Voters in Spain's northern Basque country March 1 ended 29 years of rule by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), leaving the way open for prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's socialists to lead a new government in the region. But supporters of outlawed Basque parties say that without the banning of their slate, the nationalist forces would be the majority in the regional parliament. They assert that more than 100,000 people voted for the banned candidates as a symbolic protest.

The UK government's independent reviewer of terror laws March 1 called for a judicial inquiry into British complicity in US "rendition" and torture. The reviewer, Lord Carlile of Berriew, specifically cited the case of Binyam Mohamed, the British resident who alleges that he was tortured with the knowledge of MI5 while held in US custody in Pakistan in 2002. Labour Party Deputy Leader Harriet Harman was non-committal, saying only that, "We'll have to listen to what he [Berriew] says, but at the moment, we've got an investigation by the Attorney General." Asked if she would rule out a judicial inquiry, Harman responded, "We'll just have to see what lies ahead on that."

A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco Feb. 27 denied an appeal by the Department of Justice seeking to stop a lawsuit brought by an Islamic charity alleging it was the subject of an illegal wiretap by the National Security Agency (NSA). The denial upholds last month's ruling by US District Judge Vaughn Walker allowing the case brought by the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation to go forward.

A military jury Feb. 28 sentenced US Army First Lt. Michael Behenna to 25 years in prison after convicting him of the murder and assault of an Iraqi detainee. The 101st Airborne Division officer, who claimed he acted in self-defense by shooting the victim, could have received a life sentence in the proceedings at Kentucky's Fort Campbell. Staff Sgt. Hal Warner, who threw a grenade on the body of victim Ali Mansour Mohammed, initially thought to have been released by Coalition forces in May 2008, testified against Behenna after pleading guilty to assault, maltreatment of a subordinate and making a false statement. The judge will hear Behenna's arguments for mistrial, based on a claim that the prosecution withheld evidence. Behenna was acquitted on a charge of making a false statement.

Police in Bangladesh March 1 charged more than 1,000 members of the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in last week's border guards mutiny, which killed dozens of top BDR officers, including the force's commander. The government plans to organize a special tribunal to try the organizers of the revolt. Among those charged are six accused of planning the revolt, including four deputy assistant directors. The government said that a previous offer of amnesty from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would not apply to those directly involved in the mutiny. The revolt was motivated by disputes over pay, conditions, and the selection of top officers from the regular army rather than from within the BDR.

Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said Feb. 28 that he would support the imposition of a "moderate" form of sharia law as part of a cease-fire agreement with the Hizb al-Islamiya and al-Shabaab rebels. Ahmed said, however, he would not agree to provisions that would prohibit girls from attending school, require women to wear headscarves, or ban music and television. Ahmed made the concession at the behest of Islamic religious groups that are mediating the conflict between the government and the rebels, but reports quoted rebels denying that a peace agreement had been made. Members of the country's parliament, which would have to approve implementing sharia in order for it to take effect, have expressed support for such a proposal.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) sentenced former priest Emmanuel Rukundo to 25 years imprisonment Feb. 27 after convicting him of genocide, crimes against humanity and sexual assault. Rukundo, who was a military chaplain and captain in the Rwandan Armed Forces, was found to have used his position as a priest to influence troops to abduct and kill Tutsi refugees hiding in a seminary during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The ICTR stated that his sentence was increased because he used a position of trust and authority to further the crimes. It also credited Rukundo with the seven-and-a-half years he has already spent in UN custody, leaving the balance of his term at approximately 17 years.

Security forces in Madagascar's capital fired teargas to disperse looters after an anti-government protest March 2. Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of Antananarivo to support sacked Mayor Andry Rajoelina's call for daily protests aimed at forcing President Marc Ravalomanana to step down. A power struggle between Rajoelina, a 34-year-old former disc jockey, and Ravalomanana has led to the worst civil unrest in years in the island nation, leaving 125 dead since the protest campaign began in late January. Two were killed Feb. 27 when police fired on a protest in the southern town of Fianarantsoa. (Reuters, March 2; AFP, Feb. 28)