Iraq
Shell signs deal for Iraq’s Majnoon oil field
Shell Oil and Malaysia’s state-run Petronas finalized a contract to develop Iraq’s giant Majnoon oil field, and pledge to massively boost output.
Mexico
Mexico: 860 more army troops to Tijuana
Mexico’s National Defense Secretariat announced the mobilization of 860 army troops to Tijuana in anticipation of reprisals following the capture of kingpin Teodoro García Simental.
Mexico
Mexico: body of kidnapped journalist found
The body of José Luis Romero, a Mexican journalist kidnapped in December, was found on a roadside in Sinaloa state. Romero covered police and crime issues for a local radio station.
Central America
Honduras: whither amnesty?
The Honduran Congress voted to put off an amnesty for coup leaders until a new congress convenes after the president-elect Porfirio Lobo Sosa takes power later this month.
East Asia
China: activists demand search for missing detained rights advocate
Rights groups are calling on Beijing police to conduct a search for missing activist attorney Gao Zhisheng, who has apparently disappeared within the Chinese prison system.
Watching the Shadows
US indicts four in Mumbai attacks, Denmark plot
The US Department of Justice announced that four men have been charged in connection with the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and an attempted attack on a Danish newspaper.
Afghanistan
US releases names of Bagram detainees
US Department of Defense released the names of prisoners held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in response to an FOIA request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Greater Middle East
Yemen: clerics warn of jihad if US sends troops
A group of Muslim clerics warn they will call for holy war if the US sends troops to Yemen. “Muslim sons are duty bound to carry out jihad and fight the aggressors,” the statement read.
Iraq
Iraq: erasing Jewish identity at Tomb of Ezekiel?
The Jerusalem Post cites claims that Iraq’s Antiquities and Heritage Authority is desecrating ancient Hebrew inscriptions at the Tomb of Ezekiel—but some caution skepticism.
Planet Watch
“Doomsday Clock” moves one minute away from midnight
Citing “hopeful” signs in the twin threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate change, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is moving its Doomsday Clock one minute away from midnight.
Central America
Guatemala: murdered lawyer planned his own death
An investigation by the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) concluded that activist attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg planned his own assassination.
The Caribbean
Singing and praying at night in Port-au-Prince
David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas reports from stricken Port-au-Prince, where there is still no sign of government or international relief efforts.