Central America

Guatemala: one dead in anti-mine protests

President Alvaro Colom agreed to meet with indigenous leaders after a wave of Dia de la Raza roadblocks around Guatemala. A 19-year-old protester was killed by police gunfire.

The Andes

Bogotá: kidnapping charges for student protesters?

Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe called for kidnapping charges against 22 students arrested on the National University campus after they detained the rector for five hours during a protest.

Iran

Israel planning New Year attack on Iran?

Citing leaks from the French government, the Parisian magazine Le Canard Enchainé asserts that Israel is planning to carry out military attacks on Iran after December.

Inner Asia

Arunachal Pradesh: pawn in the new Great Game

China protested a visit by India’s prime minister to a region in Arunachal Pradesh claimed as Chinese territory—which was a CIA staging ground for Tibetan guerillas in the 1960s.

Inner Asia

Rebiya Kadeer protests Uighur death sentences

Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer protested death sentences handed down to six Uighur men this week for their role in July’s violent unrest in China’s Xinjiang region.

Iraq

Drought devastates ravaged Iraq

The UN says drought has forced some 100,000 Iraqis from their homes, as a Health Ministry study reveals an alarming rise in cancer in areas where depleted uranium weapons were used.