About a third of the Mexicans surveyed in the federal government's National Poll on Discrimination in Mexico (Enadis) for 2010 said that what gives them the greatest anxiety is the fear of violent robbery. Another quarter told Enadis, a survey carried out each year since 2005, that they were most afraid of violence by drug traffickers, while for one out of five of those polled, the main worry is "being victims of abuse by the forces of public security."

A meeting on April 14 between the Honduran government and teachers' union representatives in Tegucigalpa seemed to be heading towards a settlement of a month-long national strike by 60,000 teachers over pension issues and a decentralization plan that they say would lead to privatization of the schools. The strike, which has continued with some interruptions since March 7, has been characterized by militant demonstrations on the teachers' side and violent repression from the police and military, with the death of an assistant principal at one protest and several attacks on journalists covering demonstrations. At least two government cabinet meetings included debates between ministers on the human rights situation and its possible effect on Honduras' international standing.

Women protesters, many in full face veils, led protests against Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh on April 17, in an angry show of defiance after he tried to win support from Islamists by attacking the "mixing of sexes" at demonstrations. Security forces fired on protesters in the capital, Sana'a, wounding at least 30. The next day, at least 45 were injured as security forces again opened fire and hurled tear gas at protesters in Yemen's Red Sea port al-Hudaydah. (VOA, April 18; The Telegraph, April 17)

Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who became the hero of the Egyptian revolution, spoke before an International Monetary Fund paenl in Washington DC on April 15, chiding the organization for its long support of strongman Hosni Mubarak. Billed as "Internet activist" in the roundtable discussion also featuring IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Ghonim said, "To me what was happening was a crime, not a mistake." He charged that international financial institutions and world "elites" were "partners in crime" in supporting Mubarak's regime. Wearing a wristband with the date Jan. 25, 2011—the day the protesters drove Mubarak from power—Ghonim said: "We wanted our dignity back." (Middle East Online, April 17)

At least seven people were killed overnight by Syrian security forces in the flashpoint town of Homs, rights activists said April 18. The previous day, in the nearby town of Talbisseh, at least four were killed and more than 50 wounded when security forces opened fire on a funeral procession for a demonstrator killed on Friday, witnesses said. In the country's major port, Latakia, around 10,000 people also took to the streets for the funeral of a protester killed on Friday, according to witnesses. Regime supporters are reported to have broken up two rallies in southern Syria.The protests followed a televised address April 16 by President Bashar al-Assad, promising to end emergency rule—in force since 1963 when the Ba'ath party took power—within a week. (Middle East Online, April 18)

A former Guantánamo Bay detainee announced April 15 that he is suing members of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's regime over allegations that he was tortured by the government while in Egyptian custody. Mamdouh Habib, an Australian citizen, was arrested in Pakistan in 2001 following the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the US. He was released from Guantánamo in 2005 without charges being filed against him, after being held at the detention facility for three years. Habib claims that he was tortured and beaten after being taken to Egypt as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program. He claims Egypt's former vice-president Omar Suleiman and Mubarak's son Gamal supervised the torture, and indicated that he is seeking compensation and that he hopes those responsible will be imprisoned.

At least one was killed as police fired on protesters April 18 near Jaitapur, site of a proposed nuclear plant in Ratnagiri district of India's Maharashtra state. Authorities said officers opened fire after some 700 protesters set ablaze a police station and vehicles at Sakhrinate village. Villagers apparently took the opportunity to overrun the police station when most of the officers were mobilized to the Jaitapur project site where a demonstration was underway. (India Today, April 18)

The Mexican state of Tamaulipas has dismissed its security chief while federal police arrested 16 municipal police officers in the town of San Fernando following the discovery of more than 145 bodies in mass graves over the past weeks. Former army general Ubaldo Ayala Tinoco has been replaced as Tamaulipas public security secretary by another ex-military man, Capt Rafael Lomelí Martínez, who pledges to bring all those involved in the mass killings to justice. In addition to the police, some 20 have already been arrested in connection with the killings. Most of the victims are believed to have been abducted from long-distance buses travelling north to the US border; there is speculation they were killed by cartel gunmen after refusing to join their ranks. The bodies of 72 Central and South American migrants were found in the same area last year. On April 16, the Mexican navy announced the capture of Omar Martin Estrada Luna AKA "El Kilo"—suspected leader of Los Zetas in San Fernando and alleged mastermind of the recent killings. Federal authorities say he will likely be charged in last year's killings as well—for a total of 217 homicides. (BBC News, Hoy Tamaulipas, La Prensa, April 17; LAT, April 14)