Afghanistan
US bombs Pakistan —again
Four were killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan—hours after Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani again voiced official objection to the ongoing US strikes on Pakistan’s territory.
Iran
Iran: five protesters face “enmity against God” charges, carrying death penalty
At least five protesters arrested in Iran during last week’s protests will be tried on charges of “enmity against God,” which carries an automatic death sentence if they are convicted.
South Asia
More murky violence in Kashmir
A 20-hour gun battle at a hotel seized by militants who had earlier killed an officer at a police checkpoint in Indian-controlled Kashmir ended after police killed two militants.
The Caucasus
Violence escalates in Russian North Caucasus
Police in Russia’s south killed two suspected militants in a “counter-terrorism operation” launched in response to a checkpoint suicide attack that took the lives of six officers.
Palestine
Gaza soil contaminated by bombings: report
Last year’s Israeli bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip has left a high concentration of toxic metals in the soil, according to a study by the New Weapons Research Committee (NWRC).
Greater Middle East
Jordan-CIA connection in Afghan suicide blast
The suicide bombing that killed seven CIA operatives and one Jordanian intelligence official in Afghanistan sheds light on secret partnerships the US has forged in its war on al-Qaeda.
Southeast Asia
Malaysia: churches under attack
Four Christian churches in Malaysia were attacked with petrol bombs amid tensions over a court ruling allowing the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims in the country.
South Asia
UN rights rapporteur urges Sri Lanka war crimes probe over execution video
The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings urged an investigation of possible war crimes after authenticating a video of Tamil Tiger members being executed by Sri Lanka’s military.
Afghanistan
Two Blackwater employees charged in 2009 Kabul shootings
US authorities announced charges against two former employees of security firm Blackwater in connection with the May 5 shooting death of two Afghans in Kabul.
Central America
Honduras: prosecutors charge military officials for Zelaya ouster
Honduran prosecutors filed charges against three military chiefs in the ouster of president Manuel Zelaya in June—but Zelaya himself dismissed the move as a political “trick.”
Central America
Honduras: arson attack on Garifuna community radio station
Unknown assailants carried out an arson attack against the Garifuna-language Radio Coco Dulce at Triunfo de la Cruz on the Caribbean coast of Honduras.
Planet Watch
EPA proposes stricter smog regulations
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed stricter smog standards that would replace the Bush administration’s broader 2008 national smog regulations.