land – Page 15 – CounterVortex

South Asia

India: high court rules for Hindus in Ayodhya dispute

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the escalating hostilities in the Middle East could lead to record levels of food insecurity, and the largest disruption in the global economy and humanitarian efforts since the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the heavy reliance of food and aid distribution on energy, the skyrocketing price of oil has placed heightened strain on already vulnerable aid supply lines. WFP chief operating officer Carl Skau said: "If this conflict continues, it will send shockwaves across the globe, and families who already cannot afford their next meal will be hit the hardest." Skau urged the international community to mount an adequately funded humanitarian response. Sudan and Somalia were named as particularly vulnerable. (Photo: Alex Blokha via Wikimedia Commons)

The Amazon

‘Forest Guardian’ assassinated in Brazilian Amazon

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) and four of its top military officials over their support, training, and fighting alongside M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The RDF have reportedly provided direct operational support to the M23 and its affiliates by introducing advanced military equipment to eastern DRC, including GPS jamming systems, air defense equipment, and drones. According to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the US seeks the immediate withdrawal of RDF troops, weapons and equipment. (Photo: US Air Force via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa

Protests, ethnic violence rock Ethiopia’s Oromia

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he would accept a proposal from the country's largest remaining rebel group to allow an independent commission to investigate its alleged links to drug trafficking. Antonio García, leader of the National Liberation Army (ELN), released a video stating that although the group collects taxes from cocaine producers in its territory, it does not itself operate drug trafficking networks or cocaine production facilities. (Photo: Colombia Reports)

Mexico

Language rights advocate slain in Chihuahua

The Law Society of British Columbia warned that the provincial government's intention to amend the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) may erode judicial independence and improperly constrain the power of the courts. The proposed amendment would limit the role of the judiciary in matters related to DRIPA's implementation, and follows two landmark court rulings upholding Aboriginal rights and title last year. The BC Supreme Court held in August that the Cowichan Tribes have established Aboriginal title in the city of Richmond, meaning that the province is obliged under the DRIPA to "reconcile" fee simple interests in the city with tribal authorities. In December, the BC Court of Appeal held that the provincial mineral tenure system—allowing registration of mineral rights online without notifying or consulting the Gitxaała and Ehattesaht nations—is impermissible under the DRIPA, which commits the province to upholding principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Southern Cone

Chile: Mapuche join protest mobilization

The Kurdish-held border town of Kobani in northern Syria is under siege again, as it was by ISIS in 2014—but this time by forces of the Syrian central government, which has cut off water and power to the town in the dead of winter, with snow on the ground. Since the start of the year, the Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria have lost almost all of the territory they controlled to a new offensive by the central government. Kobani with Hasakah and Qamishli are the last besieged strongholds of the reduced Rojava autonomous zone. And both the US and Russia, which have backed the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against ISIS, now appear to be cutting them loose—effectively green-lighting the government offensive against them. US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack has already warned that US support for the SDF is coming to an end. And in the midst of the offensive, Russia has withdrawn its forces from Qamishli, its principal military outpost in Rojava. This came just as Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa was on his second trip to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin—pointing to a quid-pro-quo in which Russia will be allowed to maintain its two major military bases in Syria, on the Mediterranean coast at Khmeimim and Tartous. (Photo: SOHR)

The Amazon

‘Development’ deal to ‘protect’ (=destroy) Amazon

Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report documenting the forced displacement of approximately 32,000 Palestinians from three refugee camps beginning in January 2025. The report charges that Israeli forces carried out mass forcible displacements as part of a widespread attack on civilians, accusations that, if substantiated, would constitute crimes against humanity under international law. "The organized, forced displacement of Palestinians in the refugee camps has removed nearly the entire Palestinian population from these areas," the report stated, noting that residents of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps have been denied the right to return nearly a year after the operations commenced. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Central America

Environmental defender slain in Guatemala

The word "ceasefire" seems like a misnomer for the situation in the Gaza Strip since Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal that was supposed to end two years of war a month ago. The Israeli military is still deployed in over 50% of the territory and continues to shell and fire on Palestinians, killing more than 240 and injuring over 600 since Oct. 11. Aid is also still entering the enclave at a trickle—far from the levels needed to address a hunger crisis caused by months of Israeli-enforced deprivation. A UN resolution creating an international stabilization force for Gaza—a key part of the 20-point US peace plan—may face delays over disagreements about its mandate and the timetable for Israel's withdrawal from the territory. Observers point out that the situation is beginning to resemble south Lebanon, where Israel has continued to occupy land and carry out attacks despite a ceasefire agreement that went into effect at the end of November last year. In recent weeks, Israel has carried out near-daily attacks in south Lebanon. (Photo: WAFA via WikimediaCommons)

The Caribbean

Venezuela revives claim to Guyana territory

Peru's Congress voted unanimously to remove President Dina Boluarte from office for "moral incapacity," replacing her with congressional leader José Jerí. Once in office, Jerí quickly appointed as head of the Interior Ministry the former commander of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), Vicente Tiburcio Orbezo. Tiburcio has had a long career fighting organized crime and armed insurgents, having been part of the team within the PNP's Special Intelligence Group (GEIN) that carried out the arrest of Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán in 1992. He subsequently served in campaigns against both the Shining Path and Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). He was chosen by Jerí with a mission of addressing the crisis of "citizen security" in Peru. (Photo: Wikipedia)

The Amazon

Bolsonaro to The Hague?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted Ali Kushayb, a former Sudanese militia chief, on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in massacres and atrocities in Darfur region in 2003 and 2004. Guilty verdicts included for the war crimes of torture, murder and rape, as well as multiple crimes against humanity, including forcible population transfers. The ICC Trial Chamber found that Kushayb, as a senior commander in the Janjaweed militia, led a campaign of atrocities during the Darfur conflict, with witnesses describing razed villages, mass executions, and gang rapes used as a weapon of war. Sentencing will take place at a later date, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. (Photo via Radio Dabanga)

East Asia

Hong Kong: will protests spread to mainland?

After months of US-led negotiations, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (the "Quad") issued a "roadmap to peace" in Sudan, starting with a push for a three-month "humanitarian truce." However, despite the agreement with the main regional backers of the two sides in the war, fighting continues between the Sudanese armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since the "roadmap" was announced, the RSF has continued to close its ring around El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state. UN officials have condemned the assault and warned of catastrophic consequences for civilians under siege, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, and medical services. When the RSF offensive was launched earlier this year, a coalition of aid organizations and human rights groups issued a statement finding: "Genocide and atrocity crimes are being committed now in North Darfur. The RSF is engaged in the mass killing of civilians and will likely continue this if/when they reach El Fasher." (Map via Radio Tamazuj)

Planet Watch

Central African forests burning faster than Amazon

At least 17 people were killed in an armed attack on a bar in El Empalme, a small town north of Ecuador's port city of Guayaquil—days before US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Neom visited the country and signed a deal to fight organized crime and illegal migration. The deal includes training for Ecuadoran security forces in the US and collaboration on border security. Once one of South America’s safest countries, Ecuador has registered a vertiginous uptick in violent crime in the past few years. In response, President Daniel Noboa has adopted a series of hardline security policies that have raised concern over human rights abuses. The policies range from the repeated declaration of states of emergency, the construction of El Salvador-style prisons, and a "strategic alliance" with private US military contractor Erik Prince. Noboa has also replicated some of US President Donald Trump's deportation tactics, returning more than 600 Colombian prisoners to their country in late July with no official notice. (Photo: Presidencia Ecuador via Peoples Dispatch)

The Amazon

Amazon forest fires spread to Bolivia

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told his ministers that he will seek cabinet approval for a plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip. According to reports in the Israeli media, several ministers said Netanyahu used the term "occupation of the Strip" in private conversations describing his plan. One anonymous official was quoted as saying: "The die is cast—we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip." Referring to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who is said to oppose such plans, the official added: "If the chief of staff doesn’t agree, he should resign." These reports come as more than a dozen former senior Israeli security officials issued a joint video message with a call to end the war in Gaza, arguing that it has become damaging to Israel's own national interests. (Photo: Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons)