Iran
Right-wing populist slammed in Iran
Hardliner Ebrahim Raeesi reluctantly accepted Hassan Rouhani's victory after a bitter campaign, with cultural rights for Kurds and other ethnic minorities a critical dividing line.
Tag: paramilitaries
Syria
Syria: US targets pro-Assad forces for second time
US jets attacked a convoy of Iran-backed militia forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad—ironically within one of the new “deconfliction zones” established by the US and Russia.
North Africa
Massacre reported in battle for Libyan airbase
Up to 130 soldiers are reported to have been summarily executed after a force loyal to Libya's Tripoli-based government took an airbase controlled by eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar.
Southeast Asia
Philippines: legal challenge to deadly drug war
Manila's Center for International Law is going to bat for citizens targeted by President Rodrigo Duterte's lawless and murderous "war on drugs"—despite the threat of reprisals.
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.
The Andes
Venezuelan oil goad in US-Russia game
Amid growing crisis in Venezuela, it emerges that the country's state oil company, heavily indebted to Russian giant Rosneft, made a big donation to Trump's inauguration festivities.
Syria
Syria: ‘population transfer’ or sectarian cleansing?
Western media refer to “evacuation” and “population transfer” of besieged Syrian towns, euphemisms that mask the sectarian and genocidal element of the regime strategy.
Iraq
Iran-led Iraqi Shi’ite militia in battle for Damascus
As rebels infiltrated Damascus in a surprise attack, defense of the city was joined by Hezbollah al-Nujaba, an Iraqi Shi'ite militia under command of Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
Iraq
New Qaeda affiliate claims Damascus attack
A new Qaeda affiliate in Syria has claimed responsibility for a double bomb attack targeting Shi'ite pilgrims near a shrine in Damascus that killed at least 40 Iraqis.
The Andes
Colombia: terror continues against social leaders
Even as the FARC guerillas begin the disarmament process under Colombia's peace plan, the ongoing wave of deadly violence against social leaders remains unrelenting.
The Andes
Colombia: FARC disarmament process begins
Under UN oversight, the FARC guerillas began the process of turning over their weapons at the 26 "transitional camps" established for the purpose around the country.
The Andes
FARC ‘demobilization’ —despite para terror
The FARC completed its "demobilization" to transition camps under protest, charging that the Colombian government is failing to restrain right-wing paramilitary groups.