Photographs of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison that President Barack Obama does not want to release include depictions of rape and sexual assault, according to former Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba May 27. In an interview with the UK's Daily Telegraph, Taguba supported Obama's decision not to release the photos, maintaining that doing so would endanger US troops.

A US federal judge May 27 sentenced the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and five of its officials pursuant to their convictions of providing material support to Palestinian group Hamas. District Judge Jorge Solis sentenced Shurki Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain, Ghassan Elashi, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh to prison terms ranging from 15 to 65 years and reaffirmed the jury's $12.4 million judgment against the group.

In a large-scale anti-drug operation involving hundreds of Mexican soldiers and Federal Preventative Police troops, a total of 27 mayors and public officials were arrested May 26 in President Felipe Calderón's home state, Michoacán. Among the detained were the mayors of Apatzingán, Uruapan, Buenavista Tomatlán, Coalcomán, Nuevo Urecho, Arteaga, Tepalcatepec, Aguililla, Tumbiscatío and Ciudad Hidalgo. Several officials were also detained in the state prosecutor's office in Morelia, which was stormed by federal troops.

Enrique Torres, leader of ejidatarios (communal farmers) who led protests against mining operations last year in Huizopa, Chihuahua, was arrested by state police May 24. He is charged with illegally blockading operations of the Minera Dolores company. The arrest comes days after the company gave six houses to relocated families, as well as 45,000 pesos (approx. $3,400) for a church and 50,000 for a community baseball team. Torres, minutes before his arrest, told El Diaro newspaper that more than half the Huizopa ejidatarios (120 of 220) rejected the deal with the company. (El Diario, Ciudad Juárez, May 25)

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Dole Food Co. on behalf of 73 people, survivors of murdered trade unionists and farmers in the banana-growing region of north Colombia, accusing the company of funding paramilitaries to carry out assassinations and terror tactics in order to protect its banana operations.

A Lebanese man held in Brazil for three weeks for posting anti-US comments on the Internet is not a member of al-Qaeda, as one Brazilian newspaper reported, federal prosecutors said May 27. The man, identified only as "K," is a self-employed computer technician with permanent residency in Brazil, where he lives with his Brazilian wife and daughter, officials and his lawyer said. He was released on May 18 this week after being arrested three weeks ago in Sao Paulo.

Niger's President Mamadou Tandja dissolved parliament May 25, a day after the constitutional court turned down his bid to extend his term. Tandja, 70, was elected in 1999 and had promised to quit at the end of his term later this year, but flipped, even trying to hold a referendum to confirm him for a third term, claiming wide support from Niger's people. In January, Niger set a December deadline for general elections. The opposition warns of a step towards dictatorship. (Afrol News, May 26)

Two people were killed, including a schoolgirl, and at least 12 injured in an explosion May 23 at a Roman Catholic church in Lalitpur, Nepal. No group claimed responsibility, but police said they suspect the Nepal Defense Army, a Hindu extremist group that seeks to restore Nepal's monarchy. The attack came just as parliament prepared to elect a new prime minister following the resignation of the Maoist leader Prachanda, who stepped down after his attempt to dismiss the army chief was blocked by the president May 3. Maoist lawmakers—many of them former guerillas— stormed Nepal's parliament May 18 to block a vote for a new prime minister. (BBC, May 23; CSM, May 18)