Up to 11 villagers, including a child, were killed when a group of over 200 Naxalite guerillas attacked a village in Jamui, Bihar, late Feb. 17. The attack reportedly came in retaliation for the killing of eight Naxalites by the villagers a fortnight ago. (Indian Express, Feb. 19) A day earlier, Naxalite gunmen on motorcycles and pickup trucks killed 24 paramilitary officers in a daylight ambush against an encampment of the Eastern Frontier Rifles in West Bengal. (NYT, Feb. 16)

Hundreds of striking Finance Ministry and customs employees protested in Athens Feb. 17, as Prime Minister George Papandreou prepared to meet opposition leaders to discuss Greece's financial crisis. Greek unions oppose the new Socialist government's new austerity measures, as European finance ministers warned Athens othat it would have to impose even tougher budget cuts. Amid the strikes, a bomb exploded Feb. 16 at the Athens offices of JP Morgan, causing damage but no injuries. Police also defused a bomb outside the offices of the Citizen Protection Ministry. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombs, but police say they suspect anarchists. (AP, DPA, Feb. 17)

Guillame Joseph-Marc Beaulieu, 27 of Vancouver, has been arrested as the "ringleader" of the "Black Bloc" anarchists who rioted in the city in protests against the Winter Olympics Feb. 14. He is charged with mischief and faces fines of over $5,000. Lliam Brander, 27, of North Vancouver has been charged with assault. The investigation continues and further arrests may be pending, police say. Among 11 arrested so far, one is from Shoreline, Wash. He has been charged with possession of weapons and handed over to immigration. (Vancouverite, Feb. 16)

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Feb. 16 that claims of unlawful treatment and wrongful death brought on behalf of two former Guantánamo Bay detainees are barred by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA). The two men, Yasser Al-Zahrani and Salah Ali Abdullah Ahmed Al-Salami, were among three detainees who allegedly hanged themselves in their cells in July 2006. The claim was brought against former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and more than 100 military officers and personnel under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The defendants moved to dismiss the suit based on section 7 of the MCA, which removes the ability of federal courts to hear challenges to the treatment of aliens who have been "properly detained" as enemy combatants. Judge Ellen Huvelle found that since the two men had been properly detained, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. (Jurist, Feb. 17)

When Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas official reportedly behind the smuggling of Iranian arms to Gaza, was found dead in his hotel room in Dubai, UAE, on Jan. 20, the organization was quick to point the finger at Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, vowing revenge attacks. But a preliminary investigation conducted by Hamas suggests that the assassination was likely carried out by agents of an Arab government, Israel's Ha'aretz reports.

An Afghan Taliban spokesman denied reports that the organization's military commander had been arrested by US and Pakistani forces in a secret operation. "The rumors reported today on the arrest of Mullah Baradar are all untrue. It is a big lie," Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. "He is currently in Afghanistan, where he is leading all jihad activities... He is here with us and is in contact with us."

A heavy rain fell on Port-au-Prince for about a half hour in the early morning of Feb. 11, drenching the estimated 1.1 million people who have been sleeping outdoors or in improvised shelters since a magnitude 7.0 earthquake destroyed or seriously damaged their homes on Jan. 12. This was the first heavy rain in Haiti's capital and the surrounding area since the quake, which occurred during the dry season. More frequent rainstorms may come as early as March, and medical experts warn of a great increase in disease if better shelters aren't constructed in time.

On Feb. 14 a group of Mexican unions announced their intention to hold a general strike in 25 of the country's 32 states on March 16 if the government attempts to remove striking workers from the giant Cananea copper mine in Sonora state. Some 1,400 workers in Section 65 of the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers and the Like of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMSRM) have maintained a strike at the facility—which is owned by the powerful Grupo México—since July 30, 2007.