Campaigning winds down in Iran, as presidential hopeful Mir-Hossein Mousavi asks the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to protect the vote and ensure a healthy election on Friday. Under the Iranian political system the president represents Iran in high-profile international talks, but the ruling clerics determine foreign and defense policies.

The Pacific island of Palau agrees to take 17 Uighur muslims from Guantánamo Bay with $200 million in assistance from the United States. Five other Uighur muslims are released from the prison and land in Bermuda, where they can become naturalized citizens.

Peru’s Congress votes to temporarily suspend two of the land laws that ignited violent clashes last week. The laws outline how to regulate investment in the Amazon, but caused  controversy among native communities over how the laws would impact the rainforest and on their lives.

The World Health Organization declares a global flu pandemic after holding an emergency meeting to discuss how the H1N1 virus has spread to 74 countries.

Kyrgyzstan president Kurmanbek Lakiyev refuses a direct appeal from President Obama to keep open a U.S. air base used as a key stating area for the war in Afghanistan.