Greater Middle East
Yemen link seen in Saudi Qaeda sweep
Saudi Arabia announced the arrest of more than 100 in a supposed al-Qaeda plot based in neighboring Yemen to target the kingdom’s oil infrastructure.
Watching the Shadows
Federal judge rules US may continue holding Yemeni Gitmo detainee
A federal judge in the District of Columbia denied a Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainee’s habeas corpus petition, allowing his indefinite detention.
Central America
Amnesty International urges El Salvador to repeal amnesty law
Amnesty International urged authorities in El Salvador to repeal an amnesty law that protects those responsible for thousands of killings and disappearances in the country’s armed conflict.
Mexico
Merida Initiative retooled at Mexico City summit
Top leaders from the US and Mexico agreed to emphasize intelligence coordination in the next $331 million phase of the Merida Initiative following discussions in Mexico City.
South Asia
India’s territorial dispute with Bangladesh settled as island disappears
A long-simmering territorial dispute between India and Bangladesh has been resolved as an uninhabited Bay of Bengal island disappeared beneath the rising seas.
Watching the Shadows
US transfers three Gitmo detainees to Georgia
The US Justice Department announced that three Guantánamo Bay detainees had been transferred to the country of Georgia, leaving 183 detainees remaining at the military prison.
Palestine
Netanyahu at AIPAC confab: Jerusalem is ours!
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told cheering AIPAC delegates: “The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today.”
Watching the Shadows
Federal judge orders release of Gitmo detainee accused in 9-11 attacks
A federal judge ordered the release of a Guantánamo detainee who had been accused of planning the 9-11 attacks. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian, has been in US custody for over seven years.
Palestine
New Mossad hit —in Hungary?
In a possible sequel to the recent Dubai assassination, Israeli spy planes flew “uninvited and unannounced” over Budapest the same day a Syrian man was shot dead in the Hungarian capital.
Afghanistan
White House mulls making Bagram the new Gitmo
The US detention center at Bagram in Afghanistan could be expanded into a military prison for terrorist suspects detained around the world to replace the Guantánamo Bay facility.
Watching the Shadows
Supreme Court declines to rule on Gitmo detainee transfer process
The US Supreme Court declined to rule in the case known as Kiyemba II, in which the court was asked to consider issues surrounding the transfer of Guantánamo Bay detainees.
The Andes
Colombian journalist assassinated after exposing paras
Clodomiro Castilla, publisher of El Pulso del Tiempo newspaper—known for his exposés of corruption and paramilitary terror—was shot dead in an attack on his home in Montería, Colombia.