The American Power Act, a bill proposing a carbon trading system for reducing US greenhouse gas emissions, was introduced May 12 in the Senate. Written by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the bill aims to reduce emissions by 17% in 2020 and by over 80% in 2050. President Barack Obama endorsed the bill, saying, "This legislation will put America on the path to a clean energy economy that will create American jobs building the solar panels, wind blades and the car batteries of the future. It will strengthen our national security by beginning to break our dependence on foreign oil. And it will protect our environment for our children and grandchildren."

A lawyer from Spain's National Court Office of the Prosecutor on May 12 petitioned judge Ismael Moreno to issue arrest warrants for 13 CIA agents who allegedly kidnapped a German citizen of Lebanese descent in 2003 as part of the Bush administration's "extraordinary rendition" program. Khaled el-Masri claims that the CIA kidnapped him while he was traveling to Macedonia in 2003 and transported him to a secret detention facility in Afghanistan where he was held for four months. The Office of the Prosecutor alleges that the court has jurisdiction to issue the warrants because the agents made a stop in Spanish territory using hidden identities without official Spanish government authorization to do so.

From the Center for Constitutional Rights, May 13:

Obama Administration Sides with Bush DOJ,
Asks Supreme Court to Keep Canadian Rendition Victim Maher Arar from His Day in Court
NEW YORK – Late yesterday, the Obama Department of Justice chose to weigh in for the first time on the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) case on behalf of Canadian citizen Maher Arar against US officials for their role in sending him to Syria to be tortured and detained for a year.

From Human Rights Watch, May 13:

Israel: Investigate Unlawful Destruction in Gaza War
Gaza Blockade Hinders Rebuilding of Property
JERUSALEM — Israel should investigate the unlawful destruction of civilian property during the 2009 Gaza hostilities and lift the blockade that hinders residents from rebuilding their homes, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

Local trade unionists are demanding answers following the apparent killing in custody of Sipho Jele, an activist in the Swaziland Agriculture and Plantation Workers' Union (SAPWU) and People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), who was arrested during May Day protests. Swaziland's largest opposition party, PUDEMO is being relentlessly persecuted under the government's notorious Suppression of Terrorism Act. Swaziland has been living under a State of Emergency since 1973. Swazi authorities are calling the Jele's death a suicide.

Iranian teacher, trade unionist and human rights activist Farzad Kamangar was among five political prisoners executed by hanging May 9 at Tehran's Evin Prison. The five, including one woman, were accused of collaboration with the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an armed separatist organization. "They confessed carrying out deadly terrorist operations in the country in the past years," the official news agency IRNA said. However, the charges against the five were considerably more vague, and included "moharebe," or enmity against God. The five were convicted in 2008, and Iran's Supreme Court later upheld their death sentences. None of the lawyers or the families of the defendants were made aware of executions beforehand.

US drones killed 21 presumed Taliban militants in two separate strikes in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan on May 11. In the first strike, a drone fired 10 missiles at a vehicle and tents in Doga Maza Khel area of Datta Khel tehsil (administrative division), 50 kilometers west of Miranshah, killing 14. In the second attack, in Gurwak area of Shawaal tehsil, 70 kilometers from Miranshah, the drone fired two missiles at a vehicle and a house, killing seven. Ten drones were seen hovering over the area. (Daily Times, Pakistan, May 11)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed the existence of a secret US detention facility at Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base, according to a May 11 BBC News report. Last month, BBC News reported that nine Afghan witnesses claimed that they were held and tortured in a secret US prison at Bagram. The witnesses say that they were captured by US forces and taken to a secret location where they were abused and interrogated, then later transported to an official detention facility in Parwan, a new prison recently opened at the edge of Bagram Air Base. Torture allegations include sleep deprivation, disorientation, beating, and humiliation tactics. The US continues to deny the existence of secret prisons in Afghanistan.