US President Barack Obama signed a four-year extension of the Patriot Act late on May 26, minutes before it was set to expire. The bill passed the US Senate 72-23, and shortly after passed the US House of Representatives by a vote of 250-153. Although major congressional leaders of both parties had agreed to a clean extension of the act last week, delays were met when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) filibustered the bill over the lack of an amendment process and serious concerns about privacy. After three days of filibustering, Paul received votes on two amendments that ultimately failed, both related to the ability of security officials to survey gun purchases. Controversial provisions renewed include provisions allowing the government to use roving wiretaps on multiple carriers and electronic devices and allowing the government to gain access to certain records relevant to its investigations. The "lone wolf" provision enables investigators to get warrants to conduct surveillance over targets not connected to any particular terrorist group.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 27 affirmed a lower court's decision confirming that Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainee Musa'ab Omar al-Madhwani is lawfully detained for being part of al-Qaeda. Madhwani challenged the denial of 2004 petition for writ of habeas corpus by the US District Court for the District of Columbia claiming that there was insufficient evidence to find that he was part of al-Qaeda and that the district court improperly relied on evidence outside the record, abused its discretion in denying additional discovery and committed various legal errors, including due process violations. The court supported the use of the "command structure" test employed by the district court as "sufficient to show that a person is part of al-Qaeda" in response to Madhwani's arguments against using an erroneous legal standard where only preponderance of evidence is needed to detain someone in connection with al Qaeda. Examining the evidence de novo, the appeals court found that:

The Colombian Senate on May 25 passed the Victims and Land Restitution Law, to provide financial compensation and the return of usurped lands to victims of internal "armed conflicts." President Juan Manuel Santos called the approval of the law "historic." But his predecessor Alvaro Uribe bitterly fought the law's wording, arguing that it equated the state's actions with those of the illegal armed groups. In compromise wording, the law describes illegal armed groups as "terrorists." Claimants who have been victimized by armed conflicts since January 1985 are eligible for financial compensation. Those who have had their land seized, or were forced to abandoned their lands, are entitled to restitution of their property. The government estimates that 4 million hectares of land were abandoned and 2 million were seized during the conflicts. Senator Juan Fernando Cristo (Liberal Party) stated that the law ushers in "part two of the history of this country." The restitution process is expected to take 10 years to complete.

The Brazil House of Deputies passed reforms to the the country's forest code May 24 that ease restrictions on deforestation and provide amnesty for prior deforestation violations. The amended code would allow small farmers to cut down trees on hilltops and along rivers, two areas that were previously protected. It would also provide farmers with amnesty for violations of the forest code prior to July 22, 2008. The amendments were mainly pushed by Alldo Rebelo, head of the Communist Party of Brazil, who argues that the restrictions are disproportionately hurting small-scale farmers. The amendments still have to be passed by the Senate, where they are expected to meet tough opposition, and be signed by President Dilma Rousseff before taking effect. A group of 10 former environmental ministers sent a letter dated May 23 to the president urging a balanced approach to environmental regulation that will promote both the agricultural industry and environmental sustainability.

Israeli military forces shut down Friday anti-wall protests in villages across the West Bank on May 27, saying the unarmed weekly demonstrations in Palestinian villages have been declared illegal. An army spokesman said the areas between Israel's separation wall and villages Ni'lin and Bil'in, near Ramallah, have been designated "closed military zones" every Friday between 8 AM and 8 PM. In Nil'in, where the wall cuts off around one third of the village, protesters on last Friday marked the third anniversary of their peaceful protest campaign against the barrier—over the course of which Israeli forces have killed five Palestinians and injured hundreds more. This Friday, for the first time the army installed a checkpoint at the entrance to Ni'lin, stopping residents from joining the protest. Troops fired tear-gas grenades into fields when protesters tried to evade the checkpoint, and residents said over 100 olive trees were set on fire.

Protesters took to the streets of Egyptian cities on May 27 for nationwide Friday protests, again filling Cairo's Tahrir Square with tens of thousands. Demonstrations were also held in Alexandria, the canal cities of Ismailiya and Suez, and in the Sinai peninsula. Hundreds protested outside the hospital where ousted president Hosni Mubarak is being held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, demanding his transfer to prison. Protesters called on the military to hand over power to a civilian council, draw up a new constitution, and postpone September’s parliamentary election until new political parties can organize. The mass action, dubbed the “second day of rage,” was the largest since the rallies that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11.

Reporter Colin Moynihan writes for the New York Times' City Room blog, May 26:

At On-Air Haven for Dissent, a Dissenting Voice Is Silenced
For nearly 20 years, an East Village journalist named Bill Weinberg has been a familiar late-night voice on the left-leaning radio station WBAI-FM (99.5), ruminating about radical politics, global turmoil and life in New York City.

Following a campaign by the Stop the JNF Campaign, British Prime Minister David Cameron's name has apparently been dropped from the list of honorary patrons of the Jewish National Fund-UK. Twelve days ago, Stop the JNF Campaign wrote to Cameron, reiterating a previous request for him to withdraw as patron of the charity. The campaign's Mortaza Sahibzada said: "His name has been taken off the list and that is significant. Someone has decided to take it off and I doubt whether it was JNF."