Archeologists warn that if the Sivand Dam in Iran's southern Fars Province is completed, precious relics from antiquity will be lost. The dam is projected to flood a gorge and an archaeological area called the Tangeh Balaghi. By increasing humidity in the environs, experts say the floodplain could also damage the nearby Pasargadae plain, which includes the sixth century BCE tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the first Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty. Supporters of the Sivand project point to the hydroelectric power that the dam will generate for the area and possibilities for economic growth. The dam is slated to be completed this month, and the floodplain will take one year to fill. Teams of Iranian and foreign archaeologists are working feverishly to finish excavations at sites due to be flooded. A letter of protest against the project was has been issued by 30 organizations and parties—including the Association of Qom Seminary Researchers and Teachers, a reformist clerical grouping. The statement points out that the project would also flood traditional grazing grounds for nomadic tribes, and drown at least 8,000 trees—some of them 500 years old. Protests were held against the project Feb. 12 at the Energy Ministry in Tehran, and in front of parliament two days later. (RFE/RL, Feb. 23)

Iran's successful launch of its first space rocket Feb. 25 made global headlines. Iran's Space Research Center said the rocket returned to earth by parachute, and did from where in Iran it had been launched or where it landed. The space agency's chief, Mohsen Bahrami, said the rocket was carrying "material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defense." The state news agency IRNA today quoted Science and Technology Minister Mohammad Soleimani saying, "investment in space is very serious and requires time, but we are trying to speed this up."

US military officials displayed another cache of "explosively formed penetrators" (EFPs) to reporters at a base outside Baghdad Feb. 26, saying the weaponry was clearly made in Iran. They admitted, however, there was no way to know if the Iranian government was involved in supplying the weapons. US officials make much of claims that the Quds Force, a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, is supplying weapons to Shiite militia groups in Iraq—charges denied by Tehran. (Gulf News, UAE, Feb. 25) A day earlier, two people were killed and four wounded when an explosives-laden bus exploded in a parking lot in front of the Iranian embassy in central Baghdad, according to initial reports. However, Iran's official news agency quoted anonymous officials in Tehran's Foreign Ministry saying the blast "was not near Iran's embassy." The official stressed that no Iranian diplomats or embassy were wounded. (IRNA, Feb. 25)

Religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq are facing unprecedented levels of violence, and in some cases risk being eradicated entirely, according to a new report from the London-based Minority Rights Group International. In a major survey of the plight of Iraq's minorities, the report finds that these groups—some of whom have lived in Iraq for over two millennia—are being targeted by Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish militias as the battle for power and territory in Iraq intensifies.

The International Federation of Journalists has condemned as "outrageous and inexcusable" an armed raid by US troops on the Baghdad offices of the Iraq Syndicate of Journalists. The soldiers ransacked the offices of the Syndicate—a member of the IFJ's global union network—before arresting security guards and confiscating computers. "This is a shocking violation of journalists' rights," said Aidan White, the IFJ general secretary. "More than 120 Iraqi journalists, many of them Syndicate members, have been killed and now their union has been turned over in an unprovoked act of intimidation." (The Guardian, Feb. 21)

On Nov. 9, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) sent an “Open Letter to the People of the United States.” It was specially addressed to Hollywood figures Michael Moore, Denzel Washington and Oliver Stone; leftist academics Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis and James Petras; and politician Jessie Jackson. The purpose of the letter was to solicit their support in facilitating an agreement between the US and Colombian governments and the FARC exchanging 600 imprisoned guerrillas (including two on trial in the US) for 60 rebel-held prisoners, including three US counterinsurgency experts. James Petras has now responded with his own "Open Letter to the People and Government of the US (And a Reply to the FARC)," published Feb. 21 by the New Colombia News Agency (ANNCOL).

As Umberto Eco said about Salman Rushdie, "A death sentence is a rather harsh review." From AP via the San Diego Union-Tibune, Feb. 19:

MEXICO CITY – Gunmen shot to death four men identified as members of a musical group as they returned from a performance in the western Mexico state of Michoacan, a state prosecutor's spokeswoman said Monday.

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon visited a small village outside the Rosario monarch butterly reserve in Michoacan state to announce a "zero tolerance" policy against illegal logging, and pledged to mobilize army troops to protected areas. (Scientific American, Feb. 26) The policy is part of Calderon's new Conservation for Development Strategy, 2007-2012. He also announced the creation of several new protected areas, including at Manglares de Nichupté coastal wetlands near Cancún, and measures to protect the threatened El Hundido aquifer at Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila. (La Jornada, Feb. 25 via Chiapas95)