On the morning of Oct. 27, authorities certified that the body of an Afro-Colombian found washed up on the banks of the Rio Leon at Bocas de Zabalo, Chocó department, dead of gunshot wounds, was that of Orlando Valencia, a… Read moreParas kill Afro-Colombian leader
Organizers of the First International Congress on Islamic Feminism, now underway in Barcelona, are calling for a “gender jihad.” Organizer Abdennur Prado Pavon of the Catalan Islamic board says the struggle for gender equality in Islamic countries involves refuting chauvinist… Read moreIslamic feminists call for “gender jihad”
From Bloomberg, Oct. 27: Spanish fishermen blocking the ports of Barcelona and Bilbao have refused to end their protest over soaring diesel fuel costs, threatening shipments to liquefied natural gas terminals in the cities. Port authorities at Bilbao, Barcelona and… Read moreSpanish fishermen block access to gas terminals
The BBC is suspending its operations in Uzbekistan due to security concerns. All local staff are being withdrawn and the office in the capital Tashkent will close for at least six months pending a decision on its future. Regional BBC… Read moreBBC quits Uzbekistan
Sanjar Umarov, a prominent opposition leader in Uzbekistan, was arrested Oct. 22 on embezzlement charges, and is being held incommunicado. Members of his group, Sunshine Uzbekistan say they still do not know the exact whereabouts of their leader. The group,… Read moreUzbekistan arrests another opposition leader
Baz Mohammad, a reputed Afghan drug kingpin who allegedly condoned selling heroin in the US in the name of jihad, has become the first person to be extradited from Afghanistan for prosecution. Upon his arraignment in Manhattan Oct. 24, Mohammad… Read moreAccused Afghan narco-jihadi extradited to NYC
Riot police dispersed an opposition rally in Azerbaijan’s capital Oct. 23, beating and detaining protesters who defied an official ban on downtown demonstrations two weeks before parliamentary elections. Opposition groups say the government will try to rig the Nov. 6… Read morePolice crush protests in Azerbaijan; “regime change” next?
The Iraqi Bar Association has officially urged lawyers to suspend cooperation with the special court hearing the case against Saddam Hussein until the murder of a member of the defense team is solved. The association also passed a resolution calling… Read moreIraqi bar urges suspension of Saddam trial
Five people were injured when two ambulances crashed into each other in Naples Oct. 22 during a drill designed to test emergency services’ response to a terrorist attack. Special anti-terrorism police, helicopters, fire engines, sniffer dogs and Red Cross volunteers… Read more“Anti-terrorist exercise” terrorizes Naples
Authorities in Uzbekistan are threatening to force dissident Elena Urlaeva to submit to immediate treatment with powerful psychotropic drugs—even though an initial psychiatric commission had declared her sane. The case against Urlaeva is the latest in the Uzbek government’s deepening… Read more“Stalinist-era tactics” in Uzbekistan
A sudden surge in violence in the Mexican Pacific resort of Acapulco is baffling authorities. In the last year, nine police officers have been killed in Acapulco, a city of 700,000 in the southern state of Guerrero. Since January alone,… Read moreFear in Acapulco
“Plan Colombia,” Bogotá’s US— backed program to reduce drug production in that Andean nation, “isn’t working,” charges Luis Correa, leader of Venezuela’s National Commission Against Illicit Drug Use (Conacuid). Luis Correa said there had been “a huge increase” in illegal… Read morePlan Colombia “ineffective”: Venezuelan drug czar
