North America
US scientists aim to make human sperm from stem cells
US researchers say they will redouble their efforts to create human sperm from stem cells following the success of a Japanese study involving mice. A team at Kyoto University used mice stem cells to create eggs, which were fertilised to produce baby mice. Dr Renee Pera, of Stanford University in California, aims to create human sperm to use for reproduction within two years, and eggs within five. The work would enable infertile couples to have children, but using embryonic stem cells for research – as Dr Pera’s lab does – is controversial because embryos are destroyed in the process. Dr Pera’s lab uses embryos discarded from IVF treatments.
Latin America
Zetas drug lord may be dead
The Mexican navy has announced that Heriberto Lazcano, one of the founders of the powerful Los Zetas drug cartel, has apparently been killed in a shootout in the north of the country. The navy said it was still awaiting final forensic results, but that the body appeared to be “El Lazca” – Mr Lazcano’s alias, which means “the Executioner” in English. Mr Lazcano was an influential leader of the Zetas, one of Mexico’s most brutal drug cartels, which has been implicated in a string of mass killings and kidnappings. Mexican police believe a recent surge in mass killings is due to a split within the cartel, with Mr Lazcano thought to be the leader of one faction and Miguel Angel Trevino Morales the leader of the other. In nearly six years of Felipe Calderon’s presidency, almost 50,000 deaths have been blamed on violence related to organised crime.
Africa and Middle East
Syrian rebels in suicide bombing of Air Force Intelligence base
The al-Nusra Front, a jihadist militant group operating in Syria, has said explosives-filled vehicles have been detonated outside the Air Force Intelligence (AFI) complex in Harasta, a suburb of Damascus. Residents said there were several blasts, followed by fierce armed clashes. One activist group said dozens were killed. Though smaller than the state’s Military Intelligence, AFI has played a leading role in operations against Islamist opposition groups, as well as cover actions abroad, and has a reputation for brutality. Activists say hundreds of government opponents have been detained and tortured by AFI agents across Syria since the uprising began in March 2011.
Nigerian army ‘opens fire on civilians’ in Maiduguri
Nigerian troops have fired upon and burned buildings in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, reportedly killing 30 civilians. The shootings came after a bomb targeting the army injured two soldiers. Army spokesman Lt Col Sagir Musa claimed the soldiers had not shot any civilians, while eyewitnesses said soldiers began to indiscriminately shoot residents and set fire to homes and businesses. Maiduguri has been under siege by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which wants Sharia law in Nigeria, and clashes between the militants and the army have been escalating over the last several weeks. On Sunday, the army said it killed 30 Boko Haram members in another north-eastern city, Damaturu.
Asia and Russia
Activist for girls’ education shot in Pakistan
Malalai Yusufzai, a 14-year-old rights activist who has campaigned for girls’ education, has been shot and injured in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan. Taliban militants overran the region before being ejected in 2009, the same year Ms Yusufzai came to public attention by writing a diary for the BBC about life under their rule. She was on her way home from school in Mingora, the main town in the region, though as she was travelling with at least one other girl it is unclear if she was the main target of the attack. Initial reports say both girls are out of danger. After the Taliban were expelled, she reflected on the period, describing how girls were “afraid the Taliban might throw acid on our faces or kidnap us” and that girls had to “go to school in plain clothes… to pretend we [were] not students”.
North Korea claims its missiles can hit US mainland
In a statement that comes two days after South Korea unveiled a missile deal with the USA, North Korea has warned it possesses missiles that can hit the North American mainland. The statement, carried by state-run KCNA news agency and attributed to North Korea’s National Defence Commission, claimed US bases in “Japan, Guam and the US mainland” were within its “scope of strike”. Pyongyang is thought to be developing a long-range missile, but rocket tests in April 2009 and April 2012 ended in failure. Its neighbours believe these tests related to the Taepodong-2 missile system, which analysts say is intended to put the US mainland in North Korea’s range. The system has not yet been successfully tested. The statement said Pyongyang would match any enemy “nuclear for nuclear, missile for missile”, and condemned the missile deal between the USA and South Korea – which almost triples South Korea’s missile range – as “another conspiracy of the master and the stooge to push the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the extreme… and ignite a war”.
Australasia
Philippine court suspends new cybercrime laws
Following protests by critics suggesting it stifled free speech, the Philippines’ top court has suspended a controversial law intended to crack down on cybercrime. The suspension will last 120 days while the court considers what, if any, permanent action to take. The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 came into effect earlier this month and aimed to prevent online child pornography, identity theft and spamming, but would also have categorised cybersex and libellous online comments – e.g. on social networks – as “cybercrime” and thereby subjected such activity to fines or imprisonment. The maximum penalty for cybercrime would have been a 12-year jail term. Government officials would also have had new powers to search and seize data from people’s online accounts. The law generated a number of protests – hackers targeted government websites and journalists held rallies.
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