Inner Asia
Central Asia opium wars escalate
Tajikistan sealed its border with Afghanistan after clashes with armed rebels left 48 dead—a re-escalation of conflict over control of the cross-border traffic in Afghan opium.
North America
‘Anarchist literature’ sought in Portland raids
The FBI served search warrants at three homes in Portland. Ore. and issued five grand jury subpoenas in a case apparently related to May Day protests in Seattle.
Greater Middle East
AI: Syria forces guilty of crimes against humanity
Amnesty International published a report holding the Syrian government responsible for human rights violations in Aleppo that AI claims amount to crimes against humanity.
Palestine
Syria: Palestinians caught between both sides
Palestinian refugees at the Yarmouk camp in Damascus have joined the Syrian uprising. But Palestinian militants backed by the regime are targeted by the rebels for assassination.
North Africa
Mali sliding into ‘human rights chaos’
Amnesty International warned after a visit to Mali July 31 that the country is slipping into “human rights chaos,” with abuses documented in the government-controlled south as well as the rebel-held north. Amnesty documented at least one incident in the… Read moreMali sliding into ‘human rights chaos’
Greater Middle East
Ex-Gitmo detainee surrenders in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia‘s Ministry of the Interior announced July 30 that a former Guantánamo Bay inmate who had completed the country’s militant rehabilitation program surrendered to Saudi authorities. Adnan al-Sayegh, who was placed in the Ministry’s rehabilitation program after returning from Guantánamo in 2006,… Read moreEx-Gitmo detainee surrenders in Saudi Arabia
The Caribbean
Haiti: workers in new FTZ complain about wages
The first plant in a giant “free trade zone” (FTZ) being built with international aid near Caracol in Haiti’s Northeast department went into operation at the beginning of July, with about 400 workers assembling apparel for a company identified only… Read moreHaiti: workers in new FTZ complain about wages
The Caribbean
Haiti: four killed in police raid at national park
At least four people died in an unsuccessful effort by the Haitian National Police (PNH) on July 23 to remove some 140 families from the La Visite National Park, south of Port-au-Prince in the Southeast department. The police operation–which included… Read moreHaiti: four killed in police raid at national park
Southern Cone
Argentina: gold mine problems spook Barrick investors
Jamie Sokalsky, CEO of the Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation, announced on July 26 that major problems were delaying the opening of the company’s controversial Pascua Lama gold and silver mine, located in the Andes on both sides of the border… Read moreArgentina: gold mine problems spook Barrick investors
Southern Cone
Chile: Carabineros attack Mapuche children
Some 200 carabineros militarized police violently removed about 60 Mapuche on July 23 from land the indigenous people had occupied hours earlier near their homes in the Temucuicui community in the southern Chilean region of Araucanía. The carabineros threw tear gas grenades and fired… Read moreChile: Carabineros attack Mapuche children
New York City
WHY WE FIGHT
From the Queens Times-Ledger, July 27: Bronx family had just left Nigerian gathering at Richmond Hill hall before crash Oby Okoro, the woman the NYPD identified as the driver in a gruesome accident Sunday morning in Jamaica that left five… Read moreWHY WE FIGHT
Mexico
Mexico: money laundering scandals multiply
At an unusual joint press conference in Mexico City on July 19, the presidents of Mexico’s governing center-right National Action Party (PAN) and the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) called on the federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to… Read moreMexico: money laundering scandals multiply