Mexico
NAFTA failed Mexico: Carnegie think tank
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace finds that Mexico’s annual per capital growth rate under NAFTA has been slow—1.6% in 1992-2007, compared to 3.5% in 1960-1979.
Watching the Shadows
Federal judge denies Yemeni Gitmo detainee’s habeas petition
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia denied Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainee Musa’ab Al-Madhwani’s petition for habeas corpus.
Greater Middle East
Human Rights Watch charges repression in south Yemen
In a new report, Human Rights Watch calls on Yemeni authorities to stop using lethal force against protesters and to end attacks on the media in southern Yemen.
Africa
Human Rights Watch charges massacres in eastern Congo
A new Human Rights Watch report documents in detail the deliberate killing of more than 1,400 civilians during Congolese army operations against a Rwandan Hutu militia this year.
Greater Middle East
US military intervention in Yemen: reports
Shi’ite Houthi rebels charge that US fighter jets bombed their positions in north Yemen, as the UK’s Daily Telegraph reports that Washington has ordered Special Forces teams to the country.
Watching the Shadows
Supreme Court declines to hear torture suit by former UK Gitmo detainees
The US Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit by four UK citizens and former Guantánamo Bay detainees against former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other US officials.
Southeast Asia
Philippines: growing calls for martial law in Mindanao
The first declaration of martial law in the Philippines since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship was just lifted in a province of Mindanao—but armed attacks continue to escalate.
Inner Asia
Uzbekistan: pre-election crackdown intensifies
The Uzbek government is cracking down on rights activists before parliamentary elections, Human Rights Watch charges—while criticizing the West for staying silent.
Inner Asia
China opens new Caspian gas pipeline
Chinese President Hu Jintao is in Astana to unveil the Kazakh section of a 4,300-mile gas pipeline joining Central Asia to China—the first route strategically bypassing Russia.
Africa
Family of Gitmo detainee files lawsuit against Kenyan government
The family of Kenyan Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamed Abdulmalik filed suit against the Kenyan government claiming he was illegally detained, tortured and renditioned to US authorities.
Mexico
Amnesty International cites Mexico on Lomas de Poleo land conflict
Amnesty International called on Mexican authorities to protect residents of disputed lands after a woman living in the Lomas de Poleo area of Chihuahua state was shot and injured.
The Andes
DEA: Venezuelan cocaine ops aided FARC
The DEA claims evidence of a massive drug smuggling operation out of Venezuela, linking a powerful trafficker to Colombia’s FARC guerrillas and a fugitive Venezuelan businessman.