North America
Court issues stay on Trump immigration order
A Brooklyn federal judge blocked Trump's order barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, as activists occupied JFK and several other US airports.
Tag: Yemen
Watching the Shadows
Obama’s final year: a CounterVortex scorecard
With a Trump despotism looming, CounterVortex offers its final assessment of Barack Obama's record in addressing the oppressive legacy of the Global War on Terrorism.
Greater Middle East
Saudi air-strikes kill over 90 at Yemen prison
Air-strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least 90 inmates at a prison controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red Sea port of Hudaydah.
Greater Middle East
Yemen and Syria: fearful symmetry
Russian counterinsurgency in Syria mirrors US-backed counterinsurgency in Yemen, betraying superpower rivalry and "cooperation" alike as inimical to the region's revolutions.
Greater Middle East
Growing internationalization of Yemen war
The US fired missiles at Houthi-controlled radar installations in Yemen after the rebels fired rockets at a US destroyer in retaliation for a deadly Saudi air-strike on a funeral.
Greater Middle East
Russia accused of using cluster munitions in Syria
Human rights organizations claim mounting evidence that Russia is behind the increasing use of cluster bombs in Syria, despite Moscow's denial that it has deployed the banned weapon.
Greater Middle East
Yemen: Saudis bomb anti-bombing demonstration
Saudi fighter jets carried out air-strikes on a peaceful rally in Yemen's capital Sanaa that had been called to protest Saudi air-strikes, leaving several dead.
Watching the Shadows
US transfers 15 Guantánamo detainees to UAE
The US Defense Department announced the transfer of 15 Guantánamo detainees to the United Arab Emirates—the largest transfer so far, sparking Republican criticism.
Watching the Shadows
White House releases (contested) drone kill count
The White House said that up to 116 civilians have been killed by drone and other US strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya since Barack Obama took office in 2009.
Watching the Shadows
Nine Gitmo detainees transfered to Saudi Arabia
The Defense Department announced the transfer of nine Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainees to Saudi Arabia, bringing to 80 the number held at the facility.
Greater Middle East
US strikes AQAP training camp in Yemen
The US killed "dozens" of AQAP fighters in an air-strike on a training camp, but claims of denying the group "safe haven" ring hollow as its zones of control grow in Yemen.
Watching the Shadows
Obama delivers Gitmo closure plan to Congress
President Obama delivered his plan to close Guantánamo Bay to Congress—to be immediately met by Republican opposition, with Ted Cruz calling for the facility's expansion.