On July 10, US District Judge William Dimitrouleas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sentenced former ICE agent Wilfredo Vazquez to 87 months in prison for sexually assaulting a female immigration detainee in his custody. Vazquez pleaded guilty in April to two… Read moreICE agent sentenced for sexual assault
On July 9, ICE agents joined Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in raiding two marine companies in Port Arthur in southeastern Texas, near the Louisiana border. The operations took place at the R & R Marine Fabrication and Drydock… Read moreICE raids Texas port company
Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have executed two Uighurs and sentenced 15 others accused of terrorist ties. The Kashgar Intermediate Court sentenced to death two men, identified as Mukhtar Setiwaldi and Abduweli Imi, and immediately executed them… Read moreChina executes Uighurs
The New York Times scored a media coup July 1 with a front-page story on the revival Algeria’s Islamist militant underground following its transformation into an al-Qaeda franchise, “Ragtag Insurgency Gains a Lifeline From Al Qaeda.” The front-page story featured… Read moreMaghreb al-Qaeda’s NYT debut sparks Algeria outrage
In a piece entitled “Bush & Cheney Always Saw Iraq as a Sweetheart Oil Deal,” Noam Chomsky writes that “US war planners want an obedient client state that will house major US military bases, right at the heart of the… Read moreWestern oil cartel recolonizes Iraq
An investigation by Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has confirmed reports that a US air strike in the Deh Bala district of Nangarhar province July 6 killed 47 members of a wedding party, including the bride. The investigation found that 39… Read moreKarzai confirms US air-strike on wedding party
At least 20 were killed July 12 in fighting between Pakistani security forces and Taliban insurgents following an attack on an army convoy near Zargari, North-West Frontier Province. The violence came during an unannounced, one-day visit to Pakistan by Adm…. Read morePakistan vetoes Pentagon force
Residents of Ciudad Guzmán, in Mexico's west-central state of Jalisco, took to the streets to demand the withdrawal of military troops from the municipality—and the reappearance alive of two local youths. Mexican naval troops were ordered to the town, also known as Zapotlan el Grande, to fight the New Generation cartel, but were accused by locals of "disappearing" the two young residents—one just 17 years old. In both cases, witnesses claim the young men were detained by the Navy and were never seen again. Navy troops fired shots in the air after the rally turned violent, with protesters throwing rocks and bottles—possibly due to infiltration by provocateurs. At least three were reported wounded. (Photo: El Sol de Mexico)
A series of explosions in three towns in the Georgian separatist region of Abkhazia—Gagra, Sukhumi, and Gali—and a skirmish between Georgian and separatist forces in the Georgian-controlled Upper Kodori Gorge topped the agenda as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili met with… Read moreGeorgian provocation behind Abkhazia terror?
“Venezuela and Colombia today open a new epoch in our relations,” Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez told reporters after a meeting with his Colombian counterpart Álvaro Uribe in Caracas July 11. “I want to make clear that the intention exists to… Read moreChávez in lovefest with recent Colombian nemesis
Claude-Marie Vadrot, writing for his blog on the French online journal Mediapart July 4, asserts that FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt—freed in a Colombian military operation July 2—was actually supposed to be liberated on March 8, in a French deal that… Read moreFrench deal in Colombia hostage case?
