Iraq
fire3

FIRE3

Authorities in Ezidikhan, the self-declared Yazidi autonomous homeland in northern Iraq, issued a statement protesting a Turkish air-raid on their territory. The attack was apparently a targeted assassination of Yazidi leader Zeki ?engali, who is a representative of the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), the international body in the political orbit of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Four members of the Yazidi territorial militia, the Sinjar Protection Units (YBS), were also killed in the attack, and a home destroyed. The raid actually took place as Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was on an official trip to Turkey, sparking outrage from some Iraqi officials. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Greater Middle East
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FIRE2

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi signed a cybersecurity law  that gives the government broad authority to block websites deemed to constitute a threat to national security or the economy, imposing prison terms for anyone found guilty of running or just visiting such sites. Amnesty International described the new law as giving "the state near-total control over print, online and broadcast media." More than 500 websites had already been blocked in Egypt prior to the new law being signed. There is another cybersecurity law before the president, which would places all Twitter accounts with more than 5,000 followers under government supervision. With street protests in Egypt all but banned, the Internet has been one of the last spaces left for dissent. (Photo: Egypt Daily News)

Planet Watch

Australia bush fires: harbinger of global warming?

Scientists warn that climate change may make events like the devastating Australia bush fires more likely. The Victoria fires have left 200 dead, 7,000 displaced, and destroyed 900 homes.

The Caribbean

Guadeloupe: general strike spreads

A general strike that has paralyzed the island of Guadeloupe since Jan. 20 shows sings of spreading to other French holdings in the region following a one-day multi-sector walk-out in Martinique.

The Caribbean

Haiti: Lavalas barred from senate race

Hundreds of supporters of Haiti’s Lavalas Family demonstrated in Port-au-Prince to protest the barring of all 16 candidates from the party’s rival factions from running in April’s senate race.

The Andes

Colombia: two FARC hostages free—and talking

Colombian lawmaker Sigifredo López and former governor Alan Jara, freed from seven years in captivity by the FARC guerillas, had harsh words for both their ex-captors and President Alvaro Uribe.

North America

Eco-militant gets 21 years; violent racists half that

Eco-activist and mom Marie Mason got 21 years for an arson attack on a biotech lab—in which nobody was injured. Four men who carried out violent racist attacks the night of Obama's election got ten to 12.

Europe

Left complicit in anti-Jewish backlash?

Jonathan Freedland writes for The Guardian: “As British Jews come under attack, the left must not remain silent. It is possible to condemn Israel’s brutal action in Gaza while taking a stand against anti-Semitism.”