Peru’s Congress unanimously approved a new law that guarantees indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent to any projects affecting them and their lands. President Ollanta Humala has 15 days to sign the bill into law.
Mexican President Felipe Calderón said “terrorists” carried out the arson attack on Monterrey’s Casino Royale, which left 52 dead. The number of illegal gambling houses has swelled in Mexico as the cartels turn to them for money laundering.
El Salvador’s Supreme Court blocked the extradition of nine high-ranking military officers accused of overseeing the 1989 “Jesuit Massacre,” defying Interpol “red notices” for the suspects that had been issued at the request of Spanish authorities.
Turkish warplanes continue to bomb supposed Kurdish rebel strongholds in northern Iraq—despite a formal diplomatic protest by Baghdad. Meanwhile, Baghdad denied reports that missiles were fired from southern Iraq at a port in Kuwait.
After Boko Haram’s deadly car bomb attack on the UN compound in Abuja, police immediately responded by deploying bulldozers around the city to demolish all “illegal” structures, with the aim of securing better control of the city.
AlJazeera uncovers evidence of “mass executions” of opposition activists by Qaddafi-loyalists in Tripoli, while AP finds rebels may have executed captive Qaddafi-loyalists. South Africa’s Jacob Zuma calls for an International Criminal Court probe of NATO.
Representatives of Libya’s rebel council flew to Doha, Qatar, to meet with international officials, seeking $2.5 billion in emergency financing. Ahmad Shabani, founder of the new Democratic Party of Libya, especially appealed for support from Israel.
The Palestinian bid for UN recognition could deprive Palestinians of international representation by transferring that responsibility from the PLO to a state that doesn’t exist yet, a legal briefing warns.
As Libyan rebels continue to hunt Tripoli for Moammar Qaddafi—and to battle the remnants of his forces—the elusive strongman again delivered two broadcast messages during the night, urging residents to “cleanse Tripoli of rats.”
Virginia’s North Anna nuclear power plant, shut down by power failure after the East Coast earthquake, had seismographs removed in the 1990s due to budget cuts. Four other plants experienced “unusual events” due to the quake.
Rebels have overrun Moammar Qaddafi’s fortress-like compound in Tripoli, the Bab al-Aziziya, but the state TV station remains in pro-Qaddafi hands and continues to broadcast messages from the missing strongman.
Heavy fighting and NATO air-strikes continue in Tripoli, and two Qaddafi sons earlier reported as captured by rebels are now apparently free. China meanwhile expressed concerns that its oil investments in Libya will be honored by the new regime.
