Spain is sending frigate to the coast of Somalia following the seizure of a Spanish tuna fishing boat, the Playa de Bakio, by pirates. Some 26 people were aboard, including 13 Spaniards and a crew of various African nationals. The Dubai-flagged Al-Khaleej, was carrying food for sale in Somalia, was also hijacked seven kilometers off the northeastern Somali port of Bosasso, and pirates reportedly fired on a Japanese-flagged chemical carrier off Yemen.

Chanting "Allahu Akbar" and "Disband Ahmadiyya," some 1,000 members of the Indonesian Muslim Forum (FUI) marched on the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta April 21 to demand President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issue a decree to ban the "deviant" Islamic sect. "We are pushing the president to immediately issue a presidential decree disbanding Ahmadiyya," FUI secretary general Muhammad Al Khaththath told Reuters. The FUI also demanded the government arrest Ahmadiyya leaders and seize all the organization's assets.

Mexico's Senate and lower-house Chamber of Deputies have been occupied by protesters, with a giant tarp strewn over the dais painted with the word "CLOSED," since followers of the Broad Progressive Front (FAP) took over the chambers on April 10. The FAP, led by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is blockading the entrances to the building, while hardhat-clad legislators from the FAP-aligned Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), Labor Party (PT) and Convergence Party maintain a round-the-clock presence in the chamber. Only one door has been left open for reporters. Legislators from other parties have been turned back by protesters. The FAP says the blockade won't be lifted until law-makers agree to a four-month "national debate" on plans to reform the state oil monopoly Pemex.

A suicide attack in front of a mosque in Zaranj, capital of Nimroz province in southwest Afghanistan, killed 16 and wounded more than 30 others April 17. The attack took place as worshipers were preparing for evening prayers. At least two other suicide attacks have hit Nimroz this month, including an attack April 1 that left two police officers dead in Zaranj, and another on April 12 that killed two Indian road construction engineers and their Afghan driver in Khash Rod.

Having been busily building separation walls between Shi'ite and Sunni districts of Baghdad for the past two years, the US is now building one around the southern quarter of the Shi'ite enclave of Sadr City—to keep out Mahdi Army militants, effectively separating Shi'ite from Shi'ite and turning the quarter into an armed camp, patrolled by tanks, Stryker vehicles and Apache attack helicopters. (NYT, April 18)

Guatemalan authorities announced April 15 they had captured Daniel Pérez, a senior member of Mexico's powerful Gulf Cartel, the latest sign that Mexican cartels are seeking control of Central American trafficking routes. Perez (alias Cachetes, or "Cheeks"), who is wanted in the US, is said to be second-in-command of the cartel's vicious armed wing, the Zetas. Guatemala's interior ministry said Pérez—a former elite Mexican soldier who helped found the Zetas in the late 1990s—was arrested last week in Guatemala City, accused of involvement in a shootout in March in southern Guatemala in which 11 people were killed. Both Mexico and the US have announced they will seek extradition. (El Universal, April 17; Reuters, April 15)

Diego Alexander Pulgarín, press-ganged into the Colombian military through the "Campesino Soldier" anti-guerilla militia program on Jan. 5, was released from the Rionegro Battalion military base in Antioquia department April 14, after declaring himself a conscientious objector. Pulgarín was held at the base against his will after refusing to take part in military training. The Medellín anti-militarist group Red Juvenil (Youth Network) held a demonstration in his support outside the base where he was held in the town of La Union March 27. (Red Juvenil, April 2, 14)

Doesn't this say it all: capitalism provides the raw material of social rage, but reactionary fundamentalism—not any analysis that correctly identifies the enemy—provides a political outlet, allowing the legitimately angry to vent at a very wrong target. April 12 saw riots over soaring food prices in Bangladesh, as more than 20,000 textile workers clashed with police, demanding better wages to meet rising costs. Dozens of people were injured in the violence near the capital Dhaka. (AlJazeera, April 12) The previous day, hundreds were injured in Dhaka, in violent clashes over a new law that would instate equality between men and women. Followers of the Islami Constitution Movement fought running battles with police after taking to the streets to oppose the legislation after Friday prayers. (EuroNews, April 11)