On June 18 the European Union (EU) Parliament passed guidelines that would allow member countries to hold immigrants in special detention centers for up to 18 months before being deported. The guidelines are meant to standardize the way EU members… Read moreLatin America: anger at EU immigration measure
A group of undocumented Cuban immigrants who were supposedly “snatched” from Mexican immigration authorities by an armed commando on June 11 in the southeastern state of Chiapas have been located in Hidalgo, Tex., Mexican authorities said on June 18. The… Read moreCuban emigres “kidnapped” from Chiapas found in Texas
Workers at the Mexmode garment factory in Atlixco municipality in the central Mexican state of Puebla report that the state and local governments are maneuvering to destroy the Independent Union of Mexmode Company Workers (SITEMEX), one of the few independent… Read moreMexico: maquila union threatened
On June 12 Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies voted 57-22 with six abstentions to reject President Rene Garcia Preval’s latest nominee for prime minister, Robert Manuel. A commission assigned to study Manuel’s qualifications found that he failed to meet two requirements… Read moreHaiti: still no prime minister
Iran has announced it is reviewing the launch of a joint development bank with Venezuela. “Iran and Venezuela have positive cooperation and are currently reviewing the launch of a joint bank after five meetings held on this issue so far,”… Read moreIran, Venezuela to launch joint development bank
Lt. Col. Héctor Herrera, president of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Civil-Military Front, decried a “new, unfounded accusation” by the US Treasury Department that a Venezuelan diplomat and Venezuelan travel agent, both of Lebanese decent, are financial supporters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Herrera, whose… Read moreVenezuelan charges “mud-slinging” over Hezbollah accusations
At least four Somali government soldiers were killed and four civilians wounded when a roadside bomb hit a military vehicle in Mogadishu June 22. (Xinhua, June 22) Fighting has killed at least 38 since the “peace deal” was concluded in… Read moreSomali PM says peace deal is on —despite continued war
A week after border skirmishes were reported, Djibouti has accused neighboring Eritrea of illegally intruding into its territory. Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssef told AlJazeera June 20 that Eritrean troops crossed the border on the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait…. Read moreDjibouti charges Eritrea in new incursion
In a bizarre irony for a state that rules in the name of Arab nationalism, Mauritanian authorities detained Mohamed Nema Oumar, publisher of Al-Houriya weekly, June 12, holding him for some 30 hours at a police station in the the… Read moreMauritanian journalist jailed —for protesting Israel
More Nigerian government troops are being mobilized to the Niger Delta region, in preparation for military action against the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), after a militant attack on Royal Dutch Shell’s Bonga oil field forced… Read more“Declaration of war” in Niger Delta
Sri Lanka’s air force launched helicopter attacks on rebel-held territory in the island’s north June 21, as ground troops killed at least four guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Mannar district. “Sri Lanka air force MI-24… Read moreAir attacks in Sri Lanka
In a brief Associated Press account of the sentencing of supposed ELF operative Briana Waters, the New York Times June 20 uncritically uses the loaded term “ecoterrorist” in the headline. If you actually read the blurb, it turns out she… Read more“Ecoterrorist” Briana Waters gets six years
