Within days of the 9-11 attacks, media speculation started that al-Qaeda was seeking nuclear weapons. Now it is starting to look like US actions could make that a self-fulfilling prophecy. Washington imposed sanctions on both Pakistan and India after their… Read morePakistan’s nukes up for jihadi grabs?
An ominous Nov. 2 Jerusalem Post article on September’s apparent Israeli bombing raid on a Syrian nuclear facility uses ambiguous language (highlighted below): the planes “carried” nuclear weapons, and the site was “totally destroyed” by “one bomb”—but it is not… Read moreDid the US nuke Syria?
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to meet President Bush in Washington Nov. 5 amid signs that the crisis over PKK attacks from across the Iraqi border has slightly eased. As Erdogan was en route to the US,… Read moreKurdistan back from the brink —for now?
From Newsday, Nov. 3: Mom accidentally hits son with SUV The mother of a 4-year-old Central Islip boy accidentally struck her son with her SUV Friday afternoon when she backed up out of the family driveway, police said. Joshua Felisberto,… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
With 70% of southern Mexico’s Gulf Coast state of Tabasco under water following weeks of heavy rains, Gov. Andrés Granier has compared capital Villahermosa (pop. 500,000) to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The Rio Grijalva, which flows through Villahermosa, has… Read moreMexico: hydro-electric authorities blasted in Tabasco disaster
Peru is sending a force of 100 national police to what has been declared a zona cocalera (coca-growing zone) in Apurímac region to hunt down suspected Shining Path guerrillas who killed a police commander and wounded an officer in a… Read morePeru: Apurímac militarized after “narcoterror” attack
The government of Ghana has sent in hundreds of army troops and declared a curfew in the township of Keta, Volta Region, after four people were killed in a longstanding chieftaincy dispute Nov. 1. One of the dead was a… Read moreGhana: four killed in chieftaincy succession dispute
Five people were killed and six others wounded when a missile—allegedly fired from a US drone—hit a suspected militant compound in the restive North Waziristan region of Pakistan, near the Afghan border Nov. 2. Residents said a pilotless US drone… Read moreUS bombs Pakistan —again?
Japan has ordered the withdrawal of its two ships supporting US-led operations in Afghanistan following the government’s failure to agree a deal with the opposition to extend the mission beyond the end of its mandate on Nov. 1. The administration… Read moreJapan ends Afghan support mission
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse student protesters who turned out by the tens of thousands in Caracas Nov. 1 to protest constitutional reforms that would permit Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to run for re-election indefinitely. Chanting… Read moreVenezuela: two dead in student protests
Setting a new standard for accuracy in the blogosphere, the New York Times editorial board makes a major error in their Oct. 31 blog post, “A Visit From: Eli Khoury, Lebanese Activist.” On “The Board,” the editorial staff of the… Read moreNYT edit board goes bloggo, makes major screamer
The Spanish parliament Oct. 31 passed a landmark bill that condemns the 1939-75 fascist dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco and mandates restitution to its victims. The Law of Historical Memory, approved by the lower house, will expand benefits to victims… Read moreSpain passes “Historical Memory” law on Franco era
