On Jan. 6, just as the Zapatista national tour (dubbed the “Other Campaign” in reference to the presidential campaigns now underway in Mexico) had reached the town of Tonala, in the Pacific coastal zone of Chiapas state, word arrived that… Read moreZapatista tour halts for funeral of Comandante Ramona
Chadian gunmen killed an African Union peacekeeper and wounded at least 10 others in an attack in the Darfur region near the Sudan-Chad border, Sudanese authorities said Jan. 7. It was not clear whether the attackers were from the Chadian… Read moreChad in “state of war” with Sudan; World Bank yanks pipeline loan
On Dec. 30, a Border Patrol agent shot 20-year old Guillermo Martinez Rodriguez, a native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, as he and his brother, Agustin Martinez Rodriguez, were fleeing back into Mexico. The brothers had sought to enter the US… Read moreUS-Mexico tension over border death
The Zapatista rebels' "Other Campaign"—thusly named in reference to the presidential campaigns now underway in Mexico—has held rallies at various locations around the state of Chiapas since it took off from the jungle village of La Garrucha on New Years… Read moreZapatista “Other Campaign” on the road
As if the controversy over the Basque country wasn’t enough, now a Spanish general rattles the proverbial sabre over moves by Catalonia, Spain’s most industrialized region, to seek greater autonomy from Madrid. A lovely irony: as the world waits for… Read moreSpain: top general warns of war over Catalan autonomy
From Reuters, Jan. 5: New Orleans residents and supporters angrily confronted demolition workers in one of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods on Thursday amid heated debate over the proposed razing of houses destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Officials said the demolition workers… Read moreNew Orleans: residents resist demolition in Lower Ninth
From CNN, Jan. 5: Television evangelist Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was divine retribution for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which Robertson opposed. “He was dividing God’s land, and I would say, ‘Woe unto… Read moreRobertson: God smote Sharon
On Jan. 5 at approximately 4 PM armed “civilians” identified as members of the paramilitary “Autodefensas del Llano” entered the villages of Puerto Toledo and Matabambú, Meta department, and asesinated the campesinos Jairo Carabali, Alcibiades Pachon and Arelis Diaz. On… Read moreColombia: paramilitary massacre in Meta
Following a ruling this week by the Supreme Court, José Padilla has finally appeared before a civilian judge—which means that the high court will likely not have to weigh in any time soon on whether he was held legally as… Read morePadilla appears in court
The gas pipeline to the Uch power plant in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan was blown up late Jan. 3, cutting off gas supplies to the plant. The attack came as sporadic rocket and artillery duels continued between Pakistani… Read morePakistan: Baluch rebels blow up pipeline
From AP via Newsday, Jan. 5: Taliban militants beheaded a teacher in a central Afghan town while his wife and eight children watched, officials said Wednesday, describing the latest in a string of attacks targeting educators at schools where girls… Read moreAfghan beheaded for teaching girls
About 40 people were killed and 50 wounded in an apparent suicide bomb blast in the Iraqi Shi’ite holy city of Karbala Jan. 5. The explosion occurred in an area between the two main Shi’ite shrines in the city. Many… Read moreShi’ite leader blames US in Karbala terror
