Jihadist forces of the Nusra Front launched an attack Sept. 4 on the ancient Christian village of Maaloula (Rif Dimashq governorate), which is on the UNESCO tentative list of world heritage sites. The assault began as a suicide bomber blew himself up at the army checkpoint at the village entrance, overwhelming the defenses. Nusra fighters briefly occupied the village, surrounding the church and mosque, before being driven out by reinforcements. Fighting is said to continue outside the village, with fears that the Nusra Front could establish footholds in the surrounding mountains and shell Maaloula from above. Maaloula, some 60 kilometers northeast of Damascus, is home to about 2,000 residents, mostly Aramaic-speaking Greek Catholics (Melikites). Aramaic is listed by UNESCO as a "definitely endangered" language.

The nonprofit human rights law firm Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) released a report  on Sept. 5 detailing the conditions at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan, a facility that continues to detain non-Afghan prisoners of the US despite not being under US control since March. According to the JPP, many of these detainees are being held indefinitely without charges, trial or access to a lawyer. Many prisoners have testified to being captured and held in the prison without ever being told about the basis for their detainment.

We have noted how the "anti-war" forces are "fighting the last war" to such a degree that they can refer to the WMD charges against Syria as "false pretenses"—mere days after a chemical attack that may have killed over a thousand. We can't help but use quotation marks when the "anti-war" forces are covering up for monstrous war crimes. Yeah, this is a case of the proverbial boy who cried wolf—if Dubya hadn't lied a decade ago, Assad would not be getting such a free ride from the "anti-war" folks today (one hopes). But that doesn't let anyone off the hook: denial of the Ghouta attack still constitutes a shameful betrayal of human solidarity that completely delegitimizes any "anti-war" position. Diana Moukalled writing in the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat Sept. 4 decries: "Iraq overshadowing Syria's cries for help"...

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sept. 3 questioned the legality of the US plan to strike Syria. Ban stated  that the use of force is lawful only in two very limited circumstances: (1) when used in self-defense according to Article 51 of the UN charter or (2) when the UN Security Council (UNSC) approves such action. Ban questioned whether the planned use of force would solve the situation in Syria, adding that such use would cause more damage. Ban noted that UN inspectors are deployed to investigate whether chemical weapons have been used in Syria. According to Ban, the UNSC would be able to overcome its differences and take action once investigations are done. A potential US strike has been opposed by Russia. President Vladimir Putin on on Sept. 4 warned the US and its allies to take any unilateral action. However, he stated that he may support the UN action once investigations confirm use of chemical weapons. 

The Syrian government is currently using cluster munitions in its ongoing conflict, according to a report issued Sept. 4 by the Landmine and Cluster Munition Moniter (LCMM), an organization co-founded by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Cluster munitions are banned under two separate treaties, in 1997 (Mine Ban Treaty) and 2008 (Convention on Cluster Munitions). The latest report identified more than 200 cluster munition sites in Syria, charging: "Syria is persisting in using cluster bombs, insidious weapons that remain on the ground, causing death and destruction for decades... Meanwhile, other countries around the world that have joined the treaty are showing a strong commitment to get rid of cluster bombs once and for all." Neither Syria nor the US have signed either treaty.

Swedish police have repeatedly broken up a protest occupation by Sámi indigenous people against iron mining in a crucial reindeer herding area above the Arctic Circle. Two weeks ago, police had to dig protesters out of the ground after they buried themselves to the neck in order to shut down a road. Jokkmokk Iron Mines, subsidiary of UK-based Beowulf Mining, runs the Kallak (Gállok) site, on lands ostensibly coming under Sámi autonomous rule. Sametinget, the nascent Sámi general assembly, has issued a demand to halt all mining on Sámi lands without prior consultation. But the Swedish government does not recognize Sámi indigenous title. "The Sámi have no power to stop people coming here to exploit the land without giving anything back, not just to the local community, but also to the Swedish state," said Josefina Lundgren Skerk, chair of the Sametinget youth council.

Savvas Michael-Matsas, leader of a small radical-left party, went on trial in Greece Sept. 3, charged with "libellous defamation," "incitement to violence and civil discord" and "disturbing the public peace" in a case brought by members of the far-right Golden Dawn party. Michael-Matsas' Revolutionary Workers' Party (EEK) has a slogan of "The people don't forget, they hang fascists." Michael-Matsas himself had publicly boasted: "I'm the embodiment of every fascist's fantasy. I'm a Jew, a communist—and a heretical communist, a Trotskyist, at that. I don't fit anywhere. The only thing I happen not to be is homosexual." Co-defendant Konstantinos Moutzouris, a former rector of Athens Polytechnic, stands accused of allowing progressive news website Athens Indymedia to use the university's server.

A sudden massive blackout on Sept. 3 affected 15 of Venezuela's 23 states, affecting 70% of the national territory and causing traffic chaos as traffic lights went out. The Electrical Energy Ministry said one of the main transmission lines on the national grid had failed. President Nicolás Maduro immediately blamed sabotage, saying "all signs indicate that the extreme right has implemented its plan to carry out an Electrical Coup [Golpe Eléctrico] against the nation." The blackout struck at peak hours in Caracas, around 1 PM local time, and also affected cities Maracay, Maracaibo and Barcelona. The nation's oil refineries, which are powered by a separate grid, were not affected. Venezuela has repeatedly experienced rolling blackouts in recent years. In 2010, then-president Hugo Chávez signed a decree declaring an "electricity emergency" to address the problem.