Iraq
US using white phosphorus in Raqqa: reports
Several civilians were killed when US air-strikes reportedly targeted ISIS-held Raqqa with white phosphorus—banned by the Geneva Convention as a weapon of war.
Watching the Shadows
Gitmo detainee files suit against psychologists
Attorneys for Guantánamo detainee Abu Zubaydah filed a lawsuit against the two psychologists who developed the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA after 9-11.
Central America
Barrio 18 ‘Revolutionaries’ sentenced in massacre
A judge in El Salvador sentenced seven accused members of the country's feared "mara" gang networks to 390 years in prison each for a massacre at the town of San Juan Opico.
The Andes
Colombia: more ‘consultas’ reject extractivism
The latest consulta (community referendum) to reject local oil and mineral exploitation, in the Colombian town of Cumaral, was ruled binding by the country's Council of State.
The Andes
Colombia: Pacific coast strike ends in victory
After all-night negotiations with protest leaders in Colombia's Pacific port of Buenaventura, government representatives pledged to invest $517 million in local infrastructure.
The Andes
Colombia: race to salvage peace process
Under pressure from a citizen mobilization for peace, Colombia's government is scrambling to revive the FARC disarmament and demobilization process after it nearly broke down.
Mexico
Mexico second most dangerous country on Earth?
A new study finding that Mexico is now the most dangerous country on Earth after war-torn Syria is rejected by the government, but even the military wants out of "drug war."
Southeast Asia
Duterte declares martial law in south Philippines
Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao is ostensibly in response to an ISIS-linked terrorist group, but will give security forces a still freer hand in his murderous "war on drugs."
Iran
Iran: ISIS attack escalates Persian Gulf tensions
Coordinated ISIS attacks on Iran's parliament and the mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini come amid an Islamic State propaganda push targeting the Islamic Republic's Sunni minority.
North America
Conspiranoids betray Reality Winner …of course
Some of the same voices that cheered on Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden are now dissing Reality Winner as an agent of the “Deep State.”
New York City
Oscar López Rivera, terrorism and semantics
The controversy over liberated political prisoner Oscar López Rivera’s participation in New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade opens a window on the political uses of the term “terrorist.”
Greater Middle East
Qatar crisis places US regional policing in pickle
Qatar's diplomatic isolation by the other Gulf states, accused of supporting terrorism in the region, heightens contradictions for the Pentagon's use of the critical al-Udeid Air Base.