Palestine
Israel set to raze 3,000-year-old village
The Israeli High Court is set to rule on the forced expulsion of all of the residents of the West Bank village of Khirbat Zanuta, continuously inhabited for 3,000 years.
Tag: politics of archaeology
The Andes
Peru: developers raze ancient pyramid
A demolition crew razed a pyrmaid at El Paraiso archaeological site in Lima—apparently contracted by developers who covet the lands for a new commerical center.
The Andes
Archaeologists race tomb-raiders in Peru
The archaeologists who unearthed a priceless pre-Inca burial chamber at Huarmey, Peru, were in a race with outlaw tomb-raiders who operate with impunity.
Central America
Criminal gangs threaten Maya Biosphere Reserve
Mexican drug cartels that use cattle ranching to launder narco-profits as well as Chinese-backed illegal timber gangs are eating into Guatemala's vast Maya Biosphere Reserve.
Iran
tehran
At least 32 Azeri activists were arrested in the lead-up to an annual July protest at Babak Fort in Iran's East Azerbaijan province against discrimination targeting the ethnic minority. The arrests took place in several citiese, including Tabriz and Ahar, usually following home raids. Dozens more were summoned and threatened with arrest if they attended the ceremony. Babak Fort, also known as the Immortal Castle or Republic Castle, is a mountaintop citadel said to have been the stronghold of Babak Khorramdin, the leader of the Khurramite rebellion who fought the Abbassid caliphate in the ninth century CE. Babak is revered as national hero by ethnic Azeris and Iranians alike. Azeris, also known as Azarbaijani Turks, have for several years gathered at the citadel each July for the annual ceremony. (Photo: AzerTurk)
Greater Middle East
Iranian Students 008
As Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies continue their advance on Kurdish-held Afrin, Russia and its Syrian regime allies continue their advance on rebel-held Iblib. Both offensives are taking a horrific toll in civilian casualties, but the parallels don't end there. Even as they ostensibly oppose each other, both Turkey and Assad are accused of conniving with ISIS forces to weaken the defenders of the respective enclaves. And the twin aggressions in Afrin and Idlib come amid a sudden and rapid internationalization of the Syrian war. (Photo: Kurdish militia figher at Afrin, via ANF)