The world at a glance . . . Americas

Washington, D.C.

Top Mideast commander resigns: Adm. William Fallon, who has clashed with his superiors on both Iraq and Iran policy, abruptly announced his resignation this week as commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East. Pentagon sources said Fallon’s move came after the White House expressed anger about an interview Fallon gave to Esquire magazine this month, in which he seemed to play down the nature of the threat from Iran. Fallon, 63, also voiced concern that the U.S. preoccupation with Iraq has left the war in Afghanistan undermanned. Fallon acknowledged that perceptions of a “disconnect” between his views and those of the administration “have become a distraction at a difficult time.” But Secretary of Defense Robert Gates dismissed as “ridiculous” speculation that Fallon’s departure meant the U.S. was moving closer to war with Iran.

Los Angeles

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Judge outlaws home schooling: Home-schooled children in California must be taught by certified teachers, a federal judge ruled last week, setting off a furor among home-schooling advocates. In a case brought by Los Angeles’ children’s services agency, Judge Walter Croskey ruled that California’s education law, passed in the early 1950s, permits home schooling only by credentialed teachers. The decision was met with protests from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and from home-schooling supporters and Christian groups, which favor home schooling as an alternative to what they consider secular indoctrination by public schools. “This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts,” Schwarzenegger said. He promised that the state legislature would change the law if California’s Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

Greenville, Miss.

Obama takes two: Sen. Barack Obama easily won the Mississippi Democratic primary this week, adding to his delegate lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton and setting up a crucial face-off in Pennsylvania. Obama defeated Clinton by 60 percent to 37 percent, though the vote was sharply divided along racial lines, with Obama capturing 90 percent of the black vote and only a third of the white vote. With his victory in the Wyoming caucus over the weekend, Obama now has 1,596 delegates to Clinton’s 1,484; both are well short of the 2,025 needed to seal the nomination. The candidates are already feverishly campaigning in Pennsylvania, which holds its primary April 22, with 158 delegates at stake. Clinton floated the idea of selecting Obama as her running mate. Obama brushed off the suggestion, though he said he would consider Clinton for his “short list.”

Resplendor, Brazil

Farmers block coal train: In the latest in a string of confrontations between farmers and industrialists in Brazil, protesting farmers this week blocked a railway operated by Vale, the country’s largest mining company. The farmers were protesting a hydroelectric dam built by Vale that had displaced more than 2,000 peasants from land they were farming. A Vale spokesman called the blockade, which prevented more than 300,000 tons of coal from reaching port, “a criminal act of extreme violence.” The peasants’ protest is the latest volley in an ongoing campaign against large-scale farmers and multinational corporations. The peasant groups accuse the companies of misdeeds ranging from human-rights violations to destruction of the Amazon rain forest.

Washington, D.C.

Bush vetoes torture bill: President Bush last week vetoed legislation that would have barred the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques. Bush vetoed the measure, he said, because “this is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping Americans safe.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid countered that the practices amounted to torture, and that Bush has “compromised the moral leadership of the United States.” A House move to override the veto fell 51 votes short of the needed two-thirds majority. The legislation would have limited the CIA to 19 less-aggressive tactics approved for use by the Pentagon.

Dolores, Argentina

Collision kills 18: At least 18 people were killed and another 47 injured this week when a passenger train struck a crowded bus at a rail crossing in rural Argentina. The bus, carrying 61 passengers and two drivers, was en route to the resort city of Mar del Plata when it was struck at about 2 a.m. by a train at an unmarked crossing. No one aboard the train was injured. The bus was sheared in two by the collision.