East Asia
Taiwan Strait in the Trump world order
Did Tsai Ing-wen exploit Trump's anti-China stance to score a point against Beijing? Or was she herself played by Cold Warriors who seek to exploit Taiwan in the Great Game?
Greater Middle East
Turkey: thousands of Kurds displaced in crackdown
Tens of thousands of residents of Diyarbakır's historic Sur district are among a half million Kurds forced from their homes as a result of a brutal crackdown by Turkish authorities.
North Africa
Mass round-up of migrants in Algeria
Some 1,400 African migrants—including whole families and asylum-seekers—were rounded up by riot police in a series of raids in Algiers, and apparently face summary deportation.
North America
Dakota Access pipeline blocked —for now
After weeks of protest, the Army Corps of Engineers denied approval for the last remaining easement needed for the Dakota Access Pipeline—but the company pledges completion.
Greater Middle East
Are Kurds aiding Assad in Aleppo offensive?
As thousands of civilians flee the Assad regime's advance on Aleppo, rebel groups are charging that the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units are collaborating in the offensive.
Southeast Asia
Indonesian court rejects bid to save Aceh forest
An Indonesian court dismissed a class-action suit seeking to force the Aceh provincial government to protect the threatened Leuser Ecosystem in its land-use plan.
The Amazon
Peru: dramatic rainforest loss from mining
Illegal gold mining in Peru has razed almost 62,500 hectares of rainforest—an area over ten times the size of Manhattan—over the past four years.
The Andes
Colombia: FARC peace agreement takes effect
With Colombia's Congress voting to approve the revised peace accord with the FARC rebels, the country is on a countdown to the full demobilization of the guerilla army.
Mexico
Mexico: ‘community police’ co-opted by cartels?
Bloody internecine fighting in Guerrero state fuels fears that Mexico's anti-narco "community police" groups could themselves be co-opted by the warring cartels.
Central America
Central America: tri-national anti-gang task force
A joint security force bringing together the three nations of Central America's Northern Triangle officially began operations to fight narco-gangs and organized crime.
American ‘left’ abets genocide in Syria
Ruins of Aleppo after months of bombardment by Bashar Assad and his Russian allies. In the 1930s, the American left could claim solidarity with those who stood up to the authors of the Guernica terror in Spain. Today, in vivid contrast, it… Read moreAmerican ‘left’ abets genocide in Syria
Greater Middle East
War crimes charges brought against Bashar Assad
A group of human rights lawyers in Germany filed a criminal complaint against Syrian dictator Bashar Assad on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.