According to exit polls released after balloting ended, Ecuadorans voted overwhelmingly on April 15 to support President Rafael Correa's plan for a constituent assembly to write a new constitution. The exit polls conducted by the Cedatos-Gallup firm among 40,000 voters in 21 of the 22 provinces showed 78.1% approving the call for the constituent assembly, 11.5% rejecting it, 7.1% casting invalid ballots and 3.3% leaving their ballots blank. The firm said the poll had a 2% margin of error. About seven million of the country's 9.1 million eligible voters participated.

A Mauritanian court indicted six men on terrorism charges April 11—the same day al-Qaeda's North African wing claimed responsibility for two deadly blasts in Algeria. The six are said to belong to a local cell linked to "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. Five of the six were charged with "belonging to a terrorist organization whose aim is undermining national security," said chief prosecutor Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Talhata. He said the cell, known as the Mauritanian Group for the Teaching of Jihad, is allied with the authors of the Algerian attack. Talhata said authorities had been tracking the men for three months when they arrested them two weeks ago in Nouakchott, the capital. They were caught with a cache of weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Chanting secularist slogans and waving Turkish flags, more than 300,000 from throughout Turkey rallied April 15 to discourage Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from running for the presidency. The protesters marched to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish state.

At least 2,000 Quechua marchers and dancers in traditional costume filled the streets of Cusco, Peru on March 5 to protect the Andean sacred site of Q'oyllur Riti from mining activities. They came by bus or on foot from eight different communities in Ocongate district, about six hours away from Cusco.

Houzan Mahmoud of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) writes for The Guardian's Comment is Free blog, April 13:

Around seven months ago, a draft constitution for the Kurdistan region was made available for discussion, suggestions and amendments. Article seven of this proposed constitution states: This constitution stresses the identification of the majority of Kurdish people as Muslims; thus the Islamic sharia law will be considered as one of the major sources for legislation making.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has met with military commanders to discuss a request made by the governor of Rio de Janeiro for a military presence on the city's streets, as a means of supplementing police patrols. Drug-fueled crime has long ravaged Rio's slums, but now violence is spreading. No decision has been reached, but the president will meet with commanders again next week, who have agreed to lend assistance "within the constitutional parameters." [AlJazeera, April 12]

Tribal leaders of Somalia's largest clan, the Hawai, have declared war against Ethiopian troops. A spokesperson for the Hawai clan has implored Somalis to assist them in their fight, exclaiming: "The war is not between Ethiopia and our tribe, it is between Ethiopia and all Somali people". The move threatens to undermine the already precarious Ethiopian-backed interim government. Diplomats from neighbouring nations met today in Kenya in a bid to address the escalating violence in Somalia, as well the role and cost of the AU presence in the country. They are expected to push for an increased peacekeeping force for the country. [AlJazeera, April 13]

Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, head of Turkey's army, has advocated a military operation into Northern Iraq, in an effort to tackle the "freedom of movement" which the region affords the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). A US State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, has criticised the statement, claiming that a cross-border operation is "not an appealing option" for Iraqi stability. There are already several large-scale operations being conducted in Turkey against the PKK, although the army is yet to submit this most recent proposal to the Turkish parliament for approval. [AlJazeera, April 13]