On April 11, Palestinian professor Sami Al-Arian was transferred into ICE custody after completing a sentence on civil contempt citations for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury. On April 15, ICE agents transported Al-Arian from the Northern Neck Regional jail in Warsaw, Va., to the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Va. Just hours after he arrived at Hampton Roads, jail officials placed Al-Arian on suicide watch in a segregation unit and confiscated all of his belongings, allegedly because of his refusal to eat. Al-Arian had been on hunger strike since March 3, protesting the government's refusal to release him.

On a visit to Mexico City April 29, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Congress to approve the pending $500 million anti-drug program for Mexico, telling reporters, "Failure to do so would be a real slap at Mexico and would be very disappointing and it clearly would make it more difficult for us to help Mexican armed forces and their civilian agencies deal with this difficult problem."

On April 25, Mexican federal legislators of the three political parties that make up the Broad Progressive Front (FAP) ended their 16-day occupation of the congressional chambers after a deal was worked out with representatives of the ruling National Action Party (PAN) over proposed legislation to reform the state oil company, Pemex. FAP leaders claimed victory, telling the press that they had prevented the reform package submitted by President Felipe Calderón from being "fast tracked." The new deal allows for 71 days of national debate before lawmakers can resume discussion and move to vote on the measures. Some FAP leaders, however, are insisting on a popular "ratification referendum" following the vote by the legislature.

A series of early-morning gun battles between presumed narco-gangsters in the busy streets of Tijuana—including one outside a hospital—left 15 dead and seven wounded April 26. Authorities are not releasing any of the names of the dead, but the local media are full of speculation. The national daily El Universal reported that the Sinaloa Cartel was to blame. Several newspapers reported that among the dead was Luis Alfonso Velarde (AKA El Muletas or "Crutches"), a reputed local drug lord with a handful of YouTube video tributes to his name. Another, even bigger local cartel operative nicknamed "Mr. Three Letters" might be dead too, along with "La Perra" (said to be a former city cop), reported El Sol de Tijuana. And they may all have been ambushed by another cartel leader known as "El Cholo." (LAT, AP, April 28)

Just two days after Beijing's surprise announcement that it would shortly meet with aides to the Dalai Lama, the Chinese Communist party's official mouthpiece hurled fresh invective at the exiled Tibetan leader. The April 27 People's Daily commentary stated: "The Dalai clique have always been masters at games with words and the ideas that they have tossed about truly make the head spin... Those who split the nation are criminals to history." The Dalai Lama's nephew, Khedroob Thondup, a member of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, dismissed the overture as a "ruse" designed "to deflect pressure and give false assurance to Western leaders." (The Guardian, April 28) A story on the front page of the New York Times business section April 26, "At Trade Show, China's Police Shop for the West's Latest," sported a picture of an armored vehicle on display and contained such gems as:

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai strongly criticized the US and British conduct of the war April 25, insisting in an interview that his government be given the lead in policy decisions. He reiterated claims that Afghan villagers were bearing the brunt of US-led attacks, while the Taliban/al-Qaeda were actually based across the border in US ally Pakistan. (NYT, April 26) Two days later, Karzai narrowly escaped death when assailants opened fire on his entourage in an Afghan National Day parade, celebrating 16 years since the overthrow of the country's Soviet-backed rule. Three people were killed and some 10 injured in the attack. An MP and a 10-year-old child were among the dead, officials said. Some of the assailants have been arrested, according to authorities. (BBC, April 28; Press TV, Iran, April 27)

In the last six months, food riots in virtually every continent have made headlines, with angry protests reported in India, Mexico, Egypt, Indonesia, Haiti, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mauritania, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, and the Philippines. Now impacts are being felt in "first world" countries like Japan, where food prices have risen by an average of 15% in the last year. (Nation Media, Kenya, April 24) Several Asian countries, including India and Vietnam, have halted all rice exports. (China Daily, Spril 28) The "global rice panic" has also hit the Asian-American community in California, as the retail price for a 50-pound sack of Thai jasmine rice has doubled from roughly $20 to $40 in recent weeks. (McClatchy Newspapers, April 24) Panic-buying has exhausted stocks at supermarkets in the Bay Area and Sacramento. A Costco Wholesale store in San Francisco has limited rice purchases to two bags per customer. Wal-Mart Stores' Sam's Club has limited purchases of jasmine, basmati and long-grain white rice to four bags a visit in all US outlets. (Bloomberg, April 25)

Our April issue featured the story "The Audacity of Vagueness: Barack Obama and Latin America," by Nikolas Kozloff of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Wrote Kozloff: "Barack Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, has not been very eager to comprehensively address Latin America as an issue. In recent years, the region has undergone a major tectonic shift towards the left, surely prompting many to wonder how the young Illinois Senator might deal with progressive change throughout the hemisphere were he elected to the White House. Would he seek to continue the rabidly hawkish stance of the Bush administration towards such nations as Venezuela, or could he be convinced to broker a rapprochement?" We have noted before Obama's alarmingly bellicose rhetoric on Pakistan. Our April Exit Poll was: "Are you rooting for Barack Obama? With or without grave misgivings?" As an Extra Credit question, we asked: "Will Cheney pull an 'October Surprise'?" We received the following responses: