Afghanistan
Afghan opium production hits new record high
The UN’s latest Afghanistan Opium Survey finds that the country produced record levels of poppy in 2013—despite $7 billion in US eradication efforts.
Watching the Shadows
Gitmo detainees to fight release to Algeria
The attorney for two Algerian detainees being held in Guantánamo Bay said the two will oppose their release back to Algeria, citing fear of torture and persecution there.
The Andes
Colombia: violent eviction at Cúcuta squatter camp
The feared Colombian National Police anti-riot force was mobilized to evict an encampment of campesinos who had been displaced from their homes by political violence.
The Andes
Colombia: threatened indigenous group leader slain
Two gunmen assassinated Juan Álvaro Pai, traditional governor of the endangered Awá indigenous people, in an incursion into their reserve in Colombia’s Nariño department.
The Amazon
Ecuador: deadly clash in anti-mining operation
Indigenous leaders in Ecuador's rainforest accuse the army of forging evidence in the death of a Shuar man during an operation against outlaw gold-miners.
East Asia
East China Sea gets scary —again
A near confrontation between Chinese and US aircraft over disputed East China Sea gasfields comes amid major joint US-Japanese naval maneuvers off Okinawa.
North Africa
Mali: Tuareg rebels declare end to ceasefire
Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) announced that they are ending their ceasefire with the Malian government following new clashes.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: blogger arrested in protest crackdown
Alaa Abdul Fattah, a prominent blogger who opposed Mubarak and Morsi alike, was arrested by Egypt's military authorities on charges of organizing an unsanctioned rally.
Mexico
Citizens challenge media silence on Matamoros war
Local activists and bloggers risk their lives to get out the word on the ongoing urban warfare in Tamaulipas, with Mexico's establishment press terrorized into silence.
North Africa
Former Mali junta leader detained for murder
Gen. Amadou Haya Sanogo, leader of the March 2012 coup that plunged Mali into civil war, was arrested on charges of murder, conspiracy, assassination and kidnapping.
Central America
Honduras: opposition charges fraud in election
While the Nov. 24 election results remain in dispute, what is certain that the new center-left LIBRE coalition has ended Honduras' aging two-party system.
Southern Cone
Argentina: residents block Monsanto plant
As concern grows about the safety of its pesticides, Monsanto faces a militant small city that refuses to let the company build a massive facility there.