In one of its first statements since President Barack Obama took office, the US State Department Jan. 23 called for "the immediate return to constitutional order" in Mauritania, and protested "[t]he junta's announced plans to organize unconstitutional elections" and "its attempts to silence" ousted President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and his supporters. "We call on the military junta to permit President Abdallahi's full participation in the political process, to assure his freedom of movement and association, and to assure his personal safety," the statement said. (State Department press release, Jan. 23)

Fox News is having a field day with reports that a Saudi man who was released from Guantánamo Bay after a six-year stint has joined al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen and is now said to be the terror network's number-two in the country. The announcement, made this week on an Islamist militant website, comes as President Barack Obama ordered the detention facility closed within a year.

Gen. Laurent Nkunda, leader of the largest guerilla army in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, was arrested in Rwandan territory Jan. 23. He reportedly crossed the border after fleeing a joint Rwandan-Congolese operation to arrest him. Reports call it a startling about-face by Rwanda, which had been widely accused of backing Nkunda. The DRC government has issued an international warrant for Nkunda's arrest following accusations that his forces committed atrocities.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has assembled a team to defend his government against charges of war crimes in its recent Gaza Strip offensive. Justice Minister Daniel Friedman is to lead an inter-ministerial team to prepare legal defenses for Israeli officials and military personnel. Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz warned earlier this week that Israel may face a wave of international lawsuits over its 22-day offensive.

Two missile attacks launched from a US drone killed at least 15 in Pakistan's northwest borderlands Jan. 23, indicating that the strategy of using remotely controlled air-strikes to target militants within Pakistan's borders will continue under President Barack Obama. Both of the missile strikes hit Waziristan, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The worst street disturbances for 50 years struck Reykjavik, Iceland, Jan. 22, as police used tear gas against hundreds protesters after an earlier crowd of some 2,000 gathered outside the Althingi, the country's parliament, to demand the government resign. The crowds surrounded the building, banging pots and pans, shooting off fireworks, lobbing paving stones, rolls of toilet paper and shoes. A day earlier, protesters jostled Minister Geir Haarde's limousine, pummelling it with cans of soft drinks and eggs. (EU Observer, Jan. 22)

Saying that "our ideals give us the strength and moral high ground" to fight terrorism, President Barack Obama signed executive orders Jan. 22 ending the CIA's secret overseas prisons, banning coercive interrogation methods, and closing the Guantánamo Bay detention camp within a year.

A deported Mexican woman who took sanctuary in a Chicago church to highlight immigrants' rights is asking President Barack Obama to call a halt to immigration raids. Elvira Arellano says she is hopeful that Obama will help pass an immigration reform that stops dividing families. She spoke to reporters outside the US Embassy in Mexico City, where she gave officials a letter asking Obama to sign an executive order stopping the raids and deportations. (AP, Jan. 22)