Fourteen Toztzil and Tzeltal Maya prisoners at Social Readaption Center Number 14, known as El Amate, in Cintalapa, Chiapas, went on hunger strike Feb. 28, in protest of harsh conditions and to demand recognition as political prisoners. Eight are followers of the Zapatista rebels' "Other Campaign" political initiative. Most have been imprisoned five years, in connection with the Tres Cruces case involving land conflicts in the highland village of San Juan Chamula, which is ruled by notorious political bosses known as the caciques. The Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center has issued an urgent statement expressing concern for the men's health. (La Jornada, Feb. 29) On March 3, nine indigenous prisoners being held in the highland city of San Cristóbal de las Casas announced they were joining in a solidarity hunger strike with the Cintalapa 14. (La Jornada, March 4)

With $100-a-barrel here for now, Goldman Sachs says $200 a barrel could be a near-term reality in the case of a "major disruption." Goldman on March 7 also boosted by $10 the low end of its 2008-2012 projected range for crude to $60 a barrel—in the event that "normalized" trends return to the market. With the dollar's fall continuing and financial markets squeezed by the credit crunch, commodities like oil have been drawing the increasing numbers of investors, and Wall Street firms have been eager to adjust forecasts. Goldman analysts Arjun Murti, Kevin Koh and Michele della Vigna said prices have advanced more quickly than Goldman had forecast back in 2005, when it predicted a range of $50 to $105 a barrel as part of its "super-spike" oil theory.

A double bombing in a crowded Baghdad shopping district killed at least 53 people and wounded 130 March 6. The blasts took place in the primarily Shi'ite, middle-class Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah. The tactic was to draw in the people with the first blast—especially security and medical workers—before a second bomb detonates. (AP, March 8) Iraqi security forces uncovered a mass grave containing about 100 bodies in the Diyala province March 8. (Xinhua, March 8)

The leaders of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela formally ended their dispute March 7 with handshakes and embraces at the 20th Rio Group Summit in the Dominican Republic, approving a "Santo Domingo Declaration," which condemns Colombia's March 1 cross-border raid in Ecuador but emphasizes the need for regional cooperation in combating illegal armed groups. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe apologized for the raid and pledged to refrain from further such incursions, in exchange for commitments on cooperation. The Rio Group, established in 1986, is a regional bloc aimed at promoting political and economic cooperation.

Iran plans to open a television station "for all of Latin America," to be based in the coca-growing Chaparé region of Bolivia, President Evo Morales announced at a gathering of cocaleros after his re-election as president of Bolivia's coca-growers union. The station would be "for all of Bolivia, for all of Latin America, recognizing the great struggle of this peasant movement," Morales told the gathering in Cochabamba. (AP, Feb. 19)

Bolivia's National Electoral Court (CNE) issued a ruling March 7 postponing a referendum on the new draft constitution scheduled for May 4, saying there is not enough time to ensure "legal guarantees" and an "adequate electoral environment." CNE president José Luis Exeni said: "No technical, operative, legal or political conditions exist to allow it to go forward." He added that the schedule failed to meet a constitutional requirement that referendums be held at least 90 days after being approved by the congress. It is unclear if the decision will also apply to the referendums on regional autonomy called without congressional approval by Bolivia's eastern departments. (BBC, AP, March 8)

Fugitive environmental activist Tre Arrow was extradited from Canada Feb. 29 to stand trial in Oregon on conspiracy and arson charges after nearly four years in a Canadian prison. The 14-count indictment charges him with taking part in the destruction of several concrete-mixing trucks at Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. in Portland in April 2001 and sabotaging logging trucks at Schoppert Logging Co. in Eagle Creek near Mount Hood in June 2001.

A small bomb caused minor damage to New York's Times Square military recruiting station before dawn March 7, and police are searching for a hooded bicyclist observed pedaling away on a surveillance video. The blast left a hole in the front window and shattered a glass door. No one was hurt, but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though unsophisticated, could have caused "injury and even death." Police found a metal ammunition box they believe contained the explosive. Kelly said the box was readily available in Army-Navy surplus stores.