Africa

Burkina Faso: the next domino?

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism Ben Emmerson warned that Burkina Faso is at risk of being destabilized by the conflict in neighboring Mali. 

North Africa

Mali: Tuaregs face continued attacks, torture

One year after Tuareg rebels briefly seized power in Mali’s desert north, they face hunger, ethnic attacks and rights abuses at the hands of French-backed government forces.

Mexico

Mexico: Michoacán tipping into war

Several were killed in confrontations across Mexico’s violence-torn Michoacán state—including when gunmen fired on crowds commemorating  the death of Emiliano Zapata.

East Asia

Meanwhile: Seoul-Tokyo tensions mount…

The crisis between North and South Korea has overshadowed growing tensions between both Koreas and Japan, which has seen an ugly wave of anti-Korean protests.

Iraq

Syria: Nusra Front merge with Iraq Qaeda wing

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, “emir” of al-Qaeda in Iraq, announced a merger with Syria’s Nusra Front to form a new organization, the “Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.”

Mexico

Mexico: teachers block Acapulco highway

Dissident teachers in Mexico spent their spring break protesting US-style “education reform” plans based on standardized tests and teacher evaluations.

Southern Cone

Chile: new problems threaten Pascua Lama mine

With problems—and fines—accumulating at the mammoth Pacua Lama mine site high in the Andes, environmentalists are asking if it isn’t time to call the whole thing off.

Watching the Shadows

Italy pardons US colonel in CIA rendition case

Italian president Giorgio Napolitano pardoned US Air Force Colonel Joseph Romano of his conviction related to the “extraordinary rendition” of Egyptian cleric Abu Omar.