Western Sahara negotiations begin in earnest
Representatives of the Moroccan government and the Western Saharan nationalist movement Polisario met near New York in UN-sponsored negotiations over the fate of the disputed territory. Last year, Polisario rejected a Moroccan proposal for a referendum in Western Sahara, because it did not offer the option of full independence.
Further reading: the Western Sahara Info blog dissects "Africa's forgotten conflict" in detail.
Under duress, Italy suspends rendition case
The Italian government has asked the country's constitutional court to block prosecutors from evidence on 26 Americans connected to the kidnap of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, a terror suspect then taken to Egypt where he was imprisoned and tortured for four years. The case spotlighted the controversial American counter-terrorist tactic of "extraordinary rendition", incurring the displeasure of Washington.
On openDemocracy.net, Aziz Huq argues that US coercion of detainees is being outsourced, not ended.
Nigerian oilfield overrun by gunmen
Twenty-four hostages are being held in the southern Nigeria state of Bayelsa after rebel gunmen overrun an Italian-run oil facility. The attack is thought to be in retaliation for the alleged killing of eight civilians by troops guarding the oil facility. The resource-rich Niger Delta region is witnessing an intensifying insurgency as local tribes see little of the wealth generated by mostly foreign corporations.
Gaza crisis continues
Israeli forces moved to cut off and isolate Hamas-run Gaza, stopping the supply of fuel to power plants. Human rights activists have decried the implications of such actions on Gaza's civilian population.
Remaining Fatah loyalists in Gaza are fleeing to the West Bank, as Hamas fighters consolidate their control over the strife-torn region.
Rockets fired from Lebanon have landed in Israel.
Militants call ceasefire in Yemen
Shia rebels of the Zaidi sect, who have been waging an armed rebellion in the north of Yemen that has killed hundreds in recent months, agree to a ceasefire with the Yemeni army. The Zaidi rebels are opposed to the government's alliance with the United States.
Grant for impoverished Egyptian Sinai
The European Commission has awarded a 55.5 million euro grant to development projects in the Egyptian Sinai region. Though tourism has been expanding in the desert governate, the Sinai's Bedouin communities remain marginalized and desperately impoverished. The grant is intended in large part to address the situation of the Bedouins, many of whom remain unregistered with the government, without access to healthcare or education.
The Egyptian Sinai has grown increasingly restive this year, with organized resistance actions and protests staged across the region.
Sentences of would-be bombers cut in Sarajevo
A Bosnian court has cut the sentences of three young European Muslims, guilty of planning a suicide bombing attack in Europe in protest against the ongoing military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sentenced include a Swede, a Bosnian and a Denmark-based Turk.
Seven children were killed in an American bombing attack in Afghanistan.
