Africa
Nigeria: sharia court orders death for blasphemy
A sharia court in Nigeria sentenced a sufi cleric and nine of his followers to death by hanging on the charge of committing blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
Tag: autonomy
South Asia
Kashmir jihadis claim attack on India border base
The Kashmir-based United Jihad Council claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on the Indian air force base at Pathankot, near the border with Pakistan.
North America
Paiute land at issue in Oregon militia showdown
The take-over of federal lands in eastern Oregon by a right-wing militia builds on a rancher land-grab that began when the Paiute Indians were usurped in the 1878 Bannock War.
Europe
Crimean Tatar leader faces ‘lawless’ trial
Akhtem Chiygoz, deputy head of the Tatar Majlis, is about to go on trial in Russian-annexed Crimea, in a case opponents say "flies in the face of all principles of law."
Greater Middle East
Kurds caught in Russo-Turkish game… again
Amid counterinsurgency against Kurds in Turkey, Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtaş is received in Moscow—now executing a grisly counterinsurgency in Syria.
Southeast Asia
Mindanao: toward sectarian war
In a series of Christmas eve attacks, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters killed several Christian peasants in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.
Iraq
Wonks see ‘failed states’ in Iraq, Syria
Ex-CIA director James Woolsey charged that the Obama administration has no strategy for dealing with "failed states" in Iraq and Syria.
The Amazon
Brazil: ‘zero deforestation’ push
Greenpeace sent 1.4 million signatures to Brazil's congress demanding a "zero deforestation" law—while cattle and timber barons push a bill to further open indigenous lands.
Iran
Ahwazi Arabs charge Iran with ‘ethnocide’
The Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, seeking autonomy for Iran's Arab minority, met in Copenhagen, drawing support from Syrian rebel leaders.
Europe
Spain strikes down Catalan independence plan
The Constitutional Court of Spain declared unconstitutional a resolution by the Parliament of Catalonia that puts forth a plan for the region's independence by 2017.
East Asia
Taiwan: indigenous demand land restitution
Taiwan's Aboriginal peoples have launched a new push for restitution of usurped lands and recognition of local autonomy for indigenous communities.
North Africa
Berbers symbolically raise Kabylia flag at UN
Some 500 Berber activists from Algeria's Kabylia region gathered at the UN headquarters to symbolically raise the flag of their homeland.