Oakland, Calif., exploded into violent protests Jan. 7 over the police slaying of 22-year-old African American father of one Oscar Grant. Following a memorial service for Grant at Palma Ceia Baptist Church, it was announced that officer Johannes Mehserle had resigned from the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police force so he would not be forced to testify at an internal hearing. Later in the day, a rally was held at the Fruitvale BART station, where Grant was killed, then marched up International Blvd. towards downtown Oakland. Following skirmishes with police, protesters took over and blocked the intersection of 14th and Broadway for over an hour, with chants of "We are Oscar Grant." When riot police tried to clear the intersection, protesters ran down 14th, smashing the windows of cars and a McDonalds, and torching an SUV.

Greek journalists Jan. 9 harshly criticized police conduct at a protest in central Athens. Fourteen lawyers were among those detained after an estimated 3,000 people, chiefly teachers and students, took part in the demonstration to commemorate the 1991 murder of Nikos Temponeras, a teacher who was bludgeoned to death by a right-wing unionist. Police used tear gas in clashes with protesters who erected burning barricades. The Athens journalists' union, ESHEA, protested to the interior ministry about "the brutal attacks and beatings" to which reporters and camera crews had been subjected. Said Interior Minister Procopis Pavolopoulos: "There may have been excesses to be condemned, we are looking into the issue, but the police did their job." (AFP, Jan. 10)

The head of the Basque government and his chief opponent went on trial Jan. 8 over alleged past contacts with Batasuna, banned political wing of the armed separatist group ETA—just weeks before they are to face off in regional elections. Juan José Ibarretxe of the region's ruling Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), and Patxi Lopez, regional leader of Spain's ruling Socialist Party, face possible prison terms and bans on political activity if found guilty. (AFP, Jan. 10)

Leonidas Vargas, one of Colombia's most notorious drug lords, was shot dead in his Madrid hospital bed Jan. 8, Spanish authorities said. At least one gunman entered the room in Madrid's Doce de Octubre Hospital where Vargas was being treated for a serious illness, and shot him four times. The Spanish press reported the assassin asked another patient who was sharing the Colombian's room if he was Vargas. When the man said no, he took out a gun fitted with a silencer and shot Vargas, who was asleep.

Thousands of fishermen in Mexico went on strike last week to protest the rise in the cost of diesel fuel, which they say has reduced their profit margin to zero. The strike, dubbed "Zero Fishing 2009," was declared in the northern state of Sinaloa by fishermen operating a fleet of around 100. In less than a week, the number of vessels involved in the strike had climbed to over 2,500.

The US continues to be the major weapon supplier to Mexico's drug cartels, according to a report the Cabinet submitted to President Felipe Calderón last week. In the text, the secretariats of Government, Defense, Navy and Public Security, and the Prosecutor General's office say the cross-border arms traffic is a $22 million-a-year trade, and that weapons from the US have reached Los Zetas, bloody paramilitary wing of the Gulf Cartel, as well as criminal organizations in Sinaloa and Tijuana.

During a live broadcast the night of Jan. 6, at least five masked gunmen riding in two pickup trucks fired high-caliber weapons and tossed a grenade outside the studios of the Televisa network in Monterrey, in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León. The two news anchors asked the police for help on the air during the attack. Televisa's news director in Monterrey, Francisco Cobos, told local reporters that the gunmen left a message on the windshield of one of the cars parked in the station's lot saying in Spanish: "Stop reporting on us. Also report on narco officials."

From Witness Against Torture, Jan. 8:

WASHINGTON – On Sunday, January 11 – the seven-year anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo – more than 200 human rights advocates will join 60 people who are beginning a nine-day fast to encourage President-Elect Barack Obama to keep his promise to shut down Guantánamo and end torture in his first days of office.