Watching the Shadows
Harrowing Gitmo memoir published
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian detained at Guantánamo since August 2002, has had portions of his handwritten prison-camp memoir published in Slate magazine.
North America
Assata Shakur: don’t believe the ‘terrorist’ hype
Veteran Black Panther Assata Shakur's addition to the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list is a propagandistic abuse of the English language in the service of historical revisionism.
Iraq
Ba’ath-Sufi convergence in Iraq insurgency?
The most senior member of Saddam Hussein’s inner circle still on the run, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, is said to be leading a band of insurgents from the Naqshbandi Sufi order.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: sweep of Black Bloc protesters
Egyptian “Black Bloc” protesters continue to clash with police as 22 of their comrades have been detained in a “terrorism” investigation.
Central America
Guatemala: emergency over mining protests
Guatemala’s government declared a state of emergency in four municipalities in the eastern highlands following clashes between police and anti-mining protesters.
South Asia
May Day rocks Bangladesh, Athens, Seattle
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, an angry May Day march descended on the city center with drums, red flags, and chants of “Hang the killers, Hang the Factory Owners!”
Mexico
Mexico rolls back ‘drug war’ cooperation with US
President Obama said he will wait until he meets with his Mexican counterpart Enrique Peña Nieto this week to discuss Mexico's decision to curtail access of US security agencies.
Watching the Shadows
Obama addresses Gitmo hunger strike
President Obama renewed his pledge to close the Guantánamo Bay detention center—in response to a hunger strike now involving 100 of the facility’s 166 detainees.
Africa
Genocide in Nigeria?
The military and investigators are at odds over what happened at the Nigerian village of Baga, where civilians were killed amid fighting between the army and Boko Haram.
Southern Cone
Argentina: 50 injured as police attack hospital
The Buenos Aires police use rubber bullets against nurses and mental patients, the latest episode in the city government’s campaign against public property.
Mexico
Mexico: Guerrero teachers trash party offices
Teacher protests against a US-style education “reform” program turned violent in Guerrero as masked men attacked the offices of several political parties.
Mexico
Mexico: Monsanto pushes for more GMO corn
Monsanto continues its drive to spread its transgenic corn over Mexico, at the cost of destroying the native varieties and devastating local production.