Basra's oil pipeline workers, who had been staging occupations of the facilities since April 27 to demand back pay, scored a victory this week as the Baghdad administration agreed to meet with their leaders and negotiate a payment schedule. The administration capitulated after the workers threatened to shut down the pipeline and call a general strike. Union leader Faisal Hamdan told management the workers were prepared to immediately shut down all exports fro Basra's harbor.

A jury in US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on May 7 convicted former Pfc. Steven D. Green of the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl, and the murder of her family in Mahmudiya. Prosecutors had previously elected to seek the death penalty against Green, one of six soldiers who was initially charged with the various crimes resulting from the rape and murders.

A US military contractor who pleaded guilty in February to voluntary manslaughter for the 2008 shooting of an Afghan detainee was sentenced in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia May 8 to five years probation and a $12,500 fine. Don Ayala had been charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing detainee Abdul Salam in retaliation for Salam's earlier attack on Ayala's fellow contractor Paula Lloyd.

The UN Security Council May 8 condemned an offensive by armed groups battling Chadian government government forces in the east of the country. The statement urged the rebels to stop fighting, saying "any attempt at destabilization of Chad by force is unacceptable." Chad says nearly 250 have been killed in the last two days of fighting between its security forces and guerillas from the Union of Resistance Forces (UFR).

Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez sent troops to seize companies that service the oil industry May 8. "This is a revolutionary offensive," he told workers near Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela's main oil area. Military vehicles were used as the state oil company PDVSA seized supply boats and two US-owned facilities. The move, taken a day after a measure was approved by Venezuela's Congress, places hundreds of boats, several ports and an estimated 8,000 workers under state control.

From Dow Jones, April 30, via InvestorsIraq.com:

LONDON — The Iraqi government is taking fresh action to attract badly needed foreign investment, including moving toward allowing foreigners to own land, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday. The Iraqi economy has been hit by falling oil revenue and the global recession.

Gen. David McKiernan says the mission in Afghanistan is likely to fail if militants continue to gain power in Pakistan. During a press briefing, the commander of the US forces in Afghanistan said, "Can you get to the right end-state in Afghanistan if you have a deteriorating or failed state in Pakistan? The answer is probably no."

Niger's President Mamadou Tandja held peace talks with Tuareg rebel leaders for the first time, meeting for two hours in the northern town of Agadez. President Tandja told reporters he had offered an amnesty if the three rebel groups laid down their weapons. The rebels have not yet reacted to Tandja's offer. However, before the meeting, the rebel Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) said it wants to see more Tuaregs in the army, increased autonomy and a greater share of revenues from uranium operations in the region.