Planet Watch
Media coverage of Cochabamba climate summit: one reader writes
Did you see or hear any media coverage of the Bolivia climate summit? Do you think the event was worthy of coverage? One readers responds…
Planet Watch
New oil disaster looms in North Sea
Ninety oil workers have been evacuated from a North Sea rig as engineers fight to control a huge build-up of pressure in a well that may have the potential to blow up the platform.
The Amazon
Indigenous leader Alberto Pizango arrested on return to Peru
Alberto Pizango, exiled president of Peru’s national organization for Amazonian indigenous peoples, AIDESEP, was arrested at Lima’s airport as he returned from Nicaragua.
North America
Obama to send National Guard to Mexican border; Fox fuels terror scare
As Obama pledges to mobilize 1,200 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, Fox News ups the ante with claims of a Somali terrorist threat in Texas.
Mexico
Mexico: Quintana Roo gubernatorial candidate busted on narco charges
Gregorio Sánchez, gubernatorial candidate from Quintana Roo, was arrested by Mexican federal police on drug trafficking charges—but his supporters say the bust is politically motivated.
South Asia
India: peace talks or air-strikes as Naxalites gain ground?
The Indian government has offered to hold talks with the Naxalite insurgents following a series of audacious attacks that have hardliners calling for air-strikes on their strongholds.
The Andes
Peru: Lori Berenson paroled; hardliners outraged
New Yorker Lori Berenson was paroled from a Peruvian prison after spending 15 years behind bars—sparking protest from hardliners in Peru’s political establishment.
The Caribbean
Death toll rising in Jamaica
Gun battles raging in the Jamaican capital have left more than 60 people dead as troops fan out across the city hunting for accused drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke.
The Andes
Colombia: President Uribe’s brother said to have led death squad
An ex-Colombian police major has come forward to allege that Santiago Uribe, younger brother of President Alvaro Uribe, led a paramilitary group in the 1990s that killed suspected “subversives.”
The Caribbean
Urban warfare breaks out in Jamaica
Running battles between police and gunmen of the Shower Posse gang turned part of Jamaica’s capital Kingston into a warzone, with reports of explosions and civilian casualties.
Inner Asia
Who is behind Kyrgyzstan ethnic violence?
Many see an effort to restore ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev behind the outburst of Kyrgyz-Uzbek ethnic violence that has led to a state of emergency in southern Kyrgyztsan.
The Caribbean
Haiti: UN mission to investigate prison massacre
The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti has launched an investigation into the shootings of dozens of prisoners in a jail riot in Les Cayes following the devastating January earthquake.