Latin America

The appointment of an ultra-conservative priest as apostolic administrator of the diocese of Sucumbíos, in northeastern Ecuador, triggered open rebellion among a large proportion of the area’s Catholics, with the support of civil society organizations and even of President Rafael Correa himself.

The organizers, a collection of youth groups, called themselves the 24 March movement, and planned to stay in the roundabout until their demands for political reform are met, despite some 60 being injured and several hospitalized on the first day as a result of attacks by pro-government supporters throwing rocks and pieces of concrete.

Fresh-faced Salwa El-Hosseiny had joined protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square when a plainclothes officer grabbed her and dragged her to army officers stationed in a nearby museum.

As Japan struggles to confront a nuclear disaster that could be the worst in history, it seems clear that any discussion about the safety of nuclear energy should address the independence of regulatory agencies.

Conflicting national and electoral interests as well as clashing military and political objectives and potential are jeopardizing the U.S.-Europe led military mission to implement the no-fly zone over Libyan territory, as stipulated by last Thursday’s U.N. Security Council resolution 1973.

The fate of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi remains up in the air after the United States and its allied partners began missile strikes over the weekend to impose a no-fly zone (NFZ) in the North African country.

Crowds have set fire to the courthouse and other buildings on a third straight day of demonstrations in the southern Syrian city of Daraa.

Libya’s government has announced it will halt all military operations in the country hours after the United Nations Security Council backed a no-fly zone over the country.

Palestinians are calling for boycotts against Israeli products and companies. But in the Gaza Strip — at the heart of the Israeli occupation — it is often impossible for residents to follow their own call to action.

Tensions are running high in Haiti as dueling campaigns for the presidency enter overdrive in their final days, and Jean- Bertrand Aristide, a popular former president, returns today from a seven-year exile in South Africa.