A state of emergency has been declared in Espinar province of Peru's Cuzco region after a confrontation with National Police on May 29 left two campesinos dead amid an indefinite paro (civil strike), called to protest pollution caused by the mining operations of Xstrata Tintaya, local subsidiary of the Anglo-Swiss company Xstrata PLC. After protesters blocked roads with tree-trunks, police opened fire, killing two. Authorities say several police were also hurt. The state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Oscar Valdés suspends civil liberties for at least 30 days.

Lake Cachet II in southern Chile's Aysén region vanished in less than 24 hours last week, leaving behind just some large puddles and chunks of ice. Lake Cachet II's 200 million cubic liters of water gushed out into the Río Baker, tripling its volume and emptying the five-square-kilometer lake bed. (See map.) The lake is usually held behind a natural glacier dam, but rising temperatures weakened the ice. This was actually the 11th time that the lake has drained since 2008, leaving downstream residents terrified of sudden deluges. Lago Témpanos in Magallanes region of far southern Chile drained in a similar fashion in May 2007. "Climate models predict that as temperatures rise, this phenomenon, known as GLOFs [glacial lake outburst floods], will become more frequent," said glaciologist Gino Casassa from Chile's Center for Scientific Studies (CES). The GLOF phenomenon has also been reported in recent years in the Himalayas, and in Iceland due to volcanic activities, Casassa said. (The Watchers, May 23; AFP, May 22; El Mundo, Spain, May 7, 2007)

Indigenous Miskito residents of Ahuas village on the remote Caribbean coast of Honduras are demanding justice in the wake of a deadly raid by Honduran National Police and DEA agents May 11—with details still emerging on the scope of the violence. Villagers report that machine-gun fire from two helicopters lasted 15 minutes near the man village pier, adding to initial accounts of four killed in a combined air and ground assault on a canoa or pipante (dugout canoe) on the Río Patuca. As residents cowered in their homes, the two choppers—marked with the US flag, villagers say—next landed and disgorged some 50 heavily armed and uniformed men, who then proceeded to break down the doors of local homes. Residents were menaced at gunpoint and threatened with death to demand information about one "El Renco," as their modest homes were ransacked. Residents say English-speaking "gringos"—presumably, DEA agents—took part in the raids and rough interrogations, which lasted up to two hours.

In the seventh YouTube edition of the Moorish Orthodox Radio Crusade, World War 4 Report editor Bill Weinberg, just returned from Peru where he was on assignment for The Progressive, speaks at the Libertarian Book Club's Anarchist Forum on the Quechua indigenous struggle against US-backed mining projects and in defense of land, water and autonomy in the Andes.

Demonstrators marked Jordan's 1949 independence from British rule on May 25 by demanding reform and rejecting government plans to hike commodity prices and taxes to offset a $3 billion budget deficit. Chanting "No independence without reform" and "Do not set the country on fire by raising prices," more than 1,000 people, including opposition Islamists, trade unionists and youth groups, chanted as they marched in central Amman. The demonstration came a day after MPs gave a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh's government, which plans to increase commodity prices and taxes as part of an austerity package to avoid the huge deficit in the 2012 $9.6 billion budget. (Middle East Online, May 26)

We noted in September, after the fall of Moammar Qaddafi, that hundreds of Tuareg were being forced to flee into Algeria by Arab militias in the western Libyan town of Ghadames. This exodus apparently continues. More than 55 Tuareg crossed over into Algerian territory in the last two days for fear of reprisals by armed groups, according to Algeria's El-Khabar newspaper May 24. The Ghadames tribe, which is backed by forces affiliated with the National Transitional Council, is said to carrying out attacks on local Tuareg families and businesses, putting stores and stables to the torch. According to the refugees, many Tuareg were subjected to "illegal" detention at secret locations under inhumane conditions. They added that members of the Ghadames tribes are searching for Tuareg members everywhere, even in hospitals, to abduct, abuse or kill them. A large number have been illegally arrested, including women. (Al-Monitor, May 24)

While the devastating suicide bomb in the Yemeni capital Sana'a grabbed international headlines, the country's ordinary people are increasingly fighting just to make ends meet. In a joint statement, a group of seven charities warned this week that 10 million Yemenis—44% of the population—are undernourished, with 5 million requiring emergency aid. The so-called Friends of Yemen gathering in the Saudi capital Riyadh this week is widely expected to concentrate on shoring up security and the fragile political transition the in the country. In their warning, the aid agencies—CARE, International Medical Corps, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Mercy Corps, Oxfam and Save the Children—say this focus is preventing action to alleviate poverty and hunger. They say malnutrition rates have doubled in Yemen since 2009, partly as a result of a surge in food and fuel prices. More than half a million Yemenis have fled their homes because of increased violence and the country is also coping nearly 300,000 refugees from Somalia and the Horn of Africa.

A suicide bomber killed more than 90 Yemeni troops as they practiced for a parade in the capital Sana'a May 21. The bomber was dressed as a soldier and detonated his explosives-packed vest in the middle of a formation of troops from the Central Security Organization, a paramilitary branch of the Ministry of the Interior. The troops were drilling for the upcoming "National Unity Day" parade at a location near the Presidential Palace. Yemen's defense minister and the military chief of staff were planning on greeting the troops at the rehearsal. Ninety-six troops, many from the Central Security Organization, were killed and at least 300 wounded in the blast, with the death toll expected to rise. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed the attack, according to a statement released by the Madad News Agency, an AQAP propaganda arm. "The primary target of this blessed operation was the Defense Minister of the Sana'a regime and his corrupt entourage, and that it came in response to the unjust war launched by the Sana'a regime's forces in cooperation with the American and Saudi forces," the statement said, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group. (Long War Journal, May 21)