A Mexican official says the CIA and other international security forces "don't fight drug traffickers" as much as "try to manage the drug trade" - "It's like pest control companies, if you finish off the pests, you are out of a job. If they finish the drug business, they finish their jobs."

Juarez, Mexico - The US Central Intelligence Agency and other international security forces "don't fight drug traffickers", a spokesman for the Chihuahua state government in northern Mexico has told Al Jazeera, instead "they try to manage the drug trade". Allegations about official complicity in the drug business are nothing new when they come from activists, professors, campaigners or even former officials. However, an official spokesman for the authorities in one of Mexico's most violent states - one which directly borders Texas - going on the record with such accusations is unique. "It's like pest control companies, they only control," Guillermo Terrazas Villanueva, the Chihuahua spokesman, told Al Jazeera last month at his office in Juarez. "If you finish off the pests, you are out of a job. If they finish the drug business, they finish their jobs." A spokesman for the CIA in Washington wouldn't comment on the accusations directly, instead he referred Al Jazeera to an official website.

The prominent Spanish lawyer and international jurist, Baltasar Garzón, will lead the legal team defending WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. Garzón and Assange have already met to discuss their new legal strategy.

A former judge at Spain's central criminal court, Garzón is famous for issuing an international arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet two decades ago, thus revolutionizing the international justice system and triggering a widespread fight against impunity in Latin America and the rest of the world. The announcement by WikiLeaks comes after the jurist met with Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where the whistleblower is seeking asylum.

According to a statement released by WikiLeaks, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the new legal strategy which will be used to defend both WikiLeaks and Assange from the existing abuse of process and expose the arbitrary, extrajudicial actions by the international financial system which target Julian Assange and WikiLeaks specifically. They also discussed how to show how secret US processes against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have compromised and contaminated other legal processes, including the extradition process against Assange.

More than a month ago the WikiLeaks founder entered the embassy of Ecuador in London and filed a request for asylum. Ecuador’s UK ambassador is personally working on the matter and even had to return home for consultations. Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has reiterated that his government will take “a decision based on humanistic principles that illuminate our revolution, which illuminate our constitution.” However, so far no decision has been announced.

El País: Garzón defenderá al fundador de Wikileaks, Julian Assange

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Wikileaks Press Office: The Spanish judge, lawyer, and international jurist, Baltasar Garzón, will lead the legal team representing Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The jurist met with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in the United Kingdom recently. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the new legal strategy which will defend both WikiLeaks and Julian Assange from the existing abuse of process; expose the arbitrary, extrajudicial actions by the international financial system which target Julian Assange and WikiLeaks specifically; and show how the secret US processes against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have compromised and contaminated other legal processes, including the extradition process against Mr Assange. Despite been imprisoned, fiscally blockaded, and placed under house arrest for over 650 days, Mr. Assange has not been charged with an offense in any country. Baltasar Garzón revolutionized the international justice system two decades ago by issuing an international arrest warrant for the former Head of State of Chile, Augusto Pinochet. His actions spearheaded the fight against impunity in Latin America and in the rest of the world. The judge has expressed serious concerns regarding the lack of safeguards and transparency whith which actions are being taken against Julian Assange, and the harassment he is being subjected to which has irreparable effects on his physical and mental wellbeing. The threats against his person are further aggravated by the complicit behaviour of the Swedish and U.K. governments, who are wrongfully abrogating his rights.

UN: Israel urged to treat Palestinian child detainees in accordance with rights law: “Israel’s use of solitary confinement against children flagrantly violates international human rights standards" - “Israel’s use of solitary confinement against children flagrantly violates international human rights standards,” the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, said in a news release. “However, using solitary confinement as a punishment for Palestinian children who wish to peacefully protest their situation, including by commencing a hunger strike against conditions of detention, is an appalling abuse of child prisoners,” he added. “I again condemn Israel’s harsh arrest operations and procedures.” Mr. Falk’s comments came in the wake of earlier concerns on the issue, raised today by the UN Special Committee on Israeli practices in the Occupied Territories, at the end of a fact-finding mission to Jordan, Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

How Finland keeps its head above eurozone crisis: What has Finland done right? Its economy is dominated by services but it is competitive in manufacturing. Income per person is among the highest in western Europe - and its revenues are bigger than its debt. [...] Finland has a small banking system focused on domestic customers, as well as "limited exposure to, and therefore relative insulation from, the euro area in terms of trade", notes Moody's. Finland has also insisted on receiving collateral in exchange for its participation in eurozone bailouts – which has impressed Moody's.

King Juan Carlos of Spain ousted from, 'World Wildlife Fund', presidency — a title he’d held since 1968 — after hunting elephants in Botswana - A photo of him with a rifle & a dead elephant caused outrage. He was also criticized for an ostentatious lifestyle when 1 in 4 Spaniards are out of work.