Officials from the US and Mexico signed an agreement that opens the way for oil and gas development along the two countries’ maritime boundary in the Gulf of Mexico. A moratorium on drilling had been extended after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Indian police detained two members of an Italian navy security team over the fatal shooting of two fishermen from an oil tanker off the coast of Kerala, sparking a diplomatic fracas. Italy says the naval guards mistook the fishermen for pirates.
Some 50 black-clad gunmen armed with grenades and bombs stormed the city jail at Kidapawan, Mindanao. They were repulsed by police in a chaotic night battle that killed three—two civilian by-standers and an ambulance driver.
The European Union approved a second bailout for Greece, signing off on a $170 billion rescue package—a day after thousands of protesters took to the streets to oppose austerity measures in both Greece and Spain.
Representatives of indigenous organizations in Peru met in Lima to announce that they have rejected proposed implementing regulations for the new Law of Prior Consultation for Indigenous and Original Peoples, and submitted proposals for improving it.
At least 44 prisoners were killed in a clash between adherents of Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel at the Center for Social Readaptation (CERESO) in Apodaca, Nuevo León. The CERESO, with an official capacity of 1,500, was holding some 3,000.
Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov was sworn in as Turkmenistan’s president, having won by a predictable 97%. His personalistic dictatorship mirrors that of his autocratic predecessor “Turkmenbashi”—and is the lynchpin of the planned trans-Afghan pipeline.
Benjamin Netanyahu made the first-ever visit by an Israeli leader to Cyprus, to discuss offshore gas development and a possible new pipeline. But Turkey objects to the plans, claiming sections of the exploration blocs as under its continental shelf rights.
The assassination of Kartam Surya, legendary leader of the Salwa Judum militia in Chhattisgarh state, raises question about the Indian government’s ongoing collaboration with the officially outlawed paramilitary network.
Argentina’s confederation of transport workers (CATT) has instructed its members not to work on British ships or aircraft arriving in the country, as a show of support for the Argentine government’s claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
Honduras is in shock after a fire at a triple-capacity Comayagua prison left at least 360 dead, many burned or suffocated to death in their cells. Reports said guards hurled keys away before fleeing, abandoning the prisoners.
The Defense Department announced that military commission charges have been brought against Guantánamo Bay detainee Majid Shoukat Khan. He is the second to face a military tribunal under President Barack Obama.
