In a strange case of role-reversal, BBC July 20 takes the more Bush-friendly tack in reporting a new executive order on treatment of detained “terror suspects,” writing in the lead that it bans “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” while the… Read moreBush executive order bans torture —or approves it?
In a surprise ruling July 20, Pakistan’s Supreme Court dealt a harsh blow to President Pervez Musharraf, voting unanimously to restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry to his post. The court also voted 10-3 to dismiss charges of misconduct that… Read morePakistan: race between jihad and democracy?
Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante—known as “Rasguño,” or “Scratch”—alleged head of Colombia’s Norte del Valle cocaine cartel, has been extradited to the US to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. He was flown by helicopter July 19 from the… Read moreColombia extradites kingpin “Rasguño” —thanks to Cuba!
At least 12 people were injured and 59 arrested July 17 when Honduran police violently cleared several roadblocks set up by protesters demanding a new mining law. Salvador Zuniga, consultant to the Coordinator of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras… Read moreAnti-mining protests repressed in Honduras
The carcinogen asbestos has been found in dust and debris hurled into midtown Manhattan by an evening rush-hour Con Edison steam pipe explosion July 18. The blast at 41st Street and Lexington Ave. opened a 25-foot car-swallowing crater in the… Read moreCon Ed brings terror to NYC —again
Writing for The Guardian July 19, Seumas Milne relates a revealing meeting with Iraqi insurgent leaders in Damascus, who say they are uniting in a new front, to be called the Political Office for the Iraqi Resistance. They say a… Read moreIraq: insurgents form new front —minus al-Qaeda?
From the Washington Post, July 18: BAGHDAD — They arrived early yesterday morning in a straight line of official-looking vehicles, about 125 men dressed in Iraqi Army fatigues and carrying standard-issue weapons. Aziza Abdul Jabbar and her relatives ran out… Read moreIraq: co-existence as target
Lawyers across Pakistan boycotted courts July 18, the day after a bomb attack on an anti-government rally by attorneys in Islamabad killed 15 people. Gen Musharraf strongly condemned the “terrorist attack” and called for calm, but lawyers called the blast… Read moreLawyers protest Islamabad terror
Turkey’s military has waged a cross-border incursion into Iraq, bombarding northern areas of the country with artillery and warplanes, the Iraqi government charged July 19. The claim comes amid mounting Turkish threats to strike bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party… Read moreTurkey bombards northern Iraq?
Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Gulerhas announced his government will invest $3.5 billion in Iran’s South Pars gas field starting from 2008, a week after signing a deal to use Iran as a transit route for gas from Turkmenistan to European… Read moreTurkey signs pipeline deal with Iran
Remember when this kind of thing was science fiction? From AP, July 16: Pilotless Robot Bomber Squadron Heads for Afghanistan, Iraq BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq — The airplane is the size of a jet fighter, powered by a turboprop engine,… Read moreFlying robots to attack Afghanistan, Iraq
Police fired tear gas to prevent hundreds of protesters from reaching the venue of an international Guelaguetza folk festival in Oaxaca July 16, in the worst outbreak of violence in the conflicted southern Mexican city since November. Protesters hurled rocks… Read morePolice, protesters clash in Oaxaca
