Vehicles Attacked, Set Ablaze in Chile’s Restive Mapuche Region

^{PHOTO: SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE SHOWING ARMED SUBJECT ATTACKING TRUCK DRIVER, CHARRED VEHICLES ON THE ROAD, SOUNDBITES FROM TRUCK DRIVER ON ASSAULT, POLICE ON SCENE OF THE ATTACK, SOUNDBITE FROM PRESIDENT OF COMPANY AFFECTED BY THE ATTACK, SOUNDBITE FROM NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF THE SOUTH MACROZONE ON MAPUCHE RESISTANCE}

INTERNATIONAL: Three people were wounded and at least eight vehicles set alight early on Wednesday ,February 2, in the latest attack in Chile's restive Mapuche region.

The attacks took place in the Biobio region when a group of armed men have ambushed drivers by shooting at their trucks.

"Four hooded men with rifles pointed to my head, pulled me down from the truck, they kicked me hard and took the truck away just to burn it," said one of the victims.

The perpetrators left a message on site attributing the attack to the Mapuche Indigenous resistance. The identity of the suspects have not been confirmed by authorities and investigations are ongling.

Members of the Mapuche indigenous group have long-standing disputes with forestry companies in the area over ancestral territorial rights.

Turkish Warplanes Hit Kurdish Militants in Iraq, Syria

^{PHOTO: TARGETS BEING HIT, COMMENTS BY TURKISH DEFENCE MINISTER HULUSI AKAR}

Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish militant targets, including training camps, shelters and ammunition storage areas in Iraq and northern Syria, the Turkish Defence Ministry has said on Wednesday ,February 2.

The air strikes are part of an ongoing Turkish campaign in Iraq and Syria against militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kuridsh YPG militia, both of which Turkey regards as terrorist groups.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has said on Wednesday that the operation had been successful and that "many terrorists" were killed.

Iraq's military has condemned what it called a Turkish infiltration into Iraqi air space as a violation of its sovereignty. Baghdad is widely viewed, however, to be giving Ankara free rein to attack the militants.

All the planes taking part in the operation, which it said targeted the areas of Derik, Sincar and Karacak, subsequently returned to their bases. It did not provide any information on casualties resulting from the strikes.

Turkish Defence Ministry has said the air operation targeted PKK militants, which have bases in Iraq, as well as the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

Iraqi security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said at least 20 air strikes had hit inside Iraq in the Sinjar (Sincar) mountain area.

Sinjar mountain, home to Iraq's Yazidi minority, is an area controlled variously by different armed forces and armed groups where PKK militants and their local allies operate.

The Kurdistan region of Iraq's counter-terrorism service said several people had been killed and injured in the air strikes in Iraq and Syria but provided no further details.

The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which in the past was mainly focused in southeast Turkey.

Turkish officials privately say they believe Baghdad is firmly on their side in fighting the PKK.

Protesters in Argentina Stage Massive Protest to Demand Resignation of Supreme Court Judges

^{PHOTO: DRONE SHOTS OF MASSIVE PROTEST IN ARGENTINA SUMMONED BY SECTORS OF THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AGAINST THE SUPREME COURT, TO DEMAND THE RESIGNATION OF JUDGES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DURING PROTEST SOUNDBIT}

Social organizations, unions and sectors of the official Argentine government took to the streets in Buenos Aires on Tuesday ,February 1, to protest against the Supreme Court.

"The Judiciary must be modified and that cannot be done if there are criminals," Argentine judge and promoter of the march, Juan Ramos Padilla has firmly said. "They must resign so we can start building a Judiciary that serves us all," he added. According to local media, Padilla, a local judge in Buenos Aires, is a well-known critic of Supreme Court and an ally of Vice President Cristina Kirchner.

Days before the mobilization, the Argentine opposition has called the demonstration a 'coup act,' considering it an an attempt to destabilize the state. Chanting slogans such as "the judicial dictatorship is going to end", demonstrators at the 1F protest, marched from the Obelisk to the Palace of courts. They demanded the resignation of all the four judges of the court, the 'democratization' of justice, as well as the end of lawfare and impunity.