Saudi Arabia's air force attacked Yemeni rebels holding territory in the in Jabal al-Dokhan along the kingdom's southern border Nov. 5. The Defense Ministry in Sanaa denied local media reports that Saudi jets struck within Yemeni territory. The air-strikes followed a gun-battle in which a Saudi border guard was killed and 10 wounded when Houthi rebels from Yemen attacked. The Houthis issued a statement saying they seized the Jabal al-Dokhan because Saudi Arabia had allowed the Yemeni army to use the area for attacks on the rebels. (Bloomberg, Nov. 6; Arab News, NYT, Nov. 5)

Rights advocates are protesting an Australian detainment camp on a remote Indian Ocean island as the "new Guantánamo Bay." Christmas Island, a full 1,000 miles from the Australia mainland, is currently holding some 1,500 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and other Asian countries. A group of 39 "boat people" from Sri Lanka, rescued by a gas tanker after their makeshift craft sank in Australian territorial waters about 600 kilometers northwest of the Cocos Islands, are currently en route to the island.

The trial of Argentina's last military ruler opened this week at a Buenos Aires sports arena, attended by hundreds of relatives of his victims. Reynaldo Bignone is accused of involvement in the kidnapping, torture and murder of 56 people at Campo de Mayo military base. Seven other retired military and police officials, including five generals, are on trial with him.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Nov. 3 threatened to completely close the border with Colombia following the murder of two members of the Civil Guard by an alleged Venezuelan ally of Colombian paramilitaries. The two officials were shot by men on motorbikes just feet away from the border the previous day. Authorities on the Venezuelan side of the border near Cucuta immediately closed two main checkpoints connecting Colombia's Norte de Santander department and Venezuela's Tachira state. These were opened temporarily the next day to allow stuck travelers to cross. Trucks were not allowed to pass. "One of the measures we are studying is to declare an emergency at the border and, well, close it." Chavez said. (Colombia Reports, Nov. 4)

Margarito Montes Parra, leader of the General Popular Worker and Campesino Union (UGOCP), was assassinated Oct. 30—together with 14 family members and comrades, including his wife and two children—when their small convoy was ambushed by gunmen near Cajeme, Sonora. The Red Cross said 18 were injured in the attack, which took place at Los Alamitos ranch on the Hornos-Tesopaco highway.

The media coverage of the Chongqing corruption trial is focusing on the salacious details of the city's reigning crime queen, Xie Caiping, the sister-in-law of the deputy police chief, who is accused of running 20 illegal gambling halls (and notoriously kept a private entourage of 16 young lovers). Six gang members have been sentenced to death for crimes including murder and blackmail, the first among hundreds expected to go on trial—including 14 high-ranking officials. Reading past the headlines reveals that the crime machine served as local enforcers for post-socialist China's new landed oligarchy.

Judge Oscar Magi of the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Milan Nov. 4 convicted 23 former CIA agents for the 2003 kidnapping and rendition of Egyptian terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr. The nearly three-year trial, which was delayed many times, is the first in the world involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights. Former Milan CIA station chief Robert Seldon Lady was sentenced to eight years in prison, while 22 other Americans were sentenced to five years. Magi acquitted three other Americans, finding diplomatic immunity, and five Italian operatives, due to Italy's withholding of evidence because of national security issues.

In a letter sent to the US State Department Nov. 4, ousted President Manuel Zelaya asked the Obama administration why, after pressing for his reinstatement, it now says it will recognize upcoming Honduran elections even if he isn't returned to power first. The letter calls upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "to clarify to the Honduran people if the position condemning the coup d'etat has been changed or modified." The request came after Washington's top envoy to Latin America, Thomas Shannon, told CNN en Espanol that Washington will recognize the Nov. 29 elections even if the Honduran Congress votes against returning Zelaya to power.