A new report in the journal Science finds that the contraction of Greenland's ice sheet has accelerated over the past years. Using computer modeling and satellite data, the team concluded that the ice mass shrank by 273 billion tons a year during the warm summers from 2006 to 2008—a roughly a 70% increase over the average 166 billion tons a year from 2000 to 2008. "It is clear from these results that mass loss from Greenland has been accelerating since the late 1990s and the underlying causes suggest this trend is likely to continue in the near future," said researcher Jonathan Bamber, one of the authors of the study. The Greenland ice sheet is the second largest in the world after Antarctica, and could increase sea level by 7 meters were it to completely melt. (Planet Earth Online, AFP, Nov. 13)

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Tokyo despite a heavy police presence during President Barack Obama's visit on Nov. 13, to demand an end to US bases under the banner "Break up the Japan-US summit." Anti-nuclear activists held a separate rally as survivors of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took a letter to the US embassy demanding that Obama follow through on his pledge to work toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. A Nov. 8 pre-summit protest drew more than 20,000 on the southern island of Okinawa, where more than half of the 47,000 US troops in Japan are stationed.

Colombian authorities ordered an extra 2,500 army troops to reinforce security in Corinto, a town in southwestern Cauca department, where nine soldiers were killed in a surprise attack by the FARC guerillas early Nov. 10. The decision to reinforce the present security force in the village was taken by Defense Minister Gabriel Silva and armed forces commander Freddy Padilla in an improvised security council. Gabriel Silva, who canceled a planned visit to the town at last minute for security reasons, also offered a 2 billion peso reward for information leading the arrest of Edgar López Gómez AKA "Pacho Chino"—considered the guerrilla commander in charge of the attack.

Gov. César Pérez of the Venezuelan border state of Táchira, accused President Hugo Chávez of protecting Colombian guerillas that operate in his state. Pérez said that both leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries from Colombia operate in nearly a third of his state, but Venezuelan troops ignore the prior. "The guerrillas are there with the government's blessing, and the military has orders to leave them alone," Pérez told the AP. "The government only fights the paramilitaries, and I think it's good they fight them, but the government has to do the same with the guerrillas, and it isn’t doing that."

The State Department sent Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly to Honduras Nov. 10 in a bid to relaunch the moribund dialogue. Kelly held separate talks with ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya and de facto president Roberto Micheletti, but left the Central American country the following day with no deal. Kelly insisted the US is "advancing the dialogue," adding, "We think it's important to continue the conversations." (AlJazeera, Nov. 12)

Iranian authorities hanged Kurdish activist Ehsan Fattahian, 28, on Nov. 11 in Sanandaj Central Prison, Kordestan province. He was accused of "armed struggle against the regime" and "enmity against God." An Internet campaign had gathered over 10,000 signatures in recent days calling on Tehran to stop the execution. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and several Iranian human rights organizations issued statements calling to halt the execution. Despite reportedly being tortured, Ehsan refused to admit to participating in armed activities. It was only during the appeals process was he declared as an "enemy of God" and sentenced to execution.

From Human Rights Watch, Oct. 27:

Iraq: Protect Besieged Minorities
Yazidis, Shabaks, and Christians Caught in Kurdish-Arab Contest for Control
Iraq's central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government should protect besieged minorities in the disputed territories of Nineveh province, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch documented attacks by Sunni Arab extremist groups targeting Yazidis, Shabaks, and Assyrian Christians, and intimidation by Kurdish forces against minority political and civic associations resisting Kurdish efforts to incorporate the area into the autonomous territory the regional government controls.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit Nov. 10 on behalf of US citizen Amir Meshal, alleging that FBI agents were involved in his interrogation and rendition in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia in 2007. The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that agents repeatedly threatened Meshal with torture, disappearance, and execution in order to force him to acknowledge ties with al-Qaeda. Meshal was originally detained in Kenya while fleeing fighting in Somalia. After being held in Kenya, Meshal was returned to Somalia and eventually taken to Ethiopia where he was held until his release in May of 2007. No charges were ever filed against Meshal. (Jurist, Nov. 11)