WW4 Report

West Bank: IDF gasses Knesset member at anti-wall protest

Israeli Knesset member Dove Hannen (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) was one of hundreds of international and Israeli peace activists who participated in the weekly anti-wall protest in the village of Bil'in on Aug. 14. Hannen was tear gassed, shot at with rubber-coated metal bullets and subjected to sound bombs by soldiers from his country's military as he marched with Palestinian villagers and internationals toward the Israeli separation wall being built on the village lands. (Ma'an News Agency, Aug. 15)

Hamas battles jihadis in Gaza

Hamas security forces in the southern Gaza border city of Rafah Aug. 14 battled armed militants of the Jund Ansar Allah ("Warriors of God"), who had earlier in the day declared the coastal strip an "Islamic emirate." Fifteen Palestinians were confirmed dead following the operation by Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades. Some 120 Palestinians, including civilians, were injured, many critically.

Honduras: repression continues; Obama acquiescing in coup?

Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya clashed with soldiers and police in the capital Tegucigalpa in two days of unrest throughout the city Aug. 11 and 12. Security forces fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of thousands and protesters responded by throwing stones in a confrontation near the congress building on the 12th. Zelaya's wife attended another protest that day in the industrial city of San Pedro Sula, which was also broken up by police firing gas canisters. (Reuters, Honduras Resists, Aug. 12)

Peru: aerial photos reveal loggers inside uncontacted tribes' territory

New aerial photos have revealed illegal loggers operating inside an Amazonian reserve set aside for uncontacted and highly vulnerable Indians. The photos show loggers' camps inside the Murunahua Reserve in Peru, created to protect uncontacted Murunahua Indians in 1997. Three further camps were also found inside the reserve.

"Swine flu" hits indigenous peoples in Peruvian Amazon

The first cases of "swine flu" have just been reported among Amazonian Indians, raising experts' fears of a devastating contagion among peoples with no immunity to outside diseases. Seven members of the Matsigenka tribe living along the Urubamba River in the Peruvian Amazon have tested positive for the virus, according to the health department in Cusco.

Iran's political crisis: our readers write

Our July issue featured the story "Selling Iran: Ahmadinejad, Privatization and a Bus Driver Who Said No" by Billy Wharton of Dissident Voice, on resistance to union-busting, austerity measures and sale of state assets by the Islamic Republic. Our multiple-choice July Exit Poll was: "What is your position on the election in Iran?" We received 7 votes. The results follow:

Somalia's Sufi resistance: our readers write

Our July issue featured the story "Sufis and Neocons: the Global War on Terrorism's Strangest of Bedfellows" by Sarkis Pogossian, on US efforts to groom Sufis to counter the influence of jihadists in Pakistan and Somalia—where Sufis are already arming to resist the fundamentalist Shabab militia. Our multiple-choice July Extra Credit Exit Poll was: "Should the US arm Somalia's Sufis?" We received 6 votes. The results follow:

Obama and the Honduran coup: our readers write

Our July issue featured the story "Honduras: the Resistance So Far" from Weekly News Update on the Americas, on the popular mobilization against the first post-Cold War coup d'etat in Central America. Our multiple-choice July Extra Extra Credit Exit Poll was: "Was Obama in on the Honduran coup?" We received 16 votes. The results follow:

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