Some 800 students from Mexican teachers colleges occupied the state legislature building in Chilpancingo, capital of the southern state of Guerrero, at about 3 PM on Nov. 14. The students—largely young women from 16 teachers colleges, chiefly those in Saucillo,… Read moreMexico: student protesters attacked in Guerrero
Tens of thousands of protesters occupied the Gen. San Martin bridge, which links the Argentine province of Entre Rios to Uruguay, on Nov. 11 to protest Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez’s decision to let the Finnish company Botnia start operating a… Read moreArgentine eco-protesters again block Uruguay border
On Nov. 13 Puerto Rican environmental activist Alberto de Jesus (“Tito Kayak”) ended a week-long protest at a small island near San Juan with a spectacular escape from a police operation that included four launches, motorboats and a helicopter. De… Read morePuerto Rico: eco-activist eludes police
From the International Herald Tribune, Nov. 15, links and emphasis added: Unorthodox sects face prosecution in Indonesia JAKARTA — Indonesian human rights lawyers are again questioning the country’s commitment to religious freedom after the recent arrests of several unorthodox Islamic… Read moreIslamic “heretics” persecuted in Indonesia
An open letter to the world human rights community and Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from PetitionOnline: Delaram Ali is a woman’s activist who has been given a custodial sentence for 28 months with 10 lashes for taking part in a… Read moreFree women activists in Iran
Oil prices rose Nov. 19 after suggestions from the Riyadh OPEC summit that member nations are considering ditching the dollar. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the dollar a “worthless piece of paper.” Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez added: “The dollar is in… Read moreOPEC mulls ditching dollar
Pakistan’s atomic weapons are secure, Muhammad Khurshid Khan, deputy director of Islamabad’s Strategic Plans Division, told a meeting of nuclear counter-terrorism specialists in Edinburgh Nov. 20. “There’s nothing to worry about the safety and security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons,” Khan… Read moreNuclear fear in Pakistan
Just as the Peru Free Trade Agreement has passed the US House of Representatives, efforts to pass a similar agreement with Colombia hit an embarrassing snag. Sandra Suarez, the special envoy Colombian President Alvaro Uribe sent to Washington in July… Read moreColombia’s DC trade envoy steps down following para collaboration charges
The rural community of Cutumay Camones, in Santa Ana department, El Salvador, is demanding justice following a series of violent attacks by the national police and army troops. On Oct. 12, security forces invaded Cutumay Camones, using tear gas and… Read moreEl Salvador: water protesters demand justice
Testimony has begun in the trial of seven Mam Maya villagers who sought dialogue with Goldcorp/Montana Exploradora mining company in Guatemala. The seven villagers were among a group of 28 who approached Goldcrop’s local facility in Sipacapa municipality on Jan…. Read more“Goldcorp 7” trial underway in Guatemala
A statement by Las Abejas, the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center and other civil organizations in conflicted Chiapas state finds that the Mexican national state “is responsible for the Acteal massacre” of Dec. 22, 1997. The statement… Read moreMexican state “responsible” for Acteal massacre —and ongoing terror
Army helicopter gunships continue to pound neo-Taliban positions in the Swat and Shangla districts of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, in an operation which has taken some 100 lives this week. Officials said a Taliban commander known as Matiullah was killed… Read morePakistan: neo-Taliban gain ground in NWFP
