In a pre-dawn attack May 1, US missiles destroyed the home of reputed al-Qaeda leader Aden Hashi Ayro in Dusamareeb, Somalia. The attack killed 24 others in the targeted house and nearby homes. “This will not deter us from prosecuting… Read moreSomalia: Shabab pledge revenge on America
We warned a year ago that Yemen was on the brink of sectarian war. It is starting to look like it is going over the brink. From AP, May 2: Motorcycle bomb explodes outside Yemen mosque, killing 18 SAN’A —… Read moreSectarian terror in Yemen
From Article 19 Global Campaign for Free Expression via IFEX, May 2: Turkey: Article 301 Reforms Pallid—It Should Be Abolished ARTICLE 19 condemns as wholly insufficient recent moves by the Turkish government to amend the infamous Article 301 of the… Read moreTurkish reform of speech law insufficient: watchdog
As last year, May Day saw clashes between workers and police in Istanbul and other Turkish cities. In Istanbul, police fired tear gas and water cannons to prevent workers from marching to Taksim Square where they planned to hold a… Read moreTurkey: police clash with workers on May Day
Turkish warplanes launched bombing raids on PKK Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq’s Qandil Mountains late May 1. “There has been heavy bombing and many Turkish planes were involved. So far, we have no word of any casualties,” PKK spokesman… Read moreTurkey bombs Iraq —yet again!
An AP report portrays President Felipe Calderón’s decision to open talks with Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) as part of his push to open the oil industry to private partnerships—given the guerillas’ attacks on pipelines last year. “The government wanting to… Read moreMexico: dialogue with EPR guerillas?
Power returned slowly to Venezuela April 29, hours after outages blacked out nearly half the country, halting the Caracas subways and forcing hospitals and oil facilities onto emergency generators. An explosion is being investigated at the Guri hydroelectric power station,… Read moreBlackouts in Venezuela
A court in Tibet sentenced 30 people to prison terms ranging from three years to life April 29 in charges related to the March uprising. (NYT, April 30) China has detained scores of Buddhist monks over the past month, according… Read moreTibet: sweeps continue at monasteries
One step closer to an October Surprise? From The Telegraph, April 30: America said it had despatched a second aircraft carrier group to the Gulf on Wednesday, as the State Department branded Iran the world’s “most active” state sponsor of… Read moreAnother carrier to Persian Gulf
Residents of western Baghdad’s al-Salam district say militant groups in the area are hunting down women and killing them, and have petitioned the Iraqi parliament for urgent action. “Over the past six months 15 women were killed in al-Salam neighborhood… Read moreSexual cleansing in Iraq
From the General Union of Port Workers in Iraq, via US Labor Against the War, April 29: May Day Message from the Port Workers in Iraq to West Coast dock workers in the US In solidarity with the ILWU, the… Read moreIraqi port workers to strike in support of ILWU
On April 22, a riot broke out at the Mira Loma immigration detention center in Lancaster, Calif., which holds nearly 1,000 immigrants. The riot allegedly involved the South Siders and Paisa gangs, according to a detainee who spoke with the… Read moreICE detainees transferred after riot
