The Greek cabinet approved new austerity measures demanded by the EU and IMF, as unions began a two-day general strike. This second bailout would cut €3.3 billion from state spending, lower the minimum wage by more than 20%, and lay off thousands of workers.
Hamza Kashgari, a Saudi Arabian columnist who made comments on Twitter deemed to be insulting the Prophet Muhammad, was arrested in Malaysia after fleeing his country. He may be extradited to Saudi Arabia, where calls for his death are mounting.
Buddhist monk Shin Gambira, recently freed under a government amnesty, was again arrested in Rangoon. Wildcat strikes have meanwhile hit two Rangoon footwear factories, and ceasefires with Shan and Karen rebels have broken down in Burma’s north.
Two Tibetan protesters were killed in Sichuan province, and protests were also reported from Qinghai. The new violence comes as the number of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire in acts of protest since the wave began in February 2009 reached 22.
Two years ago when we reported revelations that two Czech NATO commanders in Afghanistan had worn Nazi SS regalia while on duty, everyone told is it was an isolated incident and not to make a big deal of it. What do you say now, pronoiacs?
Palestinian detainee Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike since Dec. 17, and Physicians for Human Rights now say that his life is at risk. His protest against administrative detention has sparked solidarity demonstrations across the West Bank.
Deadly street clashes erupted in the Maldives, with protesters reported to be seizing police stations on some islands, after the archipelago nation’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, was removed in a coup d’etat.
Adbusters and Chris Hedges, recently boosters and heros of the Occupy movement, have won some bad karma with the protesters, alienating activists on the ground in Chicago and Oakland by issuing pronouncement from on high…
The Court of Appeals in Milan overturned a lower court’s conviction of Tunisian former Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamed Riadh Ben Nasri on charges of “terrorist association.” His lawyer argued the conviction was based on statement made under torture.
Norma Andrade, a prominent activist who has waged a campaign for justice in the unsolved murders of hundreds of women in Ciudad Juárez, may seek asylum outside Mexico after being wounded in two separate attacks in two different cities.
Honduran police detained 13 campesinos leaders in the conflicted Lower Aguán Valley as talks about financing a proposed settlement for long-term land disputes broke down. Venezuela has proposed funding to purchase lands for campesino communities.
Montreal-based Osisko Mining Corporation announced that it would suspend exploration for a proposed gold mine at the Nevados de Famatina mountain after weeks of protests blocking access to the site.
