In a major departure from the policy of the Mubarak regime, Egypt's official news agency has announced that, as of Saturday, May 28, 2011, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will be permanently opened. The border's periodic openings and closings over the decades have reflected tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Territories — and an agreement between Israel and the Mubarak regime.

Over three decades have passed since Henry Kissinger served as Secretary of State for the Richard Nixon, and then Gerald Ford, and his advice is still sought and respected by politicians and world leaders. In the third installment of our interview with him, he shares his thoughts on the Arab spring, Israel and Palestine, and how President Obama is handling all of this.

The United States is considering a range of options to deal with Libya, including military action and sanctions. However, there's another possibility for Libya: an information campaign and the Pentagon has reportedly explored at the option of jamming Libya's communications so that Gadhafi has a harder time talking to his forces. Matt Armstrong, lecturer on public diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism and publisher of  the blog MountainRunner.us, takes a closer look at how an information campaign might work in Libya.

Nortec Collective is a band from Northern Mexico that’s known for pushing boundaries and blurring our notions of what constitutes borders.

Whether performing instrumentals, like “Tijuana Bass,” or singing electronic songs filled with mixed English and Spanish, they demonstrate that fences can do little to prevent the exchange of ideas and cultures, and may, in fact, do a lot to inspire them.

(Check out their new single, "I Count the Ways," after the jump.)

"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out"

Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" might serve as a good start to the conversation over whether the huge fence the U.S.government is building to prevent illegal immigrants, terrorists and drug traffickers from entering the U.S. from Mexico is worth the effort and money.

We've all heard a lot about Arizona's controversial and stringent immigration law, SB 1070, which allows Arizona police to question anyone they suspect may be in the country illegally. But 44 other states have introduced immigration legislation of their own since the beginning of 2010. Some worry that the U.S. may soon be facing a patchwork of different laws for different states.

Tension is growing along the American border with Mexico after a U.S. border agent shot and killed a 15-year-old Mexican boy on Monday evening. The incident, which took place near the El Paso border crossing, is complicated by the fact that U.S. authorities, Mexican authorities and eyewitnesses all tell different accounts of the incident. The U.S. says the teen was with a group of youths who threw rocks at border agents while they were trying to arrest two illegal migrants. Mexican authorities have condemned the shooting, calling it excessive use of force.

For the first time in U.S. history, women have become the majority in the workforce. And Tuesday’s primary elections showed us that women can dominate in politics too. In California, Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman both won their Republican nominations for Senate and governor, respectively. Sen. Blanche Lincoln secured the Democratic ticket in Arkansas. Plus Nikki Haley was victorious in South Carolina. The Washington Post’s website is leading with a headline that suggests this may be the “year of the women.”  Hanna Rosin wrote a piece for The Atlantic titled, "The End of Men." Politics aside, who has it easier in America today – men or women?

Last year, U.S. authorities found nearly 100 fugitives hiding out in Mexico. In 1999, only 14 fugitives were found and returned. The increase is attributed to ongoing cooperation between United States and Mexican officials along the border.

Under a new program being enforced by ICE, some Mexican immigrants caught in Nogales, Ariz., with relatively small amounts of marijuana will be turned over to the Mexican authorities for prosecution. Previously, these small-time smugglers were deemed too much trouble to prosecute, and were usually set free. We talk with Matt Allen, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Arizona, and Isabel Garcia, a public defender in Pima County, who opposes the policy.

The outbreak of swine flu is spreading across the globe, with cases confirmed from Mexico to Israel to New Zealand. Fears of a pandemic have prompted many nations, including ours, to ramp up security at land and air border crossings. As with any crisis involving national security, officials are considering all sorts of new technology to solve the problem. In Malaysia and Thailand, they're using high-tech thermal scanners to scan for swine flu. You pass through one at an airport, and it can determine if you’ve got a fever. So what technology are we using here at home? And is this going to help curb the spread of the flu? To help us answer these questions, The Takeaway is joined by Guy Martin, Senior Correspondent for Security for Conde Nast Traveller.

As the confirmed numbers of confirmed cases of swine flu continue to rise around the world, countries are responding at their borders, tightening transport and immigration controls. Joining us now to look at how the world is responding at the border is BBC Correspondent Matt McGrath.

Here's the AP's report on how the swine flu is sparking border precautions:

President Obama arrived in Mexico yesterday just a day after 16 people were killed in a shoot out between suspected traffickers and soldiers near Acapulco. But President Obama didn’t shy away from America’s share of responsibility in violent scenes like that one instead saying, "More than 90% of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States, many from gun shops that line our shared border. So we have responsibilities as well. We have to do our part." But who exactly in America holds that responsibility? Gun dealers? ATF agents? Border police? Lawmakers? Two people who deal with those issues every day join The Takeaway to help answer those questions. Jim Pruett is the owner of Pruett’s Guns and Ammo in Houston, Texas and William McMahon, is the Deputy Assistant Director of Field Operations for the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco.

President Obama landed in Mexico City yesterday, pledging his support to help President Calderon and the Mexican government in its fight against the drug cartels that have ravaged the country. The outburst of crime, turf wars and shootouts killed over 6,000 people last year. Though drug violence tops the agenda, Presidents Obama and Calderon will also discuss energy, the economy and immigration. Later today President Obama will continue the conversation when he heads to Trinidad and Tobago for the Summit of the Americas. For a look at how President Obama’s visit to our northern neighbor is defining U.S. foreign policy we are joined by Andres Martinez. He is the Director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program for the New America Foundation.

President Obama touches down in Mexico City this afternoon for talks with his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon. This is his first trip to Latin America since being inaugurated. Details of the trip are sketchy due to security concerns, but Obama is sure to address ongoing violence stemming from Mexico’s war against drug cartels. The Takeaway talks to Ioan Grillo Mexico Correspondent for Time Magazine.

For more, here is the AP's report on the visit:

Yesterday, Mexican federal police arrested Vicente Leyva, one of the country's most wanted men. That's the third arrest of a suspected drug cartel power player in as many weeks. Leyva is allegedly the number two man in a family-run cartel based in the violent city of Ciudad Juarez. Does the bust mean Mexico is finally getting ahead of drug traffickers? The Takeaway talks to Laura Carlsen, Director of the Americas Program at the Center for International Policy.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Mexico today. She’s taking with her a new multi-agency security program for the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s an attempt to support the Mexican government in its fight against drug cartels. The new plan recognizes the role the United States plays in escalating drug violence. President Obama called it a “two-way situation” where drugs come north from Mexico to the U.S., and laundered drug money and guns go south from the U.S. to Mexico. BBC reporter Steven Gibbs spent Tuesday embedded with Mexican troops and he is joins us with a report.

We've been following this story closely. For more of The Takeaway's coverage of life and death on the border, click here.

Here's a glimpse of the drug war being waged on the streets of Ciudad Juarez:

The Takeaway has been following the spillover of Mexico's drug war where the national army is battling powerful cartels from tense border towns in west Texas and Arizona to the violent sisters cities of Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. Our partners the New York Times are beginning a series examining the influence and impact of cartels on both sides of the border. The Takeaway talks to New York Times national correspondent Randy Archibold, who is based in Los Angeles. His story in today's paper kicks off that series.

Read Randy Archibold's article, Mexican Drug Cartel Violence Spills Over, Alarming U.S., in today's New York Times.

For more of The Takeaway's coverage of Mexico and the drug war at the border, click here.

The war against drugs coming over the U.S. border is well documented, but what is rarely talked about is the impact of the U.S. war on drug routes. Turns out that cocaine is now being routed from Colombia across the Atlantic through Africa rather than face turmoil in Central America. This is turning the African nation of Guinea-Bissau into a new narco-state. The Takeaway is joined by Ed Vulliamy, a journalist for The Observer, who has written a three-part series on the new drug trade.

All week, we’ve been taking a look at the U.S.-Mexico border, where violence has soared as Mexico’s army battles powerful drug cartels. Today, we turn to a place you may not have heard of: Brownsville, Texas. It’s a small city where most people have family right across the border in Matamoros, Mexico. And they have learned that what happens in Texas can’t be separated from what happens in Mexico. The Takeaway talks to Brownsville judge Carlos Cascos and Brownsville Herald crime reporter Ildefonso Ortiz for their take on life on the border.

For more stories from the border, click here.