A Feb. 1 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Mauritania and two other high-profile attacks since December have thrown into question the African republic’s democratic opening. In the latest attack, the façade of the Israeli Embassy in Nouakchott, that capital,… Read moreJihadis target Mauritania?
A coalition of Native Alaskans and environmental groups filed suit in federal court Jan. 31 to halt oil drilling in the Chukchi Sea, which lies above the Arctic Circle between Alaska and Russia. Thirty million acres of polar bear, walrus,… Read moreAlaska Natives, ecologists sue to block Chukchi Sea oil leasing
China, which relies on imports for 50% of its oil needs, has established a system of national oil reserve centers, modeled on the US Strategic Reserves. Approved by the State Council in 2004, the four strategic reserve centers in the… Read moreChina, India establish strategic oil reserves
Colombia’s top cocaine lord Wilber Varela, kingpin of the notorious Norte del Valle Cartel, was found shot dead in Venezuela, authorities in Caracas announced Feb. 1. The bullet-riddled body of Varela, known by the nicknames “Jabon” (soap) and “Detergente” (detergent),… Read moreColombian cartel kingpin found slain in Venezuela
In December, we noted the World Court ruling on the long-standing dispute over the San Andrés Islands in the Caribbean—held by Colombia but claimed by Nicaragua. The New York Times reports Feb. 1 on the emergence of an independence movement… Read moreIndependence movement emerges on island claimed by Nicaragua, Colombia
From the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), Feb. 1: On January 7, employees of Radio Cadena Mi Gente, a progressive radio station based in San Salvador, received death threats via telephone calls made to the… Read moreEl Salvador: repression escalates; national police director runs for prez
Mexico formally protested use of tear gas by the US Border Patrol, the Exterior Secretariat sending a letter to the US Embassy requesting a probe of an incident last month in which Cristian Saldana, 15, was struck in the nose… Read moreMexico protests US tear gas attacks
In a “megamarcha” against the dropping of trade barriers under the terms of NAFTA, thousands of small farmers filled the streets of Mexico City’s historic district Jan. 31. A caravan of 100 tractors that traveled 2,000 kilometers from Ciudad Juarez… Read moreMexico City “mega-march” against NAFTA
Mexico’s federal Public Security Secretariat (SSP) announced the detention of 13 “delinquents” at Rancho San Isidro, in San Andrés Larráinzar, a highland municipality in conflicted Chiapas state Jan. 30. The SSP said 45 stolen vehicles were confiscated, as well as… Read moreCrime, water wars rock Chiapas Highlands
On Jan. 25, seven adherents of the People’s Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT) from the central Mexican village of San Salvador Atenco were liberated from the Mexico State prison at Molino de Flores, after a federal judge cleared… Read moreMexico: Atenco activists freed
The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a reported assault on two officers at the disputed Culbertson Land Tract quarry near Deseronto, which is under occupation by Mohawk protesters. Sgt. Kristine Rae, spokesperson for Eastern Region OPP headquarters, said the assault… Read moreClash with Ontario Provincial Police at Mohawk-occupied quarry
A Brazilian judge banned Rio de Janeiro’s Unidos do Viradouro samba school from parading in the upcoming carnival with a float depicting victims of the Holocaust and a Hitler figure. “Carnival should not be used as an instrument of hatred,… Read moreBrazilian courts censor protest against anti-Semitism —at Jewish behest
