An Israeli airstrike targeting a minivan supposedly carrying a Hamas fighter in northern Gaza City killed three people and wounded 12 on May 18. Israeli tanks also fired five shells near a housing project in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya, wounding five. (AP, May 19) On May 17, Israel moved tanks and troops over the Gaza border and launched eight airstrikes, killing at least seven Palestinians. Some 14 rockets fired by Hamas militants in Gaza May 17 landed in Israel, six near the border town of Sderot. The government bused some Sderot residents to hotels, calling it a "respite," not an evacuation. (NYT, May 18)

Mexico May 15 called upon the US to prevent weapons from landing in the hands of drug gangs that increasingly use them to kill soldiers and police. "The firepower we are seeing here has to do with a lack of control on that side of the border," Assistant Secretary of Public Safety Patricio Patiño told the Associated Press. Patiño said that earlier that day, federal agents arrested two gunmen carrying assault rifles and half a dozen hand grenades in the city of Morelia, Michoacán—apparently on their way to carry out a hit. The escalating attacks on security forces come in response to a "radical change" in Mexico's law enforcement strategy, Patiño said, noting that Mexico is now going after the cartels' entire structures rather than just leaders. (Press TV, Iran; AP, May 16)

Fidelity Investments of Boston is denying that a sharp reduction in holdings of oil companies doing business in Sudan is a result of activist pressure over Darfur. Anne Crowley, a spokeswoman for the mutual-fund giant, said the sales were decided by the managers of individual Fidelity funds. "Fidelity doesn't tell fund managers how or when to buy or sell any given stock," she said. Fidelity documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week show its ownership of PetroChina Co. shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange declined from about 4.5 million earlier this year to 420,916 as of the end of March—a decrease of more than 90%. (Boston Globe, May 17)

Colombian National Police officer Jhon Frank Pinchao, held hostage by the FARC guerillas for nearly nine years, escaped his captors and spent 17 days lost in the jungle of Vaupes department before he was found by an army patrol on May 16. He said he was held in a camp with three US intelligence agents and Colombia's former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Pinchao was one of about 60 hostages held by the FARC in demand of a prisoner exchange with the government.

Thirteen of the 19 suspects on trial for the 2004 Madrid rail bombings that killed 191 have gone on hunger strike in protest of what they call unfounded accusations against them. Javier Gómez Bermúdez, the presiding justice, warned the men that if they continued the strike they could be expelled from court proceedings and force-fed. "The trial will continue in their absence," he said. (The Guardian, May 17)

Two radio reporters covering a provincial governor in south-central Somalia were gunned down May 16 when the official's motorcade was ambushed by clan militia. News editor Abshir Ali Gabre and reporter Ahmed Hassan Mahad of Radio Jowhar were killed when the motorcade of Mohammed Omar Deele, governor of the Middle Shabelle province, came under attack from gunmen of a rival sub-clan. Deele was unharmed, but at least six people were killed and several injured in the ensuing gun battle.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar has formally confirmed the death of top commander Mullah Dadullah, through a spokesman, and nominated Mullah Bakht Mohammad as his replacement. The elusive Mullah Omar also claimed there are thousands of fighters ready to avenge Dadullah's death and called for an immediate return of Dadullah's corpse to his family. Dadullah's brother, Shah Mansoor, and two other senior Taliban officials released from prison in exchange for the safe release of a foreign journalist in March have also been killed, according to Afghan intelligence officials. The trio, including commanders Mullah Ghaffar and Mullah Hamdullah, were killed hours before US forces killed Mullah Dadullah in Helmand province on May 12. (Afgha.com, May 16)

During the May 15 Republican presidential debate at the University of South Carolina, Libertarian gadly Rep. Ron Paul (TX) dared to speak logic about the reasons behind 9-11—and made clear that he, at least, has actually read al-Qaeda's communiqués. "Have you ever read the reasons they attacked us? They attacked us because we've been over there; we've been bombing Iraq for 10 years." Of course he had to play a stupid xenophobia/Orientalism card, and paradoxically invoke to his defense Ronald Reagan, whose imperial intrigues in the Islamic world only helped create al-Qaeda: "I think Reagan was right. We don't understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics." But he quickly rescued himself with some simple logic and humanity: "So right now we're building an embassy in Iraq that's bigger than the Vatican. We're building 14 permanent bases. What would we say here if China was doing this in our country or in the Gulf of Mexico? We would be objecting. We need to look at what we do from the perspective of what would happen if somebody else did it to us." Of course, no good deed goes unpunished—and Paul's punishment came swiftly...