Afghanistan
US soldier pleads guilty to killing Afghan civilians
Staff Sergeant Robert Bales pleaded guilty to the premeditated murder of 16 Afghan civilians in order to comply with a plea deal and avoid the death penalty.
Greater Middle East
Samantha Power signals Syria intervention?
Samantha Power’s appointment as UN ambassador may signal a determination on the part of the Obama administration that intervention in Syria is inevitable.
Iran
Iran: protests at funeral of reformist cleric
Thousands gathered to chant "down with the dictator!" at the funeral procession for dissident cleric Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri in Isfahan, signaling a renewal of opposition activism.
East Asia
Tiananmen Square revisionism —again
Commentators in China and the West alike portray the Tiananmen massacre as a legacy of Maoism. But was the repression in spite of China's capitalist transition, or a function of it?
Greater Middle East
Bahrain court sentences protesters up to 15 years
A Bahrain court issued sentences to three activists for taking part in anti-government protests as well as attempting to kill a police officer in a clash at a Shi’ite village.
Greater Middle East
Egypt court convicts 43 in NGO crackdown
An Egyptian court convicted 43 foreign and domestic non-governmental organization employees of engaging political activity without proper documentation.
The Amazon
Brazil: indigenous protester killed in land dispute
Indigenous people occupy estates and a giant dam’s construction site to press demands for land and rights—just as a report resurfaces on atrocities from the past.
Southern Cone
Chile: Barrick Gold mine may be delayed for years
Barrick Gold is ordered to suspend work on its massive Pascua Lama mine high in the Andes; the company also gets a fine that Greenpeace dismisses as “laughable.”
The Caribbean
Haiti: activists protest UN troops, low wages
South American activists call for UN troops to leave Haiti, while Haitian unionists protest the government’s attempt to rewrite a minimum wage law via press release.
The Andes
US drug case reveals DEA paid Colombia police
Two Colombian drug defendants were allowed to cop a plea after revelations that prosecution withheld information of ongoing DEA payments to Colombia’s National Police.
Central America
Will OAS summit broach drug decrim?
The OAS summit in Guatemala opens in the wake of a ground-breaking report dissenting from the US-led “drug war” and broaching decrim and legalization strategies.
Turkish hopes for a new beginning
Whether or not the protestors currently occupying Istanbul’s Taksim square can evolve into an effective, open and progressive opposition to the AKP’s authoritarian neoliberal regime remains to be seen. But John McSweeney writes for openDemocracy that one thing is clear: this… Read moreTurkish hopes for a new beginning