The Andes
Peru: ‘opium mafia’ revealed in national police
The local anti-drug prosecutor in Peru’s Amazonas region has opened an investigation into 25 suspected of running an “opium mafia” within the security services.
The Andes
‘Narco-pardons’ scandal shakes Peru elite
A parliamentary Mega-Commission investigating corruption under ex-president Álan García has shocked Peru with its findings that hundreds of narco-traffickers were pardoned.
The Andes
Peru: protests over militarization of coca zone
Peasants protested in Peru's coca-producing Apurímac-Ene River Valley after army troops fired on a public transport microbus, injuring nine. A state of emergency permits impunity.
Greater Middle East
Lebanon’s hashish valley drawn into Syrian war
Lebanon’s hashish heartland of the Bekaa Valley is increasingly embroiled in the civil war raging across the border in Syria, with a wave of sectarian clashes and abductions.
North Africa
ICC rules Libya cannot try Qaddafi son
The International Criminal Court rejected a challenge by the Libyan government to the court's jurisdiction over Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, son of the deposed dictator.
Inner Asia
Kyrgyzstan: emergency over mining protests
Kyrgyzstan declared a state of emergency after hundreds of protesters stormed the offices of the Kumtor gold mine, run by the Canadian-based Centerra Gold.
Greater Middle East
Next: Turkish spring?
Istanbul police raided a protest camp in Taksim Gezi Park, slated to be bulldozed for a new shopping mall. Demonstrations continue, and have spread to Ankara.
North Africa
Niger mine attack launched from Libya: France
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in Niger that the attackers who carried out double suicide bombings on a military camp and uranium mine likely came from Libya.
Palestine
Alice Walker: off her rocker
Until Alice Walker repudaites David Icke's fascistic conspiranoia, she isn't doing the Palestinians any favors by speaking on their behalf.
Afghanistan
UK forces accused of illegally detaining Afghans
London-based Public Interest Lawyers accused the UK military of detaining at least eight men without charge at the temporary holding facility in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.
Greater Middle East
‘Sunni cleansing’ in Syria?
Turkey sees in the battle for Qusayr a strategy to create an Alawite mini-state within Syria, purged of Sunni Muslims, to which the ruling elite can withdraw for a last stand.
Europe
The London attack: context vs. apologia —again
Reactions to the jihadist slaying of a British solider in London are polarized along predictable lines—emphasizing either the context of imperial wars or the threat of political Islam.