Human bones, organs and tissues will be considered commodities if the pending Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is ratified, Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Ministry has acknowledged. The admission came in a statement released from Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz to Dr. Rodrigo Cabezas, a Costa Rican surgeon, who had inquired about Item 30019010 of Appendix 3.3 of the treaty. Ruiz said that under the agreement, human organs would be marketed just like any other product in international trade. "For this given product, Costa Rica agreed to remove the import tariff under the free trade agreement," Ruiz stated. (Prensa Latina, July 13)

The Wayuu indigenous people of Venezuela sent a message saluting the "Encuentro of the Pueblos Zapatistas with the Peoples of the World," which has just opened at the village of Oventic in Chiapas, Mexico. The message was harshly critical of the Hugo Chávez government, which it accused of "continuing the neoliberal policies" under the guise of a "double discourse," indicating a "lack of respect for the [indigenous] communities, a manipulation, and in the final accounting, a genocide." It said the Venezuelan state "has blocked with the transnational imperialists to enter indigenous territories throughout the country to exploit mineral, hydrocarbon, gas and petroleum resources, against the wishes and the decisions of the indigenous communities of Venezuela." (La Jornada, July 20)

Labor unrest, infrastructure problems and charges of corruption at Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA have reached the point of a "significant operational emergency," PDVSA vice president for exploration and production Luis Vierma told the National Assembly's comptroller committee July 18. The warnings of crisis come just as PDVSA is embarking on an ambitious course of taking greater control over Venezuela's oil industry from foreign companies.

A front-page New York Times story July 24 reveals details of a classified plan calling for achieving "localized security" in Baghdad by the summer of 2008—and "sustainable security" throughout Iraq by the summer of 2009. The document, known as the Joint Campaign Plan, anticipates a decline in US forces as the "surge" runs its course later this year or in early 2008, but it assumes continued US involvement to train and cooperate with Iraq forces. Drawn up by Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the US ambassador, the plan has been briefed to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. William J. Fallon, the head of the Central Command. It is expected to be formally issued to officials in Washington this week. "The coalition, in partnership with the government of Iraq, employs integrated political, security, economic and diplomatic means, to help the people of Iraq achieve sustainable security by the summer of 2009," a summary of the campaign plan states.

Italian anti-terrorism police arrested three Moroccans—an imam and two of his aides—at a mosque in Perugia, capital of Umbria region, July 22, saying it served as a base for an extremist cell that ran courses in hand-to-hand combat, making bombs and flying aircraft. A police statement said the cell had contacts with members of the Moroccan Islamic Combat group arrested in Belgium two years ago. The group, known by its French acronym GICM, is said to have ties to al-Qaeda and to the 2004 Madrid bombings and 2003 Casablanca attacks. (SMH, July 23) Meanwhile, the Algerian army killed 20 alleged al-Qaeda militants in gun-battles in the Kabylie region July 24. The killings followed more days of fighting that began July 14 when the army claimed to have foiled an al-Qaeda attack on two police stations in Yakourene village, Tizi Ouzou province. (Reuters, July 24)

Afghanistan has announced three days of official mourning for the country's former king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, 92. Announcing his passing, President Hamid Karzai, a relative, hailed Zahir Shah as the "father of the nation." (RFE/RL) An editorial bidding him farewell in Arab News states: "Today, with the country seemingly sliding again into violence, it is not surprising that many Afghans look back on the 40 years that Zahir Shah reigned, from 1933 to 1973 when he was overthrown by his cousin, as a golden age. As well as peace and stability, there was also reform. Zahir Shah was a king who saw himself as an enabler rather than a ruler and who wanted to democratize his country. He did not want or enjoy personal power... Sadly it was his desire to reform that led to his overthrow. His 1964 constitution barring members of the royal family from involvement in politics was bitterly resented by his ambitious cousin Mohammad Daoud, against whom it was in part directed. Daoud's coup opened a Pandora's Box that has proved impossible to close ever since."

In the July 22 ballot, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured the largest share of votes in a Turkish election since 1965, in a contest which saw heated controversy about the country's future as a secular republic. His Justice and Development (AK) party—its pro-capitalist brand of political Islam sometimes dubbed "Islamic Calvinism"—captured constituencies across Turkey, leaving only isolated pockets to the secular nationalist parties. "The divide between the AK Party and its secularist-nationalist opponents has emerged as one of the most important fault lines in Turkish politics," writes Turkey's Zaman.

Iranian intelligence operatives detained over a dozen squirrels found within the nation's borders earlier this month, claiming they were serving as spies for Western powers determined to undermine the Islamic Republic. "In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran's borders," state news agency IRNA reported. "The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services." (YNet, July 17) Meanwhile in Iraq, British forces have denied rumors that they released a plague of ferocious man-eating badgers in the city of Basra. Several of the creatures, caught and killed by local farmers, have been identified by experts as honey badgers, which do not attack human beings unless threatened. UK military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said: "We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area." (BBC, July 12)