More than 18,000 operators of construction machinery in South Korea are set to strike June 16 to press for cheaper fuel and higher pay, joining thousands of truckers who walked off the job last week, effectively shutting down the country’s… Read moreStrikes shut South Korea’s ports
Traditional Aboriginal land-users from Borroloola, near Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria, are demanding compensation for land taken by the expansion of Xstrata’s McArthur River zinc mine in the Northern Territory. A federal court June 13 rejected an appeal by traditional residents… Read moreAustralia: court rules for mineral cartel, against aboriginal rights
From Human Rights Watch, June 12: Ethiopia: Army Commits Executions, Torture, and Rape in Ogaden In its battle against rebels in eastern Ethiopia’s Somali Region, Ethiopia’s army has subjected civilians to executions, torture, and rape, Human Rights Watch said in… Read moreEthiopia: “crimes against humanity” in Ogaden
Peru sent tanker ships carrying food and fuel June 13 to its southernmost coastal region of Tacna, where thousands of residents are stranded by a general strike over mining royalties in neighboring Moquegua region. More than 5,000 Moquegua residents have… Read moreMine actions paralyze southern Peru
Mexican authorities are searching for 37 undocumented migrants from Cuba and Central America taken from a government bus at gunpoint by ski-masked men with assault rifles. Authorities say the gunmen belong to a human trafficking ring. Police found the empty… Read moreMexico: detained migrants vanish in Chiapas bus attack
We aren’t sure that the optimism in his closing assessment of Obama’s AIPAC speech is warranted. But this June 13 piece by Bernard Avishai in the Israeli daily Ha’aretz says much about the dilemmas the candidate faces. The piece is… Read moreIsraeli elites “edgy about Obama”
As the UN Security Council, Arab League and African Union urge Eritrea to halt military action against neighboring Djibouti, French officers stationed in the Horn of Africa mini-state say that France is providing Djibouti with military support—and preparing to send… Read moreEritrea at war with Djibouti; France into the breach
Police in Quito arrested three Colombians and one Ecuadoran in an alleged plot to assassinate President Rafael Correa. Two were arrested on the capital’s Independence Plaza, where Carondelet presidential palace is located. The suspects were detained by agents of the… Read moreEcuador arrests Colombians in plot on President Correa
Argentine food outlets and gas stations are preparing for shortages as truckers, blocking highways to protest business lost to a farm strike, shut down the nation’s road transport system. Traffic is halted on routes through the agricultural provinces of Buenos… Read moreArgentine truckers bock highways
Spanish police and Civil Guards cracked down on striking truckers June 11, with 25,000 deployed to clear blocked highways, arresting dozens. Catalan provincial police joined with French law enforcement to clear an eight-kilometer line of trucks that had closed a… Read moreSpanish police break truckers’ strike
Ignoring a “don’t panic” plea from Downing Street, motorists across England and Wales lined up at gas stations to top off their tanks in preparation for a long weekend of industrial action. Tanker drivers supplying 10% of the UK’s petrol… Read moreBritish tanker drivers start four-day strike
The US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City June 11 ruled that three Guinean women claiming to be victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) should not be deported. The court found that immigration judges and the appellate… Read moreUS appeals court rules for women fleeing genital mutilation
