Afghanistan
Pakistan plays Sufi card against jihadis
Pakistan’s government is establishing a Sufi Advisory Council, with an aim of combating extremism by promoting Sufism and its pacifistic vision of Islam.
Iran
Iran: ayatollah calls for death penalty for “rioters”
Iran’s electoral authorities insisted June 26 the disputed presidential vote was the cleanest ever, as the G8 urged Tehran to halt repression—but without questioning the poll results. “After 10 days of examination, we did not see any major irregularities,” Guardians… Read moreIran: ayatollah calls for death penalty for “rioters”
Central America
Honduras on edge as president defies courts, military
The military is patrolling the streets of Tegucigalpa and a coup is feared following President Manuel Zelaya’s defiance of the courts over a planned referendum on constitutional reform.
Mexico
Mexico: Calderón sees “historic crossroads” in narco war
As armed violence left several dead across Mexico this week, President Felipe Calderón said the country is at an “historic crossroads” in the war on the narco gangs.
South Asia
Suicide blast kills Pakistani troops in Kashmir
At least two soldiers were killed and three others wounded by a suicide blast in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud claimed responsibility.
Iran
Iran: Mousavi defies threats; regime carries out sweeps
Defying a ban on protests, Mir Hossein Mousavi said threats would not stop him from pursuing his campaign to scrap the election results—as police carried out sweeps of opposition figures.
Southeast Asia
Indonesia: Muslims blockade mosque to protest Jemaah Islamiyah
The largest mosque on the Indonesian island of Java has been blocked by local residents who fear the militant group Jemaah Islamiyah has been organizing and recruiting there.
Southeast Asia
Indonesia: violence, repression in West Papua
An ambush on a convoy of Indonesia’s elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) left one officer dead in restive West Papua following a wave of Brimob sweeps in which several villagers were killed.
Europe
Accused KLA war criminal Agim Ceku arrested, released
Ex-Kosova prime minister Agim Ceku was reportedly released two days after he was arrested in Bulgaria on an international war crimes warrant—although he is being asked not to leave Bulgaria.
Iran
Venezuelan Marxist statement in solidarity with Iran protests
In response to Hugo Chávez’s expressions of support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuela’s Revolutionary Marxist Current issued a statement in “solidarity with the Iranian masses.”
Planet Watch
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UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment David Boyd issued an urgent call for accelerated action to combat climate change. The statement comes after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on the impacts of global warming of 2°C—the increase permitted under the Paris Accord. Boyd said that climate change is "one of the greatest threats to human rights" and will have devastating effects on the "rights to life, health, food, housing, and water, as well as the right to a healthy environment." In order to meet human rights obligations, Boyd called on counties to exceed their Paris Agreement obligations. If the temperature increase is allowed to increase to 2.0°C, it would result in "human rights violations upon millions of people." (Photo via Jurist)
Iran
New street clashes in Tehran; Zahra Rahnavard arrested?
New bloody street clashes took place outside the parliament building in Tehran, amid reports that Zahra Rahnavard—wife of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi—has been arrested.