From the New York Times, July 4:

WASHINGTON, July 3 — The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday.

From ShortNews, July 4:

Iraq's Justice Minister wants the UN to ensure the US troops who allegedly committed 4 counts of murder and 1 of rape to be punished for their "monstrous and inhuman" attack.

From the Iraq Freedom Congress, July 1:

An Appeal to Libertarian Forces in the World
Support the Oil Workers Strike for a Secure, Prosperous and Free Iraq

The IFC Executive Bureau decided in an emergency session following the July 1, 2006, meeting of IFC and southern oil workers’ trade union leaders (who hold positions on the IFC Central Council) to provide full support to the oil workers’ strike. The oil workers will strike for the following demands:

On June 20 legislative deputies of El Salvador's leftist Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN) called on the Legislative Assembly to repeal the decree that authorizes sending troops to support the US occupation of Iraq. El Salvador has deployed 380-member contingents to Iraq for six months at a time since March 2003; it is the only Central American country that continues to maintain troops in Iraq. FMLN deputy Carlos Castaneda said the petition for the repeal was submitted after it became known that a new contingent of Salvadoran soldiers could be sent to Iraq. (La Prensa Grafica, San Salvador, June 21; AFP, June 21)

From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 3:

Nicaraguan presidential candidate Herty Lewites died late Sunday of an apparent heart attack. The son of a Jewish migrant, Lewites, 66, was the country's best-known citizen of Jewish descent.

From the Mexican news agency APRO, June 30, via Chiapas95 (our translation):

In an unexpected event in the lead-up to the elections this Sunday, the arrest of ex-president Luis Echeverria Alvarez was announced, for the crime of genocide.

The local Fray Bartoleme de Las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) issued a statement in the prelude to Mexico's July 2 presidential election protesting that they are being held in the state of Chiapas under a "state of exception." The statement also said the same conditions would likely prevail in Aug. 20 state elections. (APRO, July 1)

The results of the July 2 presidential elections in Mexico are still considered too close to call, but both candidates—former Mexico City mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the populist-left Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and former energy minister Felipe Calderon of the technocratic-right National Action Party (PAN)—are claiming victory. The New York Times quoted Lopez Obrador saying he would repect the decision of the Federal Electoral Institute, while also insisting he had won by 500,000 votes. "This result is irreversible," he said. Countered Calderon: "There is not the slightest doubt that we have won the election."