The 9-11 death toll in New York City has just been officially raised from 2,749 to 2,750. From CBS, May 24: A woman who died of lung disease five months after Sept. 11 was added on Wednesday to the medical… Read moreNYC adds WTC dust victim to 9-11 death toll
China’s newly-appointed envoy Liu Guijin called for greater humanitarian aid on a visit to Darfur—but said international sanctions against Sudan would only “further complicate the situation” and prolong the suffering of the 2.5 million refugees displaced by the conflict. Liu… Read moreChina rejects Sudan sanctions —again
Fighting has resumed at Lebanon’s Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, where authorities are demanding that Fatah al-Islam lay down arms and turn over its leaders. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said the group has two choices: “Surrender or the army will… Read moreLebanon crisis escalates
Thirty-three senior Hamas officials have been arrested by the Israel Defence Force (IDF). Among those detained were legislators, mayors and even the Education Minister, Nasser Shaer. [Haaretz, May 24]. Overnight, Israeli Air Force fighter jets targeted Palestinian money exchanges accused… Read moreIsrael detains senior Hamas officials
At least 27 people were killed and dozens wounded after a suicide car bomber drove into a crowd of mourners at a funeral in Falluja, in the Iraqi province of Anbar, May 24. The funeral was for Allawi al-Isawi, a… Read moreIraq: funeral attack kills dozens
After raiding Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park and killing a wildlife officer, the Mayi-Mayi militia are threatening to slaughter rare mountain gorillas, officials said. The attackers looted the three sites—research stations and tourism camps—seizing arms and communications equipment…. Read moreCongo: guerillas threaten gorillas
Even as UN-mediated negotations are set to begin, Morocco has unleashed a new wave of repression against advocates of independence for Western Sahara. The new crackdown began May 7, when Saharawi students at the university of Agadir, Morocco, were brutally… Read moreRights crackdown in Western Sahara —again
From Newsday, May 22: 18 Hours, Three Fatals It was a treacherous 18-hour span in which three people died in separate crashes on Long Island’s highways — and one family survived an ordeal on the LIE. Long Island averages less… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
Declaring fires set at a police station, an SUV dealer and a tree farm were acts of “terrorism,” US District Judge Ann Aiken May 23 sentenced former Earth Liberation Front militant Stanislas Meyerhoff to 13 years in prison. Judge Aiken… Read moreELF militants convicted of (dubious) “terrorism”
A rampage by the Mungiki gang, which climaxed May 20 with the beheadings of three men, has prompted scores of residents to flee Kianjogu village in Kenya’s Muranga North District. One of the Mungiki leaders, Stephen Kiunjuri, was gunned down… Read moreKenya: villagers flee Mungiki death cult
From the Center for Justice and Accountability via Haiti Action, May 22: Brooklyn, NY — Today, the judge in the mortgage fraud case of former Haitian death-squad leader Emmanuel “Toto” Constant dropped Constant’s plea bargain and ordered him to stand… Read moreHaiti death squad commander’s plea thrown out
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced May 22 that a war crimes investigation will be opened into hundreds of rapes and other violations in the Central African Republic. The investigation concerns the conflict between the former regime of President… Read moreICC to investigate Central African Republic
