Schools and offices were shut down in Bangladesh Dec. 1 in a strike called by lawyers after suicide bomb attacks at court buildings killed nine people. Lawyers and police said the attackers are singling out the judiciary to sow fear before it puts militants detained for other bombings on trial. Police have arrested 22 people for the bombings in the southern port city of Chittagong and Gazipur, a town outside the capital.

The attacks were the latest in a wave of attacks by Islamist militants since Aug. 17 when they exploded some 500 small bombs across the country. Two people were killed and nearly 100 wounded. The militants are said to belong to two outlawed Muslim groups, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen and Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh. These attacks are the first suicide bombings in Bangladesh.

Rather inconvenient news at a time when Bush is hailing a "clear strategy for victory" (Bloomberg, Dec. 1) and "real progress" (Guardian, Nov. 30) in Iraq.

RAMADI, Iraq, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Iraqi militants attacked a U.S. base and a local government building with mortar rounds and rockets in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, on Thursday, before holding ground on several central streets, residents said.

This Dec.1 report (condensed here) from the Tico Times, Costa Rica's English-language newspaper, notes a World Court case between the Central American country and its northern neighbor Nicaragua over the strategic San Juan River that forms the border:

With historical tensions again flaring between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, Rodrigo Carreras, Costa Rica 's ambassador to Nicaragua, is calling for understanding and tolerance between the neighboring nations.

Kudos to G. Peter Jemison of New York state's Seneca Nation, for keeping this bit of history from going down the Memory Hole. Maybe this legacy says more about the political tradition the US is now exporting to Iraq than the interminable empty phrases about "freedom." From Indian Country Today, Nov. 30:

Those traditional and bitter Caucasus enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan both appear to be headed for regime change at the moment. First Armenia. From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline, Nov. 29:

Armenia's opposition supporters today took to the streets of Yerevan for the second consecutive day to protest the official results of last week's constitutional referendum.

Hugo Chavez must be grinning from ear to ear. As the White House assiduously tries to demonize him, a Boston popular tabloid hails him as a savior of the city's working class:

OUR VIEW: Heating aid just in the nick of time

The Patriot Ledger, Nov. 28

There was good news on the home heating oil front last week, just hours before the first blast of winter air struck the region.

From the Electronic Intifada & Electronic Iraq:

URGENT: UPDATE ON FOUR MISSING CPT MEMBERS IN IRAQ
Press Release, Christian Peacemaker Teams, 29 November 2005

CPT Hebron contacted EI about the four members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams who were abducted in Iraq last Saturday. The four men are two CPTers and two delegates, one American, one British, and two Canadian. One, a CPT staff member, was to have come to work with CPT Hebron after his time in Iraq. Another worked in Palestine last year, and was active in demonstrating against Israel's West Bank Barrier in Jayyous. The four men were en route to a meeting with members of the Islamic Scholars Association when they were abducted just 100 yards from the mosque where their meeting was scheduled. The full text of CPT's official press release follows.

The case of Chad's former president Hissène Habré, now fighting a Belgian extradition request on atrocity charges, will be handed over to African Union leaders to decide next month, Senegal's government announced. Senegal's Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio said Nov. 27 that Habré may remain in Senegal until AU leaders decide where he should be tried. Gadio recognized that Habré was accused of "odious crimes, even crimes against humanity," and promised that Senegal would "abstain from any act which would permit Hissène Habré not to face justice." He said that it was "up to the African Union summit to indicate the jurisdiction which is competent to hear the case."