- A group of 173 human rights activists, each wearing an orange jumpsuit and a black hood and representing each of the remaining 173 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, rallied in front of the White House on Tuesday to mark the ninth anniversary of the detention center’s opening and to protest the Obama administration’s failure to close it.
- Meanwhile, sixty people blocked three entrances to the Justice Department in Washington D.C. yesterday to protest the government’s failure to close the Guantánamo detention center and the continued use of torture against detainees. The Day of Action, organized by Witness Against Torture, extended beyond Washington. Ten were arrested at the Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois and actions were also held in Miami, Pittsburgh, Madison and elsewhere.
- A general strike is taking place in the southernmost region of Chile due to the Government’s proposal to lower gas subsidies.
- As the immigration debate gets underway in the Florida legislature, one lawmaker has taken to wearing his passport around his neck as he goes about his business, in an effort to show what life could be like if Florida passes an Arizona-style immigration law.
- About 2,500 children from 70 schools in the Indian state of Maharashtra have boycotted classes after teachers tried to persuade them to support plans for a local nuclear power station.
- Onion traders in New Delhi announced an indefinite strike from Wednesday to protest raids on their premises in the wake of spiralling onion prices.
- Dozens of people turned out on Hilton Head Island to protest plans to extend the runway at the local airport — a plan they say threatens a historic black church.
