In a BBC interview, Siraj Haqqani denied that the Haqqani network is responsible for killing Burhanuddin Rabbani, or is receiving aid from Pakistan’s ISI—but asserted that he’s been approached by the US to join the Afghan government.
Elite forces from Chile’s Special Police Operations Group (GOPE) invaded the Mapuche community of Wañako Mellao, firing at and terrorizing residents, after a group of Mapuche men occupied a local timber camp on traditional indigenous lands.
Indigenous protesters in Bolivia resumed their cross-country march, a week after their progress was halted by a police assault. Scattered confrontations were reported along the way, as demonstrations were held in their support across the country.
Nicaraguan newspaper El Nuevo Diario said one of its reporters, Silvia González, has fled to the US following threats from ruling Sandinista party supporters over her coverage of the death of an ex-contra commander who took up arms again.
In an unprecedented move, Burma’s President Thein Sein yielded to a protest campaign, announcing cancellation of the controversial Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy River, already under construction by Chinese contractors.
The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion outlining the legal consequences of separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. The UK detached the Chagos Archipelago form Mauritius upon decolonization and established the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The British subsequently allowed the United States to establish a military base on the island Diego Garcia, with many inhabitants forcibly removed, and those who left voluntarily prevented from returning. The ICJ opinion says the UK did not lawfully decolonize the islands, and urges the UK to end its continued administration over Chagos Archipelago: “[T]he United Kingdom has an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible." (Photo: WILPF)
The US has already cut funds to the Palestinian Authority as a punitive measure in response to its statehood bid. From Kosova to Somaliland to Western Sahara, numerous other countries around the world similarly wait and sacrifice for UN recognition.
In the wake of Burhanuddin Rabbani’s assassination, Afghan President Hamid Karzai says trying to talk peace with the Taliban is futile, that the real power behind the insurgents is Pakistan, and that Afghanistan’s best option is to negotiate with Islamabad.
Heavy fighting is reported between the Syrian army and opposition activists in central Homs province, as anti-government protests continue. In Rastan, seven soldiers and police were reportedly killed battling troops who have defected to the opposition.
The US Department of Defense has officially referred charges against Guantánamo Bay detainee Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of having planned the 2000 attack on the USS Cole that left 17 sailors dead and 37 others injured.
A military court in Bahrain sentenced a group of medical staff to up to 15 years in prison for treating anti-government protesters. Dr. Fatima Hadji told the BBC she was beaten in custody and threatened with rape before being released on bail.
US-born purported al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in a drone strike in the Yemeni province of Jawf. The American Civil Liberties Union said the killing was part of a US counter-terrorism program that “violates both US and international law.”
