Iraq
Syria: test ground for anti-Shia jihad?
An “Anti-Shia Alliance” convention in Jakarta brought togehter interntional Sunni militants to declare “jihad” on “heretics”—as sectarian attacks mount in Syria and Iraq.
Kurdish-Berber solidarity
Kawa Botani, a Kurdish activist from Duhok, Iraq, joined Amazigh (Berber) protests in Morocco in January, demanding cultural and civil rights. United by a common struggle against both political Islam and "Arabization," the Berbers of Algeria, Morocco and Libya are increasingly… Read moreKurdish-Berber solidarity
Europe
Will Ukraine ‘go nuclear’? Looking scarier…
As Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warns of "World War III," Moscow and Kiev mass troops on their shared border, and the US sends more forces to the Baltics.
South Asia
Mt. Everest disaster and global climate shift
Sherpas who guide tourists up Mount Everest go on strike following the deadly avalanche—as destabilization of the Himalayan glaciers portends more such disasters.
Watching the Shadows
Panel calls for transfer of Yemeni Gitmo prisoner
The Defense Department's Periodic Review Secretariat recommended the release of Ali Ahmad Mohamed al-Razihi, a Yemeni prisoner currently held at Guantánamo Bay.
Watching the Shadows
Net neutrality and the extinction of journalism
The end of "net neutrality," now broached by the FCC, portends an "enclosure" of the Internet—and the marginalization of all perspectives not officially approved.
Europe
Kosovo lawmakers vote to create war crimes court
Lawmakers in Kosova voted 89-22 to create an EU-backed court that will investigate crimes committed by ethnic Albanian rebels during the 1998 war with Serbia.
Central America
Central America: ‘narco-deforestation’?
Central America's rainforests are being destroyed by drug traffickers who cut roads and airstirps on officially protected lands, according to a paper in the journal Science.
Inner Asia
US plays Mongolia card against China
Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel signed a "joint vision" statement with Mongolia calling for expanded military cooperation—clearly aimed at further encirclement of China.
Greater Middle East
Saudi Arabia: death sentences in 2003 attacks
A special anti-terrorism court in Saudi Arabia sentenced three people to death for their roles in attacks on expatriate resident compounds in Riyadh in May 2003.
Southern Cone
Chile: was Valparaíso fire a ‘natural disaster’?
Decades of uncontrolled urban growth in an area naturally prone to forest fires left Valparaíso's working-class neighborhoods vulnerable to devastation.
Central America
Honduras: Radio Progreso executive murdered
A marketing director for an opposition radio station is the latest victim in the crime wave against Honduran journalists. Police claim it was a "crime of passion."