Mexican authorities are searching for 37 undocumented migrants from Cuba and Central America taken from a government bus at gunpoint by ski-masked men with assault rifles. Authorities say the gunmen belong to a human trafficking ring. Police found the empty bus, and no sign of the migrants or the assailants, on the morning of June 12 near Ocosingo, Chiapas. The seven guards and two bus drivers were left on the highway.

We aren't sure that the optimism in his closing assessment of Obama's AIPAC speech is warranted. But this June 13 piece by Bernard Avishai in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz says much about the dilemmas the candidate faces. The piece is ostensibly about how Obama is perceived by the ruling elites within Israel, but much of it also applies to "the Lobby," the "neocons," and Israel's stateside amen chorus generally:

As the UN Security Council, Arab League and African Union urge Eritrea to halt military action against neighboring Djibouti, French officers stationed in the Horn of Africa mini-state say that France is providing Djibouti with military support—and preparing to send more troops and war material. Speaking to the official Agence Djiboutienne d'Information (ADI), a French officer identified as Col. Ducret said French forces are "providing assistance in logistics, medical [and] intelligence service to the Djiboutian army."

Police in Quito arrested three Colombians and one Ecuadoran in an alleged plot to assassinate President Rafael Correa. Two were arrested on the capital's Independence Plaza, where Carondelet presidential palace is located. The suspects were detained by agents of the elite Anti-Kidnapping Unit (UNASE), and had numerous photos of the palace and maps of the square. Ecuadorean Security Minister Gustavo Larrea told Caracol Radio the suspects were carrying weapons, but failed to say what kind. Spanish press agency EFE said one of the Colombians confessed to be from the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary network. Prosecutor General Washington Pezantes said the men were being investigated for their links to armed groups. But Correa himself raised the possibility they are "simply scam-artists" (estafadores).

Argentine food outlets and gas stations are preparing for shortages as truckers, blocking highways to protest business lost to a farm strike, shut down the nation's road transport system. Traffic is halted on routes through the agricultural provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba and Entre Rios to press demands the government settle a three-month conflict with farmers that has cut shipping and reduced their income. Growers seeking to roll back new export taxes refuse to sell soybeans and corn harvests. (Bloomberg, June 12)

Spanish police and Civil Guards cracked down on striking truckers June 11, with 25,000 deployed to clear blocked highways, arresting dozens. Catalan provincial police joined with French law enforcement to clear an eight-kilometer line of trucks that had closed a border post at Biriatou. Tens of thousands of truck drivers launched strikes in Spain and Portugal June 9, demanding government help to cope with the rising price of fuel. The protests paralyzed roads, closed auto plants, left supermarkets bare, and petrol stations without gasoline. On June 10, two strikers were run over and killed at picket lines in Spain and in Portugal. (AFP, La Voz Digital, Spain, June 12)

Ignoring a "don't panic" plea from Downing Street, motorists across England and Wales lined up at gas stations to top off their tanks in preparation for a long weekend of industrial action. Tanker drivers supplying 10% of the UK's petrol stations are to halt deliveries June 13 as talks between the Unite union and haulers servicing more than 900 Shell stations broke down. (The Guardian, June 13)

The US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City June 11 ruled that three Guinean women claiming to be victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) should not be deported. The court found that immigration judges and the appellate system committed "obvious errors" by denying asylum to the three.