Palestine
Israel seals off West Bank —again
Israel has imposed a full closure of the occupied West Bank for 48 hours. Defense Minister Ehud Barak made the move amid reports about possible new protests at al-Aqsa mosque.
North Africa
Morocco “violently” repressed protests in Western Sahara: activist
Moroccan authorities “violently” put down peaceful protests in Western Sahara earlier this week, and blocked ambulances trying to take away the injured, activist Aminatou Haidar charges.
Palestine
New Jerusalem settlements could derail peace talks: Palestinian Authority
Israel’s plan to build 1,600 new housing units in occupied East Jerusalem is “dangerous” and has the potential to thwart US efforts to restart peace talks, the Palestinian Authority said.
Afghanistan
Human Rights Watch urges Afghanistan to repeal amnesty law
The Afghan government should urgently act to repeal a law that provides an amnesty to perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch says.
North Africa
Mauritania’s Constitutional Council rejects elements of anti-terrorism law
In a surprise move, Mauritania’s Constitutional Council rejected 10 articles of a new anti-terrorism law that allowed warrantless surveillance and indefinite detention.
Iraq
Research Triangle Institute can be sued for deaths of Iraqi civilians
A federal judge has ruled that the Research Triangle Institute can be sued in the United States for the deaths of two Iraqi women killed by their security guards.
Africa
US indicts Eritrean on charges of aiding Somali insurgents
Federal prosecutors charged an Eritrean suspect, Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed, of conspiring to provide material support to al-Shabab, the main insurgent army in Somalia.
Africa
Nigeria: Who is behind Jos violence?
Hundreds were again killed in violence around the city of Jos, Nigeria, with witnesses saying the attackers “knew what to do and were trained on how to do it.”
Afghanistan
Pakistan: Who was behind Lahore blast?
A building of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore was targeted in a suicide blast, killing 13—but officials say it was beyond the Taliban’s capability.
Inner Asia
GGR
With China accused of detaining hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslims without trial in its western province of Xinjiang, a BBC investigation analyzed satellite data to determine that the detention camp system in the region is rapidly expanding. Reviewing images from the European Space Agency's Sentinel satellite service, the BBC finds at least 40 such facilities across Xinjiang, half built within last two years—with a big thrust of construction just in the past six months. Among the largest is a "massive, highly secure compound" still being built at Dabancheng, about an hour's drive from the provincial capital, Urumqi. It is enclosed within a two kilometer-long exterior wall punctuated by 16 guard towers. (Photo via UNPO)
Afghanistan
Sectarian war rocks north Afghanistan
Fierce clashes left some 50 fighters dead in northeast Afghanistan’s Baghlan province, pitting Taliban forces against their erstwhile allies in Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e-Islami.
Iraq
Sectarian terror rocks Baghdad, Najaf —again
The death toll from bomb attacks in Baghdad reached 37 as Iraqis voted in the country’s parliamentary election, while a car bomb again targeted Shi’ite pilgrims in Najaf.