Pakistani Taliban fighters led by commander Baitullah Mehsud Feb. 6 announced the suspension of attacks against security forces in the Waziristan tribal region and the Swat valley for an indefinite period. Maulvi Muhammad Omar, a spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, told reporters in Peshawar from an undisclosed location that the militants had stopped attacks because the "government has softened operations" against the militants. "We have stated earlier that if anyone does not want to fight us, we will also not fight with them. But if anyone imposes war on us we will fight with them," Omar said. But in Islamabad, interim Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan said the security forces had "broken the back of the militants and they are on the run." Khan said a grand jirga or council of elders will be convened soon to end hostilities in the tribal regions. (PTI, Feb. 6)

A 37-year-old US businesswoman and married mother of three is seeking justice after she was thrown in jail by Saudi Arabia's religious police for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks coffee shop in Riyadh. Yara, who does not want her last name published, was bruised and crying when she was released from a day in prison after she was strip-searched, threatened and forced to sign confessions by the kingdom's "Mutaween," or Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

From the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI), Jan. 6:

As a result of the continuous efforts and collaboration between the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) and the workers of the water supply trade unions in Basra, we were able to achieve some of our demands; including the main demand which is hiring the contract employees as permanent employees with full benefits. This achievement came as a result of a demonstration held by the workers on site and following the meeting between the head of FWCUI, Subhi Albadri, and the officials of the ministry of the water resources in addition to the warning that was issued by the workers in which they stated that they will stage a strike on-site unless the ministry responds to their demands.

The US Forest Service, with minimal public notice and no formal environmental review, has approved a permit allowing the UK's Vane Minerals company to explore for uranium in the Kaibab National Forest just outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The site is less than three miles from a popular lookout over the canyon's southern rim. If deposits are found, it could lead to the first mines near the canyon since the price of uranium ore tumbled two decades ago. The Forest Service ruled that the canyon could be "categorically excluded" from a full environmental review because exploration would last less than a year and might not lead to mining activity. (Denver Post, Feb. 7)

Protesters from the Ardoch Algonquin and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations returned to the prospective uranium mining site near Sharbot Lake, Ontario, Feb. 4 after mediation talks with the provincial government that began last fall broke down. Robert Lovelace, co-chief of the Ardoch First Nation, said the protesters are standing outside the gate to the site to prevent the mining exploration company Frontenac Ventures Corp. will start test drills there, as it is legally entitled to do. "We're monitoring the site and if Frontenac Ventures attempts to bring a drill onto the site, we'll blockade that drill," he said.

Lest we forget... From the Gothamist, Feb. 1:

While Crossing Delancey, Woman Fatally Struck by SUV
Late Wednesday night, an 82-year-old woman crossing Delancey Street at Allen was fatally hit by an SUV driver. The driver, who was traveling west on Delancey, stayed on the scene was not charged with a crime.

Russian authorities have formally agreed to extradite to Colombia former Israeli military officer Yair Klein, officials at Moscow's embassy in Bogotá said. Colombia requested Klein's extradition five months ago after he was arrested by Interpol and agents of the Anti-terrorist Department of Russia's Interior Ministry while trying to board a flight to Israel at Moscow's airport. He faces charges in Colombia of organizing and training paramilitary groups in the violence-torn Medio Magdalena region. (El Pais, Cali, Feb. 4)

Hundreds of thousands of Colombians marched Feb. 4 against kidnappings and other violence by the FARC guerillas in cities across the country. In Bogotá, marchers wore matching white T-shirts reading: "Yo Soy Colombia" (I am Colombia), with the kicker: "Stop the kidnappings, the lies, the murders... No more FARC." The protest, dubbed "A Million Voices Against the FARC," was ostensibly the fruit of a campaign launched last month by three young people on Facebook, the social-networking website. But the campaign clearly had official sanction. Throughout the country, schools canceled classes for the day or let students out early. In a public square in the northeastern city of Valledupar, President Álvaro Uribe voiced his support for the mobilization. Many marchers openly supported Uribe and chanted slogans against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. (CSM, Feb. 6) In Paris, Astrid Betancourt, sister of FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, called the mobilization a "grotesque manipulation." (Milenio, Mexico, Feb. 5)