A Brazilian judge banned Rio de Janeiro’s Unidos do Viradouro samba school from parading in the upcoming carnival with a float depicting victims of the Holocaust and a Hitler figure. “Carnival should not be used as an instrument of hatred,… Read moreBrazilian courts censor protest against anti-Semitism —at Jewish behest
South African police raided the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, which was serving as a sanctuary for some 1,000 Zimbabwean refugees, arresting scores of suspected “illegal immigrants” Jan. 31. Bishop Paul Verryn accused the police of using excessive force… Read moreSouth Africa raids church sanctuary for Zimbabwean refugees
United Nations “peacekeepers” in the disputed African territory of Western Sahara have vandalized ancient rock paintings, a UN official told the London Times. The paper published photos of the paintings at the archaeological site of Lajuad, some 6,000 years old—defaced… Read more“Peacekeepers” in Western Sahara deface ancient rock paintings
Some 200 Afghans protested at the UN office in Kabul Jan. 31 against the death sentence passed against Perwiz Kambakhsh, a reporter convicted of blasphemy. The protest was organized by the small Solidarity Party of Afghanistan. The upper house of… Read moreAfghanistan: civil society stands up to political Islam
Israel’s High Court of Justice Jan. 30 ruled that the blocking of power and fuel to the Gaza Strip is legal, as the remaining supplies still meet the humanitarian needs of the population. A three-justice panel, headed by Supreme Court… Read moreIsrael’s high court upholds choking of Gaza
Wanted al-Qaeda figure Abu Laith al-Libi was killed in Pakistan by a CIA air-strike, anonymous officials told CNN. Al-Libi was said to have been behind several attacks on US forces in Afghanistan, including the February 2007 bombing at Bagram Air… Read moreAl-Qaeda superstar bites it: CIA
In the pitch for World War 4 Report‘s Winter Fund Drive last month, we wrote: “We hate to admit that we are at an existential crisis. We think that it is bad form to hold out our demise as a… Read moreOur readers write: whither World War 4 Report?
Japan deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile interceptor system at the Takeyama base in Yokosuka, just southwest of Tokyo Jan. 30, military sources told AP. Yokosuka is the site of Japan’s largest naval base and homeport of the US Seventh… Read moreJapan deploys missile interceptor system
Testimony in the trial of Peru’s ex-strongman Alberto Fujimori charges that his administration negotiated amnesty for an army death squad in exchange for keeping secret the government’s involvement in two massacres in which 25 were killed. The claim comes from… Read moreFujimori linked to cake-scarfing death squad
In an interview published in [Bogota’s] El Tiempo on December 22, [j]ournalist Yamid Amat asked: “What was it that the Attorney General’s office discovered and is investigating in the ChocĂł?” and [Colombian] Attorney General Mario Iguarán replied: “The tragedy of… Read moreColombia: paras linked to agbiz
Financial support is urgently needed for the satellite TV station that is broadcasting voices for the secular and democratic reconstruction of Iraq! Financial difficulties are hitting Sana TV, an Iraqi satellite TV station, which is covering the people’s struggles to… Read moreUrgent fund appeal for Iraqi civil resistance TV station
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Jan. 27 urged his allies to form an “anti-imperialist” military alliance to defend Latin America from potential attack by the United States. Speaking on his weekly TV program AlĂł Presidente, he called upon Bolivia, Cuba and… Read moreChávez calls for “anti-imperialist” military alliance
