A New York federal jury acquitted alleged al-Qaeda operative Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani on Nov. 17 of all major terrorism charges in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224, including 12 US citizens. In the first trial of a former Guantánamo Bay detainee in civilian court, the Tanzanian was convicted of one count of conspiracy to damage or destroy US property but cleared of 285 counts, including 276 of murder and attempted murder. Federal prosecutors say they will seek the maximum sentence of life without parole on the conspiracy count.

Gunmen stormed two adjacent homes in al-Tahrir neighborhood of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul late Nov. 15, killing the two male heads of the households, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Christians. Simultaneously, a bomb detonated outside a Christian's home in central Mosul, damaging the house's exterior.

Thousands demonstrated in Madrid Nov. 13 against Morocco's recent crackdown on protesters in the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara. Violence escalated Nov. 8, when Moroccan soldiers and police attacked a protest camp that had been established to mark the 35th anniversary of the territory's annexation by Morocco. The camp at Gdeim Izik, some 15 kilometers outside the regional capital Laayoune (El Aaiun), had grown to over 20,000 since being established on Oct. 9. Western Sahara's independence movement, the Poliario Front, is demanding a UN probe of the repression, claiming 36 protesters were killed, with hundreds injured and more than 160 detained. Morocco denies the claims, while asserting that eight members of its security forces were killed. The clashes occurred on the day that Morocco and Polisario held their latest round of UN-mediated talks near New York on the future of Western Sahara. (Reuters, Nov. 15; Green Left Weekly, Nov. 14; AP, Nov. 13; Sahara Press Service, Nov. 12)

Mexican authorities fear retaliatory violence after the killing of Gulf Cartel kingpin Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén AKA "Tony Tormenta" in a three-hour shootout with soldiers in Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, on Nov. 5. Three cartel gunmen, two members of the security forces and a journalist were also killed in the gun-battle. The federal army used 300 grenades in the battle, leaving several local buildings badly damaged. Local homes have since put up signs reading "Por favor—No lanzar granadas" (Please don't throw grenades). Municipal authorities report receiving telephone bomb threats aimed at Matamoros schools. (La Otra División del Norte blog, Matamoros, Nov. 13; AFP, Nov. 9)

In the wake of Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia, a video has emerged showing the torture of helpless detainees in the restive territory of West Papua. Rights groups are describing the footage as "Indonesia's Abu Ghraib," and say it raises serious questions about the Obama administration's decision to embrace cooperation with the Indonesian security forces. The video is the second in recent months to offer graphic footage of Indonesian security force torture of Papuans.

Burmese opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest Nov. 14, walking free for the first time in seven years. Euphoric crowds of supporters greeted her as spoke to them for the first time since 2003 from the front gate of her crumbling lakeside villa on University Avenue in Rangoon.

China's Foton Motor Group signed a preliminary agreement in Bogotá Nov. 2 with Colombiana de Comercio SA to build an auto assembly plant in Colombia. The agreement was signed by representatives of the Colombian Trade Ministry, the Colombian Export Promotion Fund (Proexport), and the vice president of the Chinese group, Wang Xiangyin. The plant, to be built at a cost of some $4 million, will manufacture light vehicles for export to markets within the region. Proexport president Maria Claudia Lacouture said the decision to build the plant "shows the importance that Colombia is gaining...as an investment destination. We are pleased with this show of trust that Foton today is giving the country." (EFE, Nov, 4)

The guerilla fighter who in 2008 killed "Ivan Rios," one the FARC's top commanders, has been sentenced to 31 years for kidnapping and rebellion, local media reported on Nov, 6. Pedro Pablo Montoya AKA "Rojas" was was convicted in the 2001 kidnapping of a farm owner from the Caldas department. The former guerrilla was also sentenced to pay a $170,000 compensation to the farm owner. "Rojas" was apprehended in March 2008 when he and his girlfriend surrendered to security forces delivering them the hand and the computer of his boss. A year after his surrender, the demobilized guerilla complained he felt betrayed by the authorities, who had put a reward on the head of Rios. (Colombia Reports, Nov, 7)