The Andes
Colombia: land restitution advances
International human rights advocates commended Colombia on the return of usurped lands to 32 families displaced by paramilitaries in northwest Córdoba department.
Greater Middle East
UN criticizes Egypt draft demonstration law
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights criticized Egypt’s draft law on demontrations that bars many of the same tactics used in the protests against Mubarak.
Palestine
SodaStream greenwashes occupation of Palestine
Israeli firm SodaStream bills itself as eco-friendly by obviating the need for soda bottles—as it illegally operates on stolen Bedoin and Palestinian lands in the West Bank.
Tunisia on Razor’s Edge
Tunisia Women's Day protest Aug. 13 last year. The assassination of leftist leader Chokri Belaid on Feb. 6, apparently by Islamists, has brought into the open the long-simmering conflict that has pitted the ruling Islamist Ennahda Party against progressives, trade… Read moreTunisia on Razor’s Edge
Southern Cone
Chile: 20 arrested at Mapuche prisoner’s hearing
Some 20 Mapuche protesters, including women and children, were assaulted and arrested as they demonstrated outside a hearing for a prisoner on hunger strike.
Central America
Honduras: brother of slain Aguán attorney killed
The brother of murdered campesino lawyer Antonio Trejo Cabrera was himself gunned down in the latest violent episode in the Aguán Valley’s ongoing land dispute.
Mexico
Mexico: Finnish maquila signs with company union
The Finnish-based auto parts multinational PKC Group fired independent unionists and signed a contract with a protection union at three assembly plants near the Texas border.
The Caribbean
Haiti: unionist is beaten up at Gildan supplier
An assembly plant worker was assaulted and fired when he demanded that he be paid the legal minimum wage; activists ask for calls to Gildan, which buys from the plant.
North Africa
Morocco court sentences Western Sahara activists
A Moroccan military court handed prison sentences, including eight life terms, to a group of 24 accused of killing members of the security forces in occupied Western Sahara in 2010.
Watching the Shadows
Navy lawyers: Gitmo bugs no breach of privilege
Military lawyers asserted that surveillance equipment deployed throughout the Guantánamo Bay detention center was not used to breach attorney-client privilege.
Iraq
Iraq: more sectarian attacks, protests
A new wave of suicide bombings targeting Iraqi intelligence and judicial officials coincides with widespread Sunni protests demanding the resignaiton of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Southeast Asia
Borneo stand-off: whither Sulu sultanate?
Security forces in Malaysian Borneo are in a stand-off with some 100 men they say are insurgents from the Philippine island of Sulu raising an ancestral claim to the territory.