NEWS OF THE DAY
Drug violence: Gunmen opened fire with automatic rifles inside a drug rehabilitation center in northern Mexico, killing 11 men. Coahuila state prosecutors said several others were wounded during the attack Sunday night in the city of Torreon. More than 47,000 people have been killed in drug violence since President Felipe Calderon deployed thousands of soldiers to drug hotspots, according to government figures.
Transport pact: NATO has concluded agreements with Central Asian nations allowing it to evacuate vehicles and other military equipment from Afghanistan and completely bypass Pakistan, which once provided the main supply route for coalition forces. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday that Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan had agreed to allow the reverse transport of alliance equipment. Pakistan shut down southern supply routes six months ago after U.S. air strikes accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two border posts.
Terrorism trial: Four men who planned a shooting spree at the office of a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad were found guilty of terrorism Monday and sentenced each to 12 years in prison. Authorities say the men planned to carry out a violent attack on the JyllandsPosten’s offices in Copenhagen. The court handed down prison sentences to Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, Munir Awad, Omar Abdalla Aboelazm, and Sabhi Ben Mohamed Zalouti.
Suspect charged: A personal issue apparently sparked the Toronto mall shooting that killed one person and wounded seven others, police said Monday. Police said Christopher Husbands, 23, turned himself in Monday and was charged with first-degree murder for the Eaton Centre shooting on Saturday.
Syria uprising: Syrian activists on Monday announced a new rebel coalition designed to overcome deep divisions within the opposition in its fight against the forces of President Bashar Assad. The group, the Syrian Rebels Front, declared its formation in a news conference in Turkey. Khaled alOkla, one of the organizers, said the group was formed in light of “the failure of all Arab and international initiatives to rein in Assad from his crimes,” suggesting the rebels were giving up on a peace plan proposed by U.N. envoy Kofi Annan.
Sectarian tensions: Burma’s government warned against “anarchic” activities Monday after 10 Muslims were beaten to death, and a dozen other people were injured in a confrontation with police. Both incidents took place Sunday in Rakhine state in northwestern Burma, a remote area where Buddhist and Muslim relations are strained, sometimes to the point of violence. State television warned that legal action will be taken against those who broke the law.
Cabinet shakeup: Facing dissension within his own governing party, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffled his Cabinet on Monday in what appeared to be a bid to win the backing of the largest opposition party for his unpopular bill to double the national sales tax. Noda, a fiscal hawk, has proclaimed he is staking his “political life” on winning approval of the tax increase, which he says is needed to cover the swelling costs of pensions and social security for the nation’s rapidly aging population.