The latest news on Obama in Mexico, Unemployment, Realities of Recession, Food Safety, Torture Memos Released, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine, Darfur, Somalia, Haiti, and Select Op-eds.

Obama in Mexico. For Obama, Calderón, a Meeting of Minds "President Obama and his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderón, outlined a common approach Thursday to combating drug violence, climate change and trade disputes but appeared to part ways over the urgency of reinstating a U.S. ban on assault weapons." In Mexico, Obama Seeks Curbs on Arms Sales "President Obama, vowing to confront drug cartels that are 'sowing chaos in our communities,' called Thursday for the Senate to ratify a long-stalled treaty aimed at curbing illegal arms trafficking." Obama pledges help in Mexico's war on drug lords, with an exception "President Obama pledged that the U.S. would become a better partner in curbing the flow of arms that have aggravated a bloody drug war in Mexico, but acknowledged that political realities make it tough for him to ban some of the most potent weapons in the arsenals of drug cartels." Leaders tiptoe around 1 major issue "President Barack Obama's first official visit to Mexico revived talk of legalizing illegal immigrants but also showed how the U.S.-Mexico relationship has been shaped by two crises that might once again hamper Immigration reform."

Unemployment. Newspapers set job-loss record in 2008 "Almost 6,000 newspaper journalists lost their jobs last year - the biggest one-year drop in history - according to an official account released Thursday by the American Society of News Editors (ASNE)." 6 million receive jobless benefits "The number of people receiving jobless benefits exceeded 6 million for the first time, the government reported Thursday, and housing construction unexpectedly plunged to its second-lowest level on record - fresh evidence that the recession is far from over." Church's $625,000 to aid the jobless "The Rev. Rich Nathan knew that the 8,000 people in his congregation were generous. They've given hundreds of thousands of dollars to causes. But even he was surprised by the size of a special collection to help the unemployed."

Realities of recession. Workers clear last remnants of Sacramento's tent city "Dozens of city and county workers descended on Sacramento's tent city on Thursday, and within hours cleared the area of all signs of the sprawling homeless encampment." Child abuse spikes as U.S. economy flounders "Those cases reported by Boston hospitals are part of a spike in child abuse in United States during a recession that has driven some families to the brink and overwhelmed cash-strapped child-protection agencies."

Food safety. Local, State Agencies Lack Resources to Ensure Food Safety "Local and state health officials trying to prevent food illness outbreaks are stymied by scarce resources, weak leadership from the federal government and bureaucratic barriers, according to a new study public health experts released yesterday."

Torture memos released. Interrogation Memos Detail Harsh Tactics by the C.I.A. "The Justice Department on Thursday made public detailed memos describing brutal interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency, as President Obama sought to reassure the agency that the C.I.A. operatives involved would not be prosecuted." Obama releases Bush torture memos "Barack Obama today released four top secret memos that allowed the CIA under the Bush administration to torture al-Qaida and other suspects held at Guantánamo and secret detention centers round the world." No charges over CIA waterboarding "Barack Obama has said that intelligence officials who used waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques on so-called terrorism suspects will not be prosecuted for their actions."

Pakistan. Taliban Exploit Class Rifts to Gain Ground in Pakistan "The Taliban have advanced deeper into Pakistan by engineering a class revolt that exploits profound fissures between a small group of wealthy landlords and their landless tenants." U.S. experts: Pakistan on course to become Islamist state "A growing number of U.S. intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials have concluded that there's little hope of preventing nuclear-armed Pakistan from disintegrating into fiefdoms controlled by Islamist warlords and terrorists, posing the a greater threat to the U.S. than Afghanistan's terrorist haven did before 9/11." Donors pledge $5bn for Pakistan "International donors have pledged more than $5bn (£3bn) to help stabilize Pakistan, at an aid conference co-hosted by Japan and the World Bank."

Afghanistan. Iranian scholar has advice for U.S. on Afghanistan "Iranian scholar Changiz Pahlavan has spent more than 30 years immersed in the minutiae of Afghanistan, as a researcher for UNESCO during the 1970s, a confidant of the country's various warlords during the 1980s and '90s, and an expert on the huge Afghan refugee population in Iran."

Israel-Palestine. Plan for Palestinian state is 'dead end,' Israel tells U.S. "In a direct challenge to President Barack Obama's commitment to rejuvenate moribund Mideast peace talks, Israel on Thursday dismissed American-led efforts to establish a Palestinian state and laid out new conditions for renewed negotiations." US envoy to hold talks with Abbas "U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell is to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a day after his first meetings with Israel's new government." Obama wants Israel to hold parallel talks with Palestinians and Syria "The plan is based on the Arab peace initiative that offers establishing normal relations between Israel and Arab League states in exchange for withdrawing from the occupied territories and establishing a Palestinian state."

Darfur. Sudan to allow return of Darfur aid "The Sudanese government has agreed to allow some aid groups back into the war-torn western Darfur region, more than a month after over a dozen aid groups were expelled from the area, a visiting U.S. senator says."

Somalia. Human tide of misery flees the anarchy of Somalia "Five hundred Somalis are now arriving at this bleak Kenyan outpost every day. They join a population of 267,000 and counting, in a facility built to shelter just 45,000. While the world has been captivated by the high seas drama of Somalia's pirates, this human tide has swollen the ranks of Dadaab, turning it into the world's largest refugee camp."

Haiti. Impoverished Haiti Slips Further as Remittances Dry Up "The U.S. economic crisis touched down recently in the dusty town where Marie Rosita Simon ekes out a living selling sandals. Her brother, a New Jersey cabdriver, slashed his monthly $400 transfer to her by half because his business was off."

Opinion. Red Faith, Blue Faith (Michael Gerson, Washington Post) "Is 'Christian America' dying? And if so, should we mourn or cheer? These questions, raised in a recent cover story by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham, opened a vigorous and continuing debate."