qinghai province, were arrested July 26 by the Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) agents for protesting against the local Summer Festival planned by the government to celebrate the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games…. Read moreTibetans arrested for protesting Olympic celebrations
Attackers identified as two Uighur men killed 16 members of a special border police unit in Kashgar, Xinjiang, Aug. 4. The assailants crashed a dump truck and tossed two grenades as a group of 70 police were jogging past in… Read moreChina: crackdown in wake of Xinjiang attack
Some 1.8 million Mexicans voted overwhelmingly in an unofficial, non-binding referendum on July 27 to reject President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s proposals to allow more involvement in the state oil monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), by local and foreign private companies. The… Read moreMexico: “no” vote on Pemex “reform”
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez was in Spain on July 25, where he proposed discussions about Europe’s new policies towards immigrants from Latin America—and also used the visit to mend fences with President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos… Read moreChávez, Juan Carlos hug and make up
On July 22, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez Frias met with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow as the two countries signed agreements for joint work on energy projects in Venezuela. Chávez said the accords would promote “a strategic alliance in… Read moreChávez does Moscow, seeks “strategic alliance”
