North Africa
Mali: French beat back MUJAO in Gao
Tension remains high in Gao after a pitched battle over the weekend as French troops beat back an attempt by MUJAO fighters to retake the remote northern Malian city.
The Andes
Colombia: ELN to join peace talks?
Colombia’s peace advocates are calling for inclusion of the ELN guerillas in the Havana dialogue with the FARC, warning of a “marginalized” front in the civil war.
Central America
Medellín’s ‘top crime boss’ arrested in Panama
Panama announced the arrest of the top leader of the Oficina de Envigado, a Colombian crime syndicate said to be a surviving remnant of Pablo Escobar's notorious Medellín Cartel.
Central America
Nicaragua raises stakes in border conflict
Edén Pastora, Nicaragua's development czar for the strategic San Juan Basin, threatened a retliatory suit at The Hague for Costa Rica's legal challenge to his dredging operations.
The Andes
Peru: water authority rejects mine expansion
Peru’s conflict-ridden Yanacocha mining company is appealing a ruling of the National Water Authority barring expansion of its open-pit operations into new lands.
Mexico
Mexico: Chapo goon popped —but still not Chapo
The Mexican military announced the capture of “El Fantasma,” yet another accused lieutenant of fugitive Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin Guzmán AKA “El Chapo.”
Struggle for land and water in the Andes
March 22, 2012 World Water Day protest march by local campesinos at the site of the proposed Conga gold mine, which would destroy pristine alpine lakes in Peru’s northern Cajamarca region. A year later, the struggle against the Conga project… Read moreStruggle for land and water in the Andes
North Africa
Mali: France’s Chadian proxies to battle Tuaregs?
Troops from Chad have been sent in to take Kidal, the town in northern Mali that remains under the control of Tuareg separatist rebels, as France seeks to avoid confrontation.
Iraq
Iraq: Mujahedeen Khalq camp attacked by rockets
In attack blamed on Iran’s elite Quds Force, Katyusha rockets rained down on the former US military base outside Baghdad now used by “demobilized” Mujahedeen Khalq fighters.
North Africa
General strike rocks Tunisia
Thousands massed in Tunis for the funeral of slain opposition leader Chokri Belaid, with the city shut down in a general strike called by the main union federation, the UGTT.
The Amazon
Brazil: Amazon peoples declare against hydro
The Munduruku indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon charge that the government is militarizing their lands to quell opposition to mega-scale hydroelectric projects.
The Amazon
Guyana: miners win ruling over indigenous groups
A judge in Guyana's high court ruled that indigenous groups do not have the right to expel legally titled miners from their traditional lands, sparking protests.