27/01/2012 / SYRIA
As Free Syrian Army gains ground, country nears all-out civil war
In just a few months, the Free Syrian Army, a force of soldiers who have deserted the regular army, has transformed the once-peaceful Syrian uprising into a civil war. With the help of our Observers, we are able to follow the rebel army’s progress. Read more...
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27/01/2012 / BRAZIL
Forced eviction of squatted land sparks ‘urban war scenes’
For the eight years, over 6,000 people squatted on an abandoned chunk of land called Pinheirinho, in the city of Sao José dos Campos, 80 kilometres east of Sao Paolo, Brazil. On Sunday, security forces launched a surprise eviction operation, prompting furious residents to fight back. Read more…
26/01/2012 / UKRAINE
Ukrainian newspaper depicts Africans and Arabs as monkeys groping woman
A local newspaper in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil illustrated its front-page story on Tuesday with a photomontage of monkeys groping a woman to depict African and Arab men who had allegedly gotten into a bar fight. Our Observer, a Congolese student living in Ternopil, tells us this has deeply upset African students at his university, who he says are frequently the target of racist attacks. Read more…
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26/01/2012 / SYRIA
Free Syrian Army gets a feminine touch
In Syria, fighting against the state’s army is no longer just a man’s job. At least that’s the message of the video below. According to the women featured in it, an all-female brigade was recently formed in the city of Deraa, where the Syrian uprising first started. Read more...
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25/01/2012 / LIBYA
Are Gaddafi's supporters back? Or, what really happened in Bani Walid
Clashes erupted Monday in the Libyan city of Bani Walid, south-west of Tripoli. Since then, local and national authorities have made contradictory statements as to what sparked the violence. According to a resident of Bani Walid, it was caused by a conflict between senior local figures and a brigade of former rebels, who continue to impose their rule. Read more...
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25/01/2012 / BURMA
After four years in jail, Burmese blogger finds country on cusp of change
Burma’s Nay Phone Latt is many things – a poet, a blogger, a political dissident. On January 13, he also became a free man. After four years behind bars, Latt was among 651 prisoners released by the Burmese government as part of a mass amnesty. The move has been interpreted as the latest indication that Burma is slowly easing towards a more democratic model. The newly liberated Latt is cautiously optimistic about his country’s future. Read more…
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25/01/2012 / INDIA - BANGLADESH
Indian border police torture Bangladeshi man for 30 euros
Habibur Rahman, a poor Bangladeshi peasant, tried to illegally cross the border from India to Bangladesh with a herd of cows on December 9. He was stopped by border patrol, which asked him for a bribe in exchange for letting him pass. But because he could not afford to pay, he was savagely tortured. The beating was caught on camera, and the resulting footage has caused a stir on the Indian and Bangladeshi Web. Read more...
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25/01/2012 / TUNISIA
Journalists assaulted at 'Persepolis' trial
In a sign of growing tensions between between secularists and religious zealots in Tunisia, Islamist extremists attacked several journalists in the capital on Monday – right in front of a courthouse. The journalists were going to court to express their solidarity with a TV station on trial for blasphemy. According to our Observer, the police did little to stop the violence. Read more...
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23/01/2012 / TURKEY
Huddled for warmth, Syrian refugees say not enough done to protect from cold
Parts of Turkey’s south were hit by an unusual amount of snowfall over the weekend, wreaking havoc on refugee camps set up in the region to shelter those displaced by Syria’s deadly, 10-month-long crisis. Although the Turkish Red Crescent claims things are once again running smoothly, our Observer in the camps says otherwise. Read more…
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23/01/2012 / COLOMBIA
Bogota horse carts refuse to budge
The city of Bogota wants horse carts off its streets, but those who depend on this cheap mode of transport for their livelihood are putting up a fight – and it seems to be working. Read more…
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