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.

UN troops and armed gangs exchanged gunfire in Haiti's Cite Soleil shantytown late June 7, leaving at least three dead. Cite Soleil, on the northern edge of the Poart-au-Prince, was the scene of routine gunfights between gangs and foreign troops last year, but had been relatively peaceful since before Haiti's Feb. 7 presidential election.

Brzilian lawmakers announced they are seeking to question an imprisoned gang leader suspected of having ordered the onslaught of violence that killed nearly 200 in and around Sao Paulo last month. Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as Marcola, heads the First Capital Command criminal organization, known by its Portuguese initials PCC. Beginning May 12, the PCC unleashed a weeklong Sao Paulo killing spree that included uprisings in more than 70 prisons and attacks against police stations with grenades and automatic weapons.

From Upside Down World, June 7:

About 300 demonstrators protesting the slow pace of land reform invaded the Brazilian Parliament Building June 7. The protesters vandalized the pristine building and destroyed a car waiting to be raffled off to Congressional staff member. Security officers called in by Speaker of the House Aldo Rebelo battled protesters who tried to enter the main floor of the Congress, while it was in session.