Dozens of students occupied four radio stations in Chilpancingo, capital of the southwestern Mexican state of Guerrero, for about an hour on Jan. 3 in an attempt to publicize their positions on an ongoing conflict at the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers' College in the nearby village of Ayotzinapa. The conflict intensified when two students were shot dead on Dec. 12 as state and federal police attempted to remove some 500 protesters blocking the Mexico City-Acapulco highway to push their demands for improvements at the school. The students, along with parents and other supporters, occupied the school over the Christmas and New Year break and said they planned to maintain their mobilization after the official school opening on Jan. 3.

International efforts to help Haiti recover from a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the southern part of the country in 2010 have made significant progress, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) associate administrator Rebeca Grynspan told reporters on Jan. 6. Speaking less than a week before the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 12, 2010 quake, Grynspan cited the creation of 300,000 temporary jobs, with 40% going to women, and the removal of 50% of the debris, about five million cubic meters--enough to fill five soccer stadiums, according to Grynspan. International aid has now shifted "from the humanitarian phase to the recovery and reconstruction phases," she said. (United Nations News Center, Jan. 6; AlterPresse, Haiti, Jan. 8)

The State Department on Jan. 9 officially expelled a Venezuelan consul general over an alleged plot involving Venezuela, Iran and Cuba to launch a cyber-attack against Washington. The department said it gave Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela's consul general in Miami, 24 hours to leave the United States after declaring her persona non grata—the most serious form of censure a country can apply to a foreign diplomat. The move comes after recent claims on the US-based Spanish-language TV network Univision that Acosta was involved in plans three years ago, with a group of diplomats based in Mexico to attack the computer systems of the White House, FBI, CIA, Pentagon, National Security Agency and several nuclear power plants. The report also claimed Acosta was seeking the aid of hackers to uncover incriminating information on US political figures, including Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Iran's former ambassador to Mexico, Mohammad Hassan Ghadir, appeared on Univision last month to deny the accusations. The network tied Acosta to Venezuela's espionage agency, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service.

Blackwater, now known as Academi, reached a confidential settlement agreement Jan. 7 with survivors and families of victims in a 2007 shooting incident in the Nisour Square area of Baghdad that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. A subsequent FBI investigation revealed that 14 of the deaths were unjustified acts of excessive force. A federal judge ruled last year that the lawsuit could proceed in North Carolina state court, saying that nonresidents lack the right to sue in federal court for injuries sustained outside of the country but that federal courts are obligated to remand such cases to the state level, where North Carolina law permits such suits. Lawyers for the victims confirmed the settlement, and Academi said the settlement would allow the company to move forward while providing compensation to the victims and allowing closure for the losses they suffered. This settlement closes the last lawsuit against the company for the 2007 incident.

A Russian naval flotilla led by an aircraft carrier docked in the Syrian port of Tartus for a six-day visit Jan. 8, in what Damascus state media hailed as a show of solidarity by Moscow. Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha visited Russian carrier Kuznetsov at the port, where Russia has a recently expanded a naval base. Russian ambassador to Syria Azamat Kulmukhametov said the visit by the Russian vessels highlighted the strong ties between the two countries, but added: "Russia is very interested in achieving the aspirations of the Syrian people in democracy and stresses the importance of implementing the comprehensive reform program." (Xinhua, Jan. 9) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile warned that Syria is heading towards civil war, and that NATO member Turkey should play a leading role in preventing this. "The situation in Syria is heading towards a religious, sectarian, racial war, and this needs to be prevented," Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara. "Turkey has to take on a leadership role here, because the current situation poses a threat to Turkey." (Reuters, Jan. 9)

The Chinese government's new white paper outlining its plans for the next five years in space mentions not only launching new orbiting laboratories, and manned mission to dock with its current orbiting lab, the Tiangong-1—but also actually placing a human being on the Moon, although it does not give a projected date for this goal. China has already successfully launched two lunar orbiters in 2007 and 2010. For its next phase, China plans to put rovers on the Moon to collect samples by 2016. A new launch center is under construction in Hainan, and upgrades are underway at the three existing launch sites in Jiuquan (Gansu province), Xichang (Sichuan) and Taiyuan (Shanxi). The white paper also outlines ambitions for 24-hour continuous, high-resolution surveillance of the Earth—which if realized, would put China on a level with the United States in this field. The white paper emphasizes that the People's Republic "opposes weaponization or any arms race in outer space." (Sapa-AFP, Jan. 7; Forbes, Dec. 30; Xinhua, NYT, Dec. 29)

The Bolivian government is currently studying a bill to ban the sale of land to foreigners, Vice Minister of Land Edgar Apaza said Jan. 8. The proposal came from a social summit held in Cochabamba last month, which brought together lawmakers and representatives of popular movements. Apaza endorsed the proposed law, which would include penalties for those who attempt to disguise land ownership to skirt the ban. He stressed that Bolivia is obliged to pass such a law by Article 396 of the new constitution, which denies the acquisition of national lands by foreigners. Many of the best lands in the east and south of the country are in the hands of Brazilians and Argentines. (Prensa Latina, Jan. 7)

An investigative commission in Afghanistan issued a statement Jan. 7 alleging the abuse of detainees held by the US military at prisons in the country. The commission called for the transfer of all prisoners held by the US military to Afghan custody. The detainees held by US forces are a combination of Afghan nationals and foreign accused al-Qaeda operatives. The commission also alleged that some prisoners are being held without evidence and called for their release. The commission was created by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in June 2010.