Some 500,000 Mexican bus and truck drivers and owners held a one-day strike on Feb. 16, slowing freight deliveries and forcing many passengers to find alternative transportation in 17 of the country's 32 entities (31 states and the Federal District). The strike was called by the Alliance of Multimodal Transport, recently formed by about 200 transport associations. The alliance is demanding that the federal government freeze diesel fuel prices at 6.31 pesos (about $0.43) a liter; the fuel is distributed by the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) oil company.

Gunmen in a car fired on the three-car motorcade of José Reyes Baeza Terrazas, governor of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, as it stopped at an intersection in the state capital, Chihuahua City, late Feb. 22. Baeza insisted he wasn't the target, saying the gunmen fired at guards who were trailing him at a distance of several meters. A bodyguard died in the shootout; two other bodyguards and an assailant were wounded. "There was never direct aggression against the governor," Baeza told reporters. He declined to suggest a possible motive. The Prosecutor General of Republic is investigating the incident. (LAT, Feb. 24; El Universal, Feb. 23)

Revelations in the Colombian newsweekly Semana that the Department of Administrative Security (DAS) illegally listened in on the telephone conversations of judges, politicians and journalists prompted the resignation Feb. 23 of DAS deputy director Jorge Alberto Lagos—and denials of involvement by President Alvaro Uribe. "I have never given a single order to monitor these people's private lives," Uribe said. The president blamed the eavesdropping on a "mafia gang" within the DAS. (AFP, Feb. 23)

From Amnesty International, Feb. 20:

Foreign-supplied weapons used against civilians by Israel and Hamas
Both Israel and Hamas used foreign-supplied weapons to attack civilians according to fresh evidence released by Amnesty International. Munitions from the USA, Israel’s main foreign arms supplier, were used by Israel forces during three-week conflict in Gaza and southern Israel. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets that had been smuggled in or made of components from abroad at civilian areas in Israel.

Released Guantánamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohammed was returned to the UK Feb. 23 after being held for nearly seven years. Mohamed had immigrated from Ethiopia to the UK prior to his arrest, and it is not yet known whether he will be permitted to remain in the country, whose government he has repeatedly accused of being involved in his alleged torture. Mohamed recently ended a hunger strike, and British authorities declared him healthy enough to travel last week. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said that his return comes in response to a longstanding request for the return of UK residents held at Guantánamo.

US Army Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. was convicted Feb. 20 on charges stemming from the 2007 deaths of four Iraqi detainees, and was given a life sentence at a court-martial at a US military base in Germany. Leahy will have a possibility of parole after being dishonorably discharged, having his rank reduced to private, and forfeiting his pay. The medic from Illinois had admitted to shooting one of the prisoners but pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder, and obstruction of justice, claiming his lack of sleep and long-term presence in a war zone had made him unable to reason properly.

The Iraqi government has reopened the prison formerly called Abu Ghraib, promising to operate the facility by international standards and allow inspections by humanitarian groups. In a tour for members of the media Feb. 21, officials said they hoped to temper the strong feelings many Iraqis hold toward the prison with a new name, Baghdad Central Prison, and renovations including fresh paint, exercise equipment, and a library. The facility currently holds 300 prisoners, but officials expect to reach a capacity more than 12,000 once improvements are complete.

A report prepared for the Pentagon by US Navy Admiral Patrick Walsh concluded that the Guantánamo Bay detention center meets the requirements of the Geneva Conventions, according to Feb. 20 statements from US officials who have reviewed the document. The report, which has not been released, was prepared by the Pentagon in response to President Barack Obama's Jan. 22 executive order requiring the closure of the facility within one year. The report is believed to contain recommendations to alleviate solitary conditions in the prison by increasing the ability of detainees to speak with each other and congregate in communal spaces. The report also approved certain controversial tactics used at the facility, including the force-feeding of inmates engaged in hunger strikes, and the placement of high-risk detainees in isolation.