Africa
Riots rock West Africa
Angry protests over an electoral dispute in Togo, with police using tear gas against opposition supporters, follow similar scenes two weeks earlier in Ivory Coast.
Europe
Riots rock Athens —again
Striking Greek workers shut down transport and tried to storm the parliament building in Athens as lawmakers passed 4.8 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in budget cuts.
Palestine
Riots rock Jerusalem —again
Ultra-orthodox Jews rioted in Jerusalem two days after dozens of Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces again stormed the Old City’s al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Iran
Ahmadinejad joins 9-11 conspiranoids
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad weighs in for 9-11 conspiranoia in the most vulgar terms. Will he be the next hero for the “Truthies”?
Mexico
Mexico: police stage protest after deadly ambush outside Monterrey
Municipal police in a suburb of Mexico’s northern industrial hub of Monterrey staged protests outside their precinct stations after three were killed in an ambush.
Central America
Clinton presses leaders to recognize Honduras at drug war summit
In Guatemala for a Drug War summit, Hillary Clinton called for recognition of the new Honduran government—and was accused by Hugo Chávez of “planting seeds of discord.”
North America
“Patriot” groups, militias surge: report
The number of militias and other extremist groups in the US exploded in 2009, according to a report issued this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
North America
Pentagon attacker was 9-11 conspiranoid
The man who shot two police officers at the Pentagon was apparently a devoted follower of the 9-11 “Truth” movement—who had proposed that the Pentagon fund his “research.”
Planet Watch
Obama plans “dramatic reductions” in n-arms —but not “no first use” pledge
The Obama administration’s new Nuclear Posture Review will call for “dramatic reductions” in the nuclear arsenal—but no pledge that the US will never launch a first strike.
Iraq
Birth defects soar in Fallujah: local doctors
Doctors in the Iraq city of Fallujah report a huge boost in birth defects, with many saying the weapons used by US forces in the intense 2004 fighting are to blame.
Central America
Suit charges Coca-Cola complicity in Guatemala rights abuses
Guatemalan union leaders and their families filed a lawsuit in New York, accusing the world’s biggest beverage company of complicity in violence against labor leaders.
Central America
Guatemalan police destroy opium, cannabis crops
Guatemalan troops and DEA agents destroyed 319 million opium plants and 250,000 marijuana plants in San Marcos department, considered a “sanctuary” of drug cultivation.