February's freezing fury has left a path of crumpled crops, pummeled harvests and dashed dreams in the countryside of northern Mexico. Hardest hit was the northwestern state of Sinaloa, known as the "Bread Basket of Mexico," where about 750,000 acres of corn crops were reported destroyed after unusually cold temperatures blanketed the north of the country in January and early February. Sinaloa is among Mexico's major producers of white corn, the variety of maize used to make staple tortillas. Heriberto Felix Guerra, secretary of the federal Secretariat for Social Development (SEDESOL), called the weather-related losses "the worst disaster" in the history of Sinaloa.

Gunmen on a highway in northern Mexico killed an agent of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) bureau on Feb. 14, and wounded another. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the agents were assigned to the ICE attaché office at the US embassy in Mexico City, and were been shot in the line of duty while driving between the city and Monterrey. ICE identified the deceased as Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the wounded agent as Victor Avila, who was shot twice in the leg. Gunmen apparently ambushed their SUV in San Luis Potosí state. (AP, Feb. 16; NYT, Feb. 15)

The Colombian navy announced the seizure Feb. 15 a submarine believed to be used by drug runners to smuggle cocaine to Mexican shores. Powered by twin diesel engines, the 31-meter fiberglass vessel was found hidden in a jungle area in Timbiqui (Cauca department). Capable of traveling nine meters below water surface, it was the biggest and most sophisticated narco-submarine yet uncovered. Navy officials said the craft could carry four people and up to eight tons of cargo. According to Adm. Hernando Wills Velez, commander of the Pacific Naval Force, said it was equipped with navigational gear that would have allowed the crew to sail as far as Mexico without surfacing. (RTTNews, Feb. 15)

China and Colombia are planning to build a railway linking the South American country's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, President Juan Manuel Santos announced Feb. 14. Chinese ambassador Gao Zhengyue said his government sees Colombia as its chief port of entry to Latin America. The planned 138-mile long rail line will run from the port of Cupica on the Pacific to the Gulf of Urabá on the Caribbean, then continuing along the coast to a new port to be built near Cartagena.

Hundreds of protesters clashed with police and government supporters the night of Feb. 15 in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, after human rights lawyer Fathi Tarbel was arrested. Police used water cannon and teargas against what began as a protest begun by relatives of prisoners killed in a 1996 massacre who were demanding the release of the lawyer. Opposition supporters have called for a nationwide "day of rage" on Feb. 17. Several journalists and longtime dissident Idris al-Mismari are reported detained. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were all briefly blocked, as were AlJazeera and al-Arabiya television. State TV showed crowds of pro-government supporters shouting slogans in Tripoli's Green Square. Reports of two killed in the street fighting could not be confirmed. (The Guardian, Feb. 16)

Tunisia's government harshly condemned a suggestion by Rome that Italian security forces could be sent to the North African country to stem the flow of undocumented migrants. An estimated 5,000 Tunisians have landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in recent days, fleeing unrest and repression. Rome has requested emergency aid from the European Union to deal with influx. (RTE News, Feb. 15; AFP, Feb. 14)

A 26-year-old man died in central Morocco Feb. 13 after setting himself on fire in despair at his economic situation since being dismissed from the army. "He poured five litres of petrol over himself and set himself alight in the weekly market at Benguerir," said Mohammed Hanofi of the Moroccan Human Rights Association. It was the first reported death in the country from self-immolation, which has also occurred in neighboring Algeria and sparked the revolution in Tunisia. (Middle East Online, Feb. 13)

In the Yemeni capital Sana'a, protesters marched for a fourth consecutive day Feb. 14, demanding the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They faced attacks by government supporters wielding broken bottles, daggers and rocks. Police were unable to control the crowds in Taiz, where thousands of protesters had held an all-night rally. (The Guardian, Feb. 14)