By now we've all heard that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, notorious leader of "al-Qaeda in Iraq," was killed in a US airstrike late June 7. Seven aides, including two women, were also killed in the raid on a remote area 50 kilometres northeast of Baghdad near Baquba, capital of volatile Diyala province. Major General Bill Caldwell, spokesman for the US forces in Iraq, showed a picture of a dead Zarqawi at a televised news conference in Baghdad. He said two F-16 warplanes dropped two 500-pound bombs on the site where Zarqawi was killed. President Bush said at the White House that Zarqawi's death "is a severe blow to al-Qaida and it is a significant victory in the war on terror," but admitted "we have tough days ahead of us in Iraq that will require the continued patience of the American people." Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the killing of Zarqawi was "enormously important" for the fight against terror in Iraq and around the world, but he cautioned: "Given the nature of the terrorist networks, the network of networks, the death of Zarqawi, while enormously important, will not mean the end of all violence of that country." (China Daily, June 9)

Yet again! As in the recent headline-grabbing terror bust in New York City, and as in the 1993 World Trade Center blast itself, it seems the terror plot itself emerged from police infiltrators... From the Toronto Star, June 4:

RCMP behind bomb material
Investigators controlled the sale and transport of three tonnes of ammonium nitrate in an undercover probe of an alleged homegrown terrorist cell;
Police say they moved in quickly to avert attacks in southern Ontario

The delivery of three tonnes of ammonium nitrate to a group suspected of plotting terrorist attacks in southern Ontario was part of an undercover police sting operation, the Toronto Star has learned.

Oaxaca City saw another massive mobilization in support of striking teachers yesterday, with an estimated 100,000 marching from the Juarez monument to the Plaza de la Danza, where a political tribunal was held to hear charges against Gov. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. (La Jornada, June 8)

State of Mexico authorities have confirmed the death of Olin Alexis Benhumea Hernandez, one of those detained in the state police incursion into the village of San Salvador Atenco May 4. Authorities cited "cardio-respiratory failure" as the cause of death, likely related to injuries suffered at the hands of the police. (APRO, June 7)

This June 2 account from the English-language Dominican Today was typical of what little media attention the recent US military exercises in the Dominican Republic accrued:

SANTO DOMINGO.- The United States Army troops that participated in the joint operation New Horizon 2006 will complete their departure from Dominican Republic today, when the equipment and personnel who are still is in Barahona province (southwest) ship out.

Violent student protests in the historic town of Merida in Venezuela's high Andes seem to have accrued little international coverage. This very opinionated account from the very pro-Chavez Venezuela News Bulletin, May 31:

Riots and 'guarimbas' are running wild in southwestern Merida State, led by the delinquent student leader, United States CIA and "opposition" stooge Nixon Moreno.

Bush just has two years to go. Will he really get around to invading Venezuela? Chavez isn't hedging his bets. From Reuters, June 3:

CARACAS - Venezuela received a shipment of 30,000 new Russian rifles on Saturday, weeks after Washington restricted U.S. arms sales to Caracas over concerns about President Hugo Chavez's ties to Cuba and Iran.

Evo Morales sticks it to the landed elite. He saves the announcement for a trip to Santa Cruz, the section of the country which had threatened to secede if he nationalized the gas (as he has now done). A none-too-subtle message. And the land barons immediately talk of forming paramilitaries. This should be interesting... From Reuters, June 4:

SANTA CRUZ - Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales, took a first step on Saturday toward handing over a fifth of the country's territory to poor farmers, a day after angry landowners vowed to form self-defense groups.