WASHINGTON (AP)—The U.S. military mobilization in support of Haitian earthquake relief and recovery efforts is winding down and will be concluded for the most part by June 1.

U.S. Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Ken Keen says there are about 2,200 American troops still there, compared to 22,000 at the peak of the U.S. effort. And he says that by June, only about 500 National Guard and Reserve personnel will be stationed in Haiti to help aid workers.

The Jan. 12 earthquake was estimated to have killed as many as 250,000 people.

by Jason Straziuso

JINJA, Uganda (AP)—Caroline Aya was playing in front of her house in January when a neighbor put a cloth over her mouth and fled with her.

ABDUCTED AND SLAIN— In  this Feb. 11 photo, Balluonzima Christ, left, and Rose Ajiba hold a photograph of their child Caroline Aya, allegedly killed for a sacrificial ceremony in Jinja, Uganda.

A couple of days later, the 8-year-old’s body was found a short walk away—with her tongue cut out. Police believe she was offered up as a human sacrifice in a ritual killing, thought to bring wealth or health.

“If it is a sickness you try to treat it, and if they die that is one thing,” said Caroline’s father, Balluonzima Christ. “But when you slaughter a person like a goat, that is not easy.”

THIES, Senegal (AP)—Even death cannot stop the violence against gays in this corner of the world any more.

Madieye Diallo’s body had only been in the ground for a few hours when the mob descended on the weedy cemetery with shovels. They yanked out the corpse, spit on its torso, dragged it away and dumped it in front of the home of his elderly parents.

The scene of May 2, 2009 was filmed on a cell phone and the video sold at the market. It passed from phone to phone, sowing panic among gay men who say they now feel like hunted animals.

HOMOPHOBIA IN AFRICA—This Feb. 5, photo shows Ousmane Diallo holding a picture of Madieye Diallo at his shop in Thies, Senegal. A wave of intense homophobia is washing across Africa, where homosexuality is already illegal in at least 37 countries.

JOHANNESBURG (AP)—A song that advocates the killing of White farmers has ignited debate about race and free speech and raised questions about the sticking power of efforts toward achieving racial reconciliation.

After Johannesburg’s South Gauteng High Court ruled last week that the song violates hate-speech laws, the ruling African National Congress—which for decades led the fight against the brutal and racist system of apartheid—said it would appeal in court for the right to sing what it called an important anti-apartheid anthem.

JULIUS MALEMA