Residents of western Baghdad's al-Salam district say militant groups in the area are hunting down women and killing them, and have petitioned the Iraqi parliament for urgent action. "Over the past six months 15 women were killed in al-Salam neighborhood for religious reasons or because they had criticized the militants, or because of their previous affiliation to the Baath Party," MP Safia al-Suhail told the UN news agency IRIN.

From the General Union of Port Workers in Iraq, via US Labor Against the War, April 29:

May Day Message from the Port Workers in Iraq to West Coast dock workers in the US
In solidarity with the ILWU, the General Union of Port Workers in Iraq will stop work for one hour on May Day in the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Al Zubair.

On April 22, a riot broke out at the Mira Loma immigration detention center in Lancaster, Calif., which holds nearly 1,000 immigrants. The riot allegedly involved the South Siders and Paisa gangs, according to a detainee who spoke with the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department fired tear gas grenades at the detainees; additional deputies came to the detention center from nearby Lancaster and Palmdale stations to assist the guards with separating detainees.

On April 11, Palestinian professor Sami Al-Arian was transferred into ICE custody after completing a sentence on civil contempt citations for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury. On April 15, ICE agents transported Al-Arian from the Northern Neck Regional jail in Warsaw, Va., to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Va. Just hours after he arrived at Hampton Roads, jail officials placed Al-Arian on suicide watch in a segregation unit and confiscated all of his belongings, allegedly because of his refusal to eat. Al-Arian had been on hunger strike since March 3, protesting the government's refusal to release him.

On a visit to Mexico City April 29, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Congress to approve the pending $500 million anti-drug program for Mexico, telling reporters, "Failure to do so would be a real slap at Mexico and would be very disappointing and it clearly would make it more difficult for us to help Mexican armed forces and their civilian agencies deal with this difficult problem."

On April 25, Mexican federal legislators of the three political parties that make up the Broad Progressive Front (FAP) ended their 16-day occupation of the congressional chambers after a deal was worked out with representatives of the ruling National Action Party (PAN) over proposed legislation to reform the state oil company, Pemex. FAP leaders claimed victory, telling the press that they had prevented the reform package submitted by President Felipe Calderón from being "fast tracked." The new deal allows for 71 days of national debate before lawmakers can resume discussion and move to vote on the measures. Some FAP leaders, however, are insisting on a popular "ratification referendum" following the vote by the legislature.

A series of early-morning gun battles between presumed narco-gangsters in the busy streets of Tijuana—including one outside a hospital—left 15 dead and seven wounded April 26. Authorities are not releasing any of the names of the dead, but the local media are full of speculation. The national daily El Universal reported that the Sinaloa Cartel was to blame. Several newspapers reported that among the dead was Luis Alfonso Velarde (AKA El Muletas or "Crutches"), a reputed local drug lord with a handful of YouTube video tributes to his name. Another, even bigger local cartel operative nicknamed "Mr. Three Letters" might be dead too, along with "La Perra" (said to be a former city cop), reported El Sol de Tijuana. And they may all have been ambushed by another cartel leader known as "El Cholo." (LAT, AP, April 28)

Just two days after Beijing's surprise announcement that it would shortly meet with aides to the Dalai Lama, the Chinese Communist party's official mouthpiece hurled fresh invective at the exiled Tibetan leader. The April 27 People's Daily commentary stated: "The Dalai clique have always been masters at games with words and the ideas that they have tossed about truly make the head spin... Those who split the nation are criminals to history." The Dalai Lama's nephew, Khedroob Thondup, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, dismissed the overture as a "ruse" designed "to deflect pressure and give false assurance to Western leaders." (The Guardian, April 28) A story on the front page of the New York Times business section April 26, "At Trade Show, China's Police Shop for the West's Latest," sported a picture of an armored vehicle on display and contained such gems as: