Iraq
US Army sergeant pleads not guilty to killing Iraq detainees
US Army Sgt. John Hatley entered a plea of not guilty to murder charges at his court-martial for the killing of four unarmed Iraqi prisoners in 2007.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan: lawmaker and women’s rights advocate killed by Taliban
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the April 12 killing of Sitara Achakzai, a women’s rights advocate in Afghanistan and a member of Kandahar’s provincial assembly.
South Asia
India: Naxalites attack bauxite mine
Six paramilitary troops were killed in India’s Orissa state as Naxalite guerillas attacked a bauxite mine. Days earlier, a Naxalite ambush on a jungle patrol in Chhattisgarh left 10 troops dead.
The Andes
Peru: Ayacucho under siege following Sendero attacks
The army is carrying out searches in the Valle del Ríos Apurimac y Ene (VRAE) zone of Peru’s Ayacucho region following Sendero Luminoso ambushes that left 13 soldiers dead.
Mexico
Mexican ambassador calls US to task on gun trade; Fox News, Gun Lobby return fire
Fox News, echoing the claims of the Gun Lobby, challenges the charge of Mexican ambassador Arturo Sarukhan that “90% of all weapons we are seizing in Mexico are coming from the United States.”
Mexico
US deports Gulf Cartel kingpin back to Mexico
US agents in El Paso deported Gulf Cartel kingpin José Manuel Garza Rendón back to Mexico across the international bridge with Ciudad Juárez. He already served a nine-year term in a US federal prison.
Mexico
Toxic smoke on the border
For the third time in less than a week, an industrial fire scarred the skies of Ciudad Juárez, raising fears of toxic pollution across the borderlands.
The Andes
Bolivia: Evo Morales on hunger strike to press election law
Bolivia’s President Evo Morales is on hunger strike to protest efforts by opposition lawmakers to block an electoral bill that will assign more seats to poor rural areas where he has widespread support.
Southeast Asia
Thailand: protesters shut down ASEAN summit
The ASEAN summit at the Thai resort town of Pattaya was abruptly canceled after hundreds of protesters forced their way past police and army troops into the convention center.
Watching the Shadows
Obama administration to appeal Bagram detainees’ habeas ruling
The Obama administration will appeal a ruling by the DC district court that allowed detainees being held by the US in Afghanistan to proceed with habeas corpus challenges to their detention.
North Africa
Terror as Algeria elects “president for life”
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika won 90% of the vote to secure his third mandate, in elections marred by terror attacks despite tight security throughout the country.
Inner Asia
Turkmenistan tilts to West following pipeline blast?
Turkmenistan accused the Russian state energy company Gazprom of causing a pipeline explosion, days after the Ashgabat government broached joining a new pipeline project bypassing Russia.