Since seizing power in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, in June, the Islamic Courts Union has banned khat leaf, the mild stimulant which has been traditionally chewed by Somalis for centuries. Imports of khat from Kenya, a main supplier, are being intercepted and burned, and flights from Kenya have actually been halted. This has resulted in a shortage which has sparked angry protests by local khat merchants in Mogadishu, who have lost their income. In one protest on Nov. 16, Islamist fighters shot into the crowd, killing one person. (BBC, Nov. 16)

From AP, Nov. 20:

MOGADISHU — Islamic fighters ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy on Sunday, killing six Ethiopian soldiers and wounding 20 others, witnesses said, in the first known fight between the rival forces maneuvering for control in Somalia.

Despite the overwhelming presence of the Federal Preventative Police (PFP) in Oaxaca City's historic center, prominent attorney and retired army lieutenant Marcos Contreras Mendoza was assassinated in a drive-by shooting just two blocks from the Santo Domingo Cathedral on the morning of Nov. 17. Meanwhile, at a meeting of Christian seminarians in Juchitan de Zaragoza, Gov. Ulises Ruiz, in an unsubtle slap at the Popular People's Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO), said "The only one who can dismiss and impose governors is God." (La Jornada, Nov. 18)

From BBC, Oct. 17 (our commentary to follow):

Humanity may split into two sub-species in 100,000 years' time as predicted by HG Wells, an expert has said.

Is this a great time to be alive or what? From The Independent, Nov. 19:

A high-tech and unmanned "bionic wasp" capable of destroying a cell of militants or guerrillas is among a series of futuristic weapons being discussed by a group of experts set up by the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Shimon Peres.

Mexican Federal Preventative Police (PFP) in Oaxaca City used tear gas and water cannons against a demonstration by local women Nov. 19, following accounts of sexual abuses by the police troops. Some women carried signs reading "Oaxaca is not a brothel," or mirrors with the words "I am a rapist" written across them that were held up to the police lines. (La Jornada, Nov. 19)

Speaking at a press conference with state police criminologists and foresnics experts, Oaxaca Prosecutor General Lizbeth Caña Cadeza, said there is growing evidence that Indymedia cameraman Bradley Will was killed at point-blank range by supporters of the Popular People's Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) as a "deceitful confabulation" to "internationalize the conflict" in the state.

Widespread reports (e.g. in Turkish Press Nov. 18) indicate an arrest warrant has been issued by Iraq's Interior Ministry for Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, the leading Sunni religious figure in the country and head of the Muslim Scholars Association. This Nov. 19 report from the New York Times denies the warrant has been issued, but notes a growing split within the Sunni community: