Two Czech commanders from the elite Fourth Brigade of the Rapid Reaction Forces who have just returned from Afghanistan wore the shield designs of Nazi SS brigades and divisions on their helmets for almost their entire tour of duty in Logar province, according to a Nov. 9 report in the Prague daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD). The report notes that these same commanders were decorated days earlier in a ceremony in Žatec for their model fulfillment of the Afghan mission by Czech Defense Minister Martin Barták and Chief of General Staff Vlastimil Picek. MfD reports there is no evidence that Barták and Picek were aware of the two elite soldiers' Nazi sympathies. The helmets of company lieutenant Jan Čermák and warrant officer Hynek Matonoha were "decorated" with the shields of the SS Hohenstaufen and Dirlewanger brigades.

While the US Embassy in Bogotá says the new agreement for expanded US access to Colombian military bases enters into force immediately, a Colombian court ruling finds the agreement is "broad and unbalanced" in favor of the United States and not based on any previous treaty, so therefore must be reviewed by Colombia's Congress and Constitutional Court. The agreement puts no limits on the number of US personnel to be deployed in Colombia nor on the number of military bases they will use.

The US and OAS appear divided on whether to recognize the upcoming Honduran elections after the collapse of the Washington-brokered deal to solve the political crisis in the Central American country. Ousted President Manuel Zelaya told Radio Globo Nov. 6 that the deal is "dead," adding: "It makes no sense to continue duping the Honduran people with this type of agreement which only shows a lack of political will to resolve the problem."

A new report by the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights details "extensive and systematic" rights violations faced by thousands of political prisoners in Eritrea. The report charges that between 10,000 and 30,000 people are held in a country of about five million. Prisoners are held in shipping containers, or in bunkers deep underground. Torture is routine, with victims sometimes hung from their wrists and feet from trees in the sun or the rain.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the presumed gunman in the deadly Fort Hood shootings, worshipped at Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, VA, led by a radical imam said to be a "spiritual adviser" to three of the apparent 9-11 hijackers—two of whom attended the mosque at the same time as Hasan, the UK's Sunday Telegraph reported Nov. 7. The funeral of Hasan's mother was held there in May of the same year, 2001. The preacher at the time was Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Yemeni scholar who was banned from addressing a meeting in London by video link this August because he is accused of supporting attacks on British troops and backing terrorist organizations.

Giant swastikas appeared on the walls of the synagogue in Dresden, Germany, on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht Nov. 8. Unidentified perpetrators painted the graffiti, covering approximately six meters of brickwork. Heinz-Joachim Aris, chair of the State Union of Jewish Communities in Saxony, said he was disgusted and frightened by the crime. He also said he does not understand how it could have happened, as the synagogue is usually guarded. The case is being investigated by the Special Commission on Right-wing Extremism.

Populist leaders in Latin America increasingly use legal and political means to silence critics in the media, Enrique Santos Calderón, president of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), said Nov. 6. Tactics include revoking broadcast licenses, fostering hostility toward journalists, and giving a free hand to government supporters who have attacked broadcast stations, newsrooms and printing plants. "We are extremely concerned at the growing level in recent weeks of harassment and violence in various countries," Calderón said at IAPA's annual meeting in Buenos Aires. "Democratic systems require a free and unfettered press."

The Native Federation of the Rio Madre de Dios (FENAMAD) reports that at least 200 indigenous people have gathered at the settlement of Salvación, the local base for Texas-based Hunt Oil in the rainforest region of southeast Peru, in an ongoing occupation to halt the company's operations. After a meeting at Salvación between company representatives, local indigenous leaders and high-ranking government ministers Oct. 28, FENAMAD announced it was breaking off dialogue and announced an open-ended plantón (protest vigil). Fifty National Police officers have been mobilized to Salvación, where the stand-off continues.