Iran
Iran: austerity bill advances, repression continues
Iran’s parliament this week moved ahead with a bill to sharply slash energy and food subsidies, as the judiciary ordered the closure of three opposition newspapers.
Palestine
Anti-Zionist legacy of Warsaw Ghetto resistance fighter Marek Edelman
Commentaries on the passing of Marek Edelman, last surviving leader of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, have downplayed—or ignored—his anti-Zionism and support of the Palestinian cause.
Palestine
UN rights chief backs Goldstone report on Gaza
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay endorsed the Goldstone report on alleged war crimes in Gaza during a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Greater Middle East
Yemen: Sufis make New York Times —again
The New York Times reports from Yemen’s Hadramawt, where a Sufi school is attempting to reclaim the area’s reputation from the media moniker of “ancestral homeland” of Osama bin Laden.
Afghanistan
UK sends more troops to Afghanistan as Taliban gain ground
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the UK is sending 500 additional troops to Afghanistan—as the Taliban are rapidly seizing control in large areas of the countryside.
Afghanistan
Residents flee Pakistan’s border region ahead of offensive
Streams of civilians jammed into cars and trucks to flee South Waziristan as Pakistan’s air force pounded the area with air-strikes ahead of an expected ground offensive against the Taliban.
Central America
Honduras: cocaine flights surge in wake of coup
The number of planes smuggling cocaine through Honduras has surged since the US suspended drug cooperation in the wake of the coup, the de facto government reports.
Mexico
Mexico: government fires 41,000 electrical workers
Mexican soldiers occupied facilities of the Central Light and Power Company as President Felipe Calderón liquidated the company and terminated some 43,000 employees.
The Caribbean
Haiti: Soros and Mevs Group to build maquila park
Citing a favorable investment climate, a George Soros fund and partners announced a new “West Indies Free Zone” for Haiti—after the government turned back efforts to raise the minimum wage.
The Caribbean
CIA documents on Posada Carriles released
Released CIA documents reveal that Luis Posada Carriles built bombs for use against Cuban ships in Veracruz—as the Agency groomed him for a “civil position” in post-Castro Cuba.
The Amazon
Ecuador: government opens dialogue with indigenous movement
After a week of marches and road blockades, Ecuador’s national indigenous movement and the government of President Rafael Correa have opened talks on issues including the new water law.
Mexico
Mexico: bozos busted in “clown jewels” caper
Prosecutors in Guadalajara have filed charges against two suspected members of a an armed gang that carried out a raid on a jeweler while disguised in clown costumes.