Greater Middle East

Kurdish guerillas behind Turkey’s hashish trade?

Turkish government claims that Kurdish rebels in the country's east are profiting from the hashish trade point to an integrated counter-insurgency and drug enforcement campaign.

Iraq

Iraq: Kurdistan to vote on independence

Authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region announced that a referendum on independence will be held in September—drawing immediate harsh criticism from Baghdad.

The Andes

Colombia: Pacific coast strike ends in victory

After all-night negotiations with protest leaders in Colombia's Pacific port of Buenaventura, government representatives pledged to invest $517 million in local infrastructure.

Syria

Syria: Trump approves plan to arm Rojava Kurds

The Rojava Kurds, caught in a pincer between Turkey and ISIS, are being forced to accept superpower aid—but with costs for Syrian revolutionary unity against ISIS and Assad.

Iraq

Syria: a No-Fly Zone for Rojava?

Following Turkish air-strikes on their forces in northern Syria, Kurdish leaders in the region issued a call for a "no-fly zone"—heightening the contradictions for Washington.

The Andes

Colombia: popular power defeats mega-mining

Mining multinational AngloGold Ashanti announced it will abandon its planned mega-project at La Colosa, Colombia, following a popular vote by local residents to reject the project.

North America

Trump lifts restrictions on offshore drilling

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to lift restrictions placed on offshore oil drilling by the previous administration, opening vast areas to exploitation.

Syria

Syria: Russia and Assad dropping Rojava Kurds?

Insistence on regional autonomy and a federal solution for Syria is straining the de facto alliance between the Rojava Kurds and Damascus, despite their mutual enmity for Turkey.