An unprecedented 70% of Iran’s voting public flock to the polls today to elect a new President. Current president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad faces a strong challenge from former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi.
Harith al-Obaidi, head of the largest Sunni bloc in Iraq’s Parliament, is killed by a gunman at a mosque in Baghdad. The Sunni lawmaker had recently spoken out about human rights abuses by the government. Five other died in the attack.
A suicide bomber in Lahore, Pakistan kills reknowned Muslim scholar Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi in Lahore Pakistan. The cleric had spoken out against suicide bombings and the Taliban.
Thousands of indigenous protesters march in Peru and vowed to continue fighting after clashes with police killed over sixty, including 22 police officers. The protesters are marching to repeal laws passed by the Peruvian government that open indigenous lands to mining.
The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi is delayed for two weeks to allow the defense to call a key witness.