Europe
Riots rock Athens —again
Striking Greek workers shut down transport and tried to storm the parliament building in Athens as lawmakers passed 4.8 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in budget cuts.
Palestine
Riots rock Jerusalem —again
Ultra-orthodox Jews rioted in Jerusalem two days after dozens of Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces again stormed the Old City’s al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Iran
Ahmadinejad joins 9-11 conspiranoids
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad weighs in for 9-11 conspiranoia in the most vulgar terms. Will he be the next hero for the “Truthies”?
Mexico
Mexico: police stage protest after deadly ambush outside Monterrey
Municipal police in a suburb of Mexico’s northern industrial hub of Monterrey staged protests outside their precinct stations after three were killed in an ambush.
Central America
Clinton presses leaders to recognize Honduras at drug war summit
In Guatemala for a Drug War summit, Hillary Clinton called for recognition of the new Honduran government—and was accused by Hugo Chávez of “planting seeds of discord.”
North America
“Patriot” groups, militias surge: report
The number of militias and other extremist groups in the US exploded in 2009, according to a report issued this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
North America
Pentagon attacker was 9-11 conspiranoid
The man who shot two police officers at the Pentagon was apparently a devoted follower of the 9-11 “Truth” movement—who had proposed that the Pentagon fund his “research.”
Watching the Shadows
White House revives military commission option for 9-11 trials: reports
The White House is considering a recommendation that accused 9-11 co-conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed be tried in a military court rather than the civilian justice system.
The Caucasus
House committee adopts Armenian genocide resolution
Turkey has recalled its US ambassador in response to a House Foreign Affairs Committee vote on a resolution recognizing the 1915-23 Armenian genocide.
Planet Watch
Obama plans “dramatic reductions” in n-arms —but not “no first use” pledge
The Obama administration’s new Nuclear Posture Review will call for “dramatic reductions” in the nuclear arsenal—but no pledge that the US will never launch a first strike.
Watching the Shadows
Supreme Court sends Gitmo Uighur case back to DC circuit
The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reconsider the case of five Chinese Uighurs detained at Guantánamo now that each has received an offer of resettlement by another country.
Watching the Shadows
Australia: court rules ex-Gitmo detainee can sue government
The Federal Court of ruled that former Guantánamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib can sue the Australian government for complicity in his ill-treatment while incarcerated.