North Africa
Tunisia: deadly repression escalates
The Tunisian government says 14 were killed in unrest over the weekend in the western towns of Kasserine, Regueb and Thala, while opposition leaders put the figure at 25.
North America
Arizona gunman linked to organized radical right?
A Homeland Security memo states that Jared Loughner—primary suspect in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords—is “possibly linked” to the white supremacist American Renaissance.
Europe
Belarus: demand immediate release of all political prisoners
From exile in Warsaw, Belarussian opposition activists demanded release of all dissidents arrested in last month’s wave of terror, and sanctions against the Lukashenko regime.
Europe
Why the media blackout of WikiLeaks-Belarus scandal?
The NY Times reports that the US is warning foreign dissidents named in the WikiLeaks cables of possible repression—but fails to note that this is already happening in Belarus.
North America
Sholom Rubashkin sentence: just deserts, anti-Semitism or both?
Jewish organizations are protesting the 27-year sentence handed down to Sholom Rubashkin, the kosher slaughterhouse CEO whose plant was raided for undocumented workers.
North Africa
Food riots in Algeria; unrest spreads to Tunisia
Rising food prices led to an outbreak of riots in Algeria, with unrest continuing today in several cities. Youth also clashed with police in towns around neighboring Tunisia.
North Africa
Morocco claims bust of AQIM-linked terrorist cell
Moroccan security services broke up a 27-member terrorist network, authorities announced, saying the cell aimed to set up an al-Qaeda base in the kingdom.
Iraq
Al-Sadr returns to Iraq from Iranian exile
The powerful Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ended his self-imposed exile in Iran and returned to his stronghold hometown of Najaf in central Iraq this week.
Iraq
Iraq: free speech protests in Kurdistan
More than 1,000 protesters took to the streets in Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdish regional capital, to condemn a new law requiring all public demonstrations to have government permits.
South Asia
Pakistan: Islamists hail Punjab assassin
The assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who called for revision of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, reveals escalating polarization between secular and Islamist forces.
Planet Watch
Paranoia or cover-up in Arkansas bird and fish die-off?
The paranoid are already calling it a prophecy of the End Times. But does anyone else out there find the official explanations singularly implausible?
The Caucasus
WikiLeaks Dagestan: Shamir-Lukashenko zap against US?
Was the WikiLeaks cable on the lavish wedding of a Caucasus warlord a strategy by crypto-fascist Israel Shamir to undercut US efforts to isolate the Belarussian dictator?