Blackwater, now known as Academi, reached a confidential settlement agreement Jan. 7 with survivors and families of victims in a 2007 shooting incident in the Nisour Square area of Baghdad that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. A subsequent FBI investigation revealed that 14 of the deaths were unjustified acts of excessive force. A federal judge ruled last year that the lawsuit could proceed in North Carolina state court, saying that nonresidents lack the right to sue in federal court for injuries sustained outside of the country but that federal courts are obligated to remand such cases to the state level, where North Carolina law permits such suits. Lawyers for the victims confirmed the settlement, and Academi said the settlement would allow the company to move forward while providing compensation to the victims and allowing closure for the losses they suffered. This settlement closes the last lawsuit against the company for the 2007 incident.

A Russian naval flotilla led by an aircraft carrier docked in the Syrian port of Tartus for a six-day visit Jan. 8, in what Damascus state media hailed as a show of solidarity by Moscow. Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha visited Russian carrier Kuznetsov at the port, where Russia has a recently expanded a naval base. Russian ambassador to Syria Azamat Kulmukhametov said the visit by the Russian vessels highlighted the strong ties between the two countries, but added: "Russia is very interested in achieving the aspirations of the Syrian people in democracy and stresses the importance of implementing the comprehensive reform program." (Xinhua, Jan. 9) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile warned that Syria is heading towards civil war, and that NATO member Turkey should play a leading role in preventing this. "The situation in Syria is heading towards a religious, sectarian, racial war, and this needs to be prevented," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara. "Turkey has to take on a leadership role here, because the current situation poses a threat to Turkey." (Reuters, Jan. 9)

The Chinese government's new white paper outlining its plans for the next five years in space mentions not only launching new orbiting laboratories, and manned mission to dock with its current orbiting lab, the Tiangong-1—but also actually placing a human being on the Moon, although it does not give a projected date for this goal. China has already successfully launched two lunar orbiters in 2007 and 2010. For its next phase, China plans to put rovers on the Moon to collect samples by 2016. A new launch center is under construction in Hainan, and upgrades are underway at the three existing launch sites in Jiuquan (Gansu province), Xichang (Sichuan) and Taiyuan (Shanxi). The white paper also outlines ambitions for 24-hour continuous, high-resolution surveillance of the Earth—which if realized, would put China on a level with the United States in this field. The white paper emphasizes that the People's Republic "opposes weaponization or any arms race in outer space." (Sapa-AFP, Jan. 7; Forbes, Dec. 30; Xinhua, NYT, Dec. 29)

The Bolivian government is currently studying a bill to ban the sale of land to foreigners, Vice Minister of Land Edgar Apaza said Jan. 8. The proposal came from a social summit held in Cochabamba last month, which brought together lawmakers and representatives of popular movements. Apaza endorsed the proposed law, which would include penalties for those who attempt to disguise land ownership to skirt the ban. He stressed that Bolivia is obliged to pass such a law by Article 396 of the new constitution, which denies the acquisition of national lands by foreigners. Many of the best lands in the east and south of the country are in the hands of Brazilians and Argentines. (Prensa Latina, Jan. 7)

An investigative commission in Afghanistan issued a statement Jan. 7 alleging the abuse of detainees held by the US military at prisons in the country. The commission called for the transfer of all prisoners held by the US military to Afghan custody. The detainees held by US forces are a combination of Afghan nationals and foreign accused al-Qaeda operatives. The commission also alleged that some prisoners are being held without evidence and called for their release. The commission was created by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in June 2010.

Following a wave of forest fires in the southern Araucania and Bio-Bio regions that left seven fire-fighters dead this week, Chile's government suggested indigenous Mapuche activists may have been responsible. Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter speculated that the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), a Mapuche group struggling to recover land from timber companies in the affected regions, set the blazes. "Behind this premeditated and criminal conduct there is activity of a terrorist nature," he said. The Mapuche Student's Federation accused Hinzpeter of conducting a "media trial" without any evidence and of trying to "delegitimize" the indigenous movement. President Sebastian Piñera has invoked a Pinochet-era "anti-terrorism" law to pursue those responsible for the fires. (Clarin, Argentina, Jan. 7; BBC News, VOA, Jan. 6)

Colombia's National Police have mobilized 500 troops as well as a team of the elite Judicial Police (DIJIN) to northern Urabá region following the declaration of an "armed strike" (paro armada) by a paramilitary group known as Los Urabeños. Gunmen left leaflets in towns throughout the region, threatening residents and business owners—warning them to honor the strike or face arson attacks. Authorities have arrested 12 armed men who were distributing the leaflets and painting threatening graffiti in the municipalities of San Pedro de Urabá, Apartadó, Uramita, Cañas Gordas y Briceño, all in Antioquia department. Despite the police presence, the streets of several local towns have been completely cleared. The strike was apparently declared in response to the slaying of an Urabeños leader named "Giovanni." (El Tiempo, Bogotá, Jan. 5)

The Oromo Support Group reports that authorities in the de facto state of Somaliland are forcibly repatriating asylum-seekers from oppressed ethnic groups to Ethiopia, where they face persecution. Last week, Somaliland deported more than 20 Ethiopian nationals, handing them over to Ethiopian forces at the border town of Wachale—in violation of the international principle of "non-refoulement." Many more have been "refouled" in recent weeks—principally members of the Oromo and Ogadeni peoples. While political asylum applies only to those who can prove a well-grounded fear of persecution, non-refoulement is a generic ban on repatriation of refugees into war zones or disaster areas. (Press Enza, Dec. 29)