Two explosions in North Ossetia near a border post between the Russian Federation and Georgia’s unrecognized breakaway Republic of South Ossetia seriously damaged the main pipeline that supplies gas to Georgia and Armenia Jan 22. The FSB concluded it was… Read moreGeorgia accuses Russia in pipeline blast
A conviction in a torture-killing in Iraq… But no prison sentence—just a “reprimand”… FORT CARSON, Colo., Jan 23 (Reuters) – A U.S. Army jury on Monday ordered a military interrogator be reprimanded but not sent to prison for the killing… Read moreUS Army officer gets reprimand in Iraqi death
At least 16 people were injured Jan. 20 as Ethiopian police cracked down on opposition protests in the capital, Addis Ababa, on the second and final day of celebrations marking Timkat, the Epiphany festival of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Demonstrators… Read moreEthiopia: police attack Epiphany processions
The heroic Mukhtar Mai is exploited by the Bushes for war propaganda—then sold down the river by the UN to appease Pakistan. Did the US protest this cynical capitulation? We doubt it. From the New York Times, via India’s Deccan… Read moreUN censors rape victim
This one really takes the cake. William Blum’s anti-imperialist tome Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower has shot up from 205,763 to 26 on Amazon.com‘s index of the most-ordered books since it was given a favorable review… Read moreOsama has poor reading comprehension
From London News, Jan. 22: Kosovo president Ibrahim Rugova died on Saturday aged 61, after a long fight with lung cancer. Mr Rugova was a key player fighting for peace in the region for more than a decade. He took… Read moreKosova independence leader Ibrahim Rugova dead at 61
A press release from Minority Rights Group International: New York, (Jan. 26, 2006) Iraqis head a new list of peoples most under threat from persecution, discrimination and mass killing according to a comprehensive new report released today by Minority Rights… Read moreReport: Iraq minorities face greatest threat
Nepalese police fired tear gas and charged with batons in clashes with pro-democracy activists in Kathmandu Jan. 21. Street battles lasted for two hours around Durbar Square. The protests came after the house arrest of political leaders campaigning to force… Read moreNepal protesters defy repression
From the AP, via Israel’s Ha’aretz, Jan. 22: CARACAS – Hundreds of Venezuelan intellectuals expressed “shock and consternation” in a public condemnation Saturday of allegedly anti-Semitic remarks made recently by President Hugo Chavez. “These dangerous tendencies must be denounced and… Read moreVenezuelan intellectuals speak out on anti-Semitism flap
Once again—how convenient is this? As bumping off Iran’s regime becomes more of a strategic necessity for Washington, suddenly Tel Aviv accuses Tehran of being behind the latest suicide bombing. Tehran, for its part, denies the charges—while publicly embracing Islamic… Read moreIran rejects link to Tel Aviv blast
In three days, the Tokyo stock market lost almost $400 billion in value. (ABC, Jan. 20) The crash comes at a moment of converging multiple crises for the Japanese state. On Jan. 19, some 800 protesters, mostly connected to Shinto… Read more“Tokyo Panic” to fuel nationalist backlash?
From the public health watchdog website Newsinferno, Jan. 16: Many Believe Toxic Ground Zero Site Responsible for Growing Number of Deaths among Cleanup Workers Last week we reported on the death of James Zadroga, a 34-year-old homicide detective who was… Read moreNYC: 5,000 in suit over WTC illness
