The Israeli Navy opened fire on an armed squad of five Palestinians wearing diving suits and supposedly on their way to attack Israeli targets, the IDF said June 7. An army source told the daily Haaretz that at about 4:30 AM, naval commandos identified and fired on a boat carrying five armed Palestinians heading north from waters off the Nuseirath refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Sources in Gaza reported that four Palestinians were killed. Hamas later confirmed the deaths and said a fifth Palestinian was missing—although conflicting reports from Gaza claimed at least two of the five-member squad survived. Other Palestinian sources told Haaretz that the militants were members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. (Haaretz, June 7)

From a June 4 op-ed in the International Herald Tribune by Anene Ejikeme, "The Oil Spills We Don't Hear About":

Experts estimate that some 13 million barrels of oil have been spilt in the Niger Delta since oil exploration began in 1958. This is the equivalent of one Exxon Valdez every year for 50 years.

Marking the anniversary of the 1967 seizure of the West Bank and Gaza, some 15,000 Israeli leftists and peace activists marched in Tel Aviv June 5 to mark "43 years of occupation," while also protesting the recent IDF raids on Gaza-bound aid ships. A heavy police presence did not prevent right-wing counter-protesters from attacking the march. A smoke grenade was hurled at the protestors outside the Tel Aviv Museum, and counter-protesters tried to attack leftist activist Uri Avnery, snatching a banner he was carrying.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced June 5 the seizure without resistance of the Gaza-bound aid ship Rachel Corrie. The Israeli military says soldiers boarded the Rachel Corrie from the sea rather than from helicopter, in contrast to the deadly raid on an aid convoy five days ago. The ship has been taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israel says it will question those on board at the port and transfer the aid to the Gaza Strip by land after checking the cargo for banned items.

On June 2, a heavily armed commando of the Colombian National Army leapt over the security fence at BP's Tauramena Central Processing Facility in Casanare department to attack group of striking workers who have been occupying the complex. Oscar Garcia, of the National Oil Workers Union said, "This shows how BP is bent on war against workers who are only demanding that their fundamental rights be respected."

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 2 pardoned or commuted the sentences of 81 protesters arrested following last year's disputed presidential election. The pardons were made on request of the head of the Supreme Judicial System of Iran, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, who described the pardoned protesters as repentant. They were announced the same day that defeated presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi applied for permission to hold demonstrations marking the one-year anniversary of the elections. Pardons are common occurrences on national religious observances in Iran; June 2 marked the birth of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, a revered figure in Shi'a Islam.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has convened a jirga, or assembly of tribal leaders, to discuss a plan to reach out to the Taliban and broker peace June 2. Assailants with suicide vests, rockets and machine guns disrupted the opening ceremonies at the cavernous meeting tent on Kabul's Polytechnic University campus, sparking a 45-minute gun battle. The attachers apparently used women's burqas to sneak into the area. Two men were killed and a third was arrested. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP, McClatchy Newspapers, NPR, June 2)

From Boycott!—"Supporting the Palestinian BDS [boycott, divestment, sanctions] call from within"—June 4:

Israelis call on the world's governments and civil society organizations:
Gaza and MV Rachel Corrie Need Your Backing Now!
We are Israeli citizens and residents, Palestinians and Jews. We work in our society to raise the voices of conscience and dissent in light of the hostility, self-righteousness and racism which dominate it, but these efforts are not sufficient. In the wake of our government's deadly attack on the Free Gaza aid ships, including the MV Marmara, and due to the continued cruel and illegitimate Israeli siege on the Gaza strip—we call on the world's governments and civil society organizations to take concrete and immediate steps in pressuring Israel to refrain from interfering with the ship MV Rachel Corrie, currently on route to Gaza, or any future vessel, sailing from international waters to the waters of the besieged Gaza strip.