Mexican Human Rights Commission: Ten thousand migrants kidnapped in six months

Nearly 10,000 Central American migrants have been kidnapped in the past 6 months while crossing through Mexico on their way to the United States. Shannon Young has more:

A survey conducted by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission found an average of 50 migrants a day were kidnapped from September 2008 to February 2009. The main perpetrator is organized crime, but the commission also documented widespread police participation. Central American migrants in Mexico are particularly vulnerable to attack because many follow predetermined routes, sleep in the open in isolated areas, and purposely avoid contact with Mexican authorities. Kidnappers force captured migrants to call relatives to pay their ransoms via wire transfer. Victims whose ransoms are not paid quickly frequently suffer physical and sexual abuse. With the average ransom at $2500, Mexico's Human Rights Commission estimates migrant kidnappers made at least 25 million dollars in 6 months...but those figures come from just the documented cases. Shannon Young, FSRN, Oaxaca.

After losing half of its parliamentary seats in the recent national elections, the Marxist Communist Party of India is now faces a new challenge in West Bengal, a state it has ruled for more than 2 decades. Maoist militants backed by thousands of villagers took over Lalgarh area of the state on Monday setting fire to several police stations and political offices. Most of the Communist party members have fled the area and the Maoists are now demolishing their houses. The rebels say the attacks are spontaneous public reaction to police atrocities.