July 4 will mark two weeks that the construction site of the planned Belo Monte dam in Brazil's Pará state has been under occupation by some 200 members of the Xikrin, Arara, Juruna, Parakana and other indigenous peoples, many armed with spears. Brazilian government officials and representatives of the utility Norte Energia are slated to meet with protestors on July 9, but occupiers pledge to stay on the site at least until then. According to a statement from the tribes, 17 indigenous villages from 13 ethnic groups are now represented at the occupation, which has slowed work at the site. The occupiers demand "that construction of the Belo Monte dam be stopped until Norte Energia and the government can adequately mitigate the disastrous impacts of the dam on local indigenous communities."

Three people were killed—including a youth of 17 years—when security forces fired on protesters July 3 in the town of Celendín, in Peru's northern region of Cajamarca. As hundreds of protesters marched through town, a group attacked the provincial government building, breaking windows.* A mixed force of some 500 soldiers and National Police troops attacked the group with tear-gas, and then opened fire. In addition to the three dead, some 20 were wounded. Authorities said five soldiers and two police were injured in the clash. Protest organizers, who oppose the planned Conga gold mine project, speculated that the attack on the government building was the work of agents provocateurs. Peru's Justice Minister Juan Jiménez announced that a state of emergency has been declared in the provinces of Celendín, Hualgayoc and Cajamarca, suspending basic civil rights. In an unusual move, the 16 detained were taken out of Cajamarca, to Chiclayo in Lambayeque region. (Celendín Libre, La Republica, RPP, Peru21, Peru.com, TeleSUR, Sociedad Política blog, La Mula via Terra.com, July 3)

Gunmen killed 17 people and wounded dozens in gun and grenade attacks on two churches in the Kenyan town of Garissa near the border with Somalia on July 1. Wearing balaclavas, the attackers killed two police posted outside churches following previous attacks before bursting inside to target worshippers as they held prayer services. Witnesses said bodies lay scattered on the floor inside the churches—one Roman Catholic, the other of the nondenominational Africa Inland Church. At least 40 were rushed to the hospital, several in a critical condition, the Kenyan Red Cross said. Three children are reported to be among the dead. Later, the Twitter site Al-Kataib, maintained by supporters of Somalia's Shabaab rebel movement, boasted of a "successful operation in Garissa." (NAU, July 1)

Mass protests greeted Chinese President Hu Jintao in Hong Kong July 1, as he swore in a new chief executive and cabinet for the territory. The official ceremony included a rare show of People's Liberation Army force in Hong Kong, with Hu reviewing passing columns of tanks and rocket launchers. The main demand of the demonstrators (estimated at 400,000) was an investigation into last month's suspicious death of labor activist and 1989 Tiananmen Square protester Li Wangyang. Police used pepper spray on protesters, and a reporter from Hong Kong's Apple Daily was detained after shouting out to Hu at a press conference: "Chairman Hu, have you heard that Hong Kong people hope to redress the June 4 incident?"—a reference to the 1989 protests. Hu's visit coincided with the 15th anniversary of Chinese rule over Hong Kong. (Epoch Times, VOA, NYT, July 1)

Despite a ceasefire signed earlier this year, new fighting broke out last week between Burma's army and both the southern and northern factions of the Shan State Army. Two Burmese soldiers were killed in a four-hour fire-fght with Shan State Army-North June 17 in Monghsu township, Loilen district. The SSA-S reported a clash with Burmese soldiers June 15 in Mongton township, Monghsat district. In both cases, the Shan State forces say government forces were the aggressors, with the SSA-S relinquishing a "forward operating base" to Burmese troops. "This puts doubt in our minds regarding building peace," said SSA-S spokesman Sai Lao Hseng. "How could we manage this if we cannot even build trust?" The SSA-S has sent a complaint letter to the government's Peace Making Committee.

More than 500 villagers held a march in eastern Cambodia's Kompong Cham province June 29 to protest a controversial dam project on the Mekong River in Laos that they charge is under construction despite a pledge to halt progress while officials conduct a new impact study. The protest against the $3.8 billion Xayaburi Dam was led by monks and included students, peasants, and activists nongovernmental organizations. The protesters called on the leaders of the four nations downstream from the dam—Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam—to demand a halt to construction at the site, citing concerns that the project would negatively impact millions of people in the region and irreparably damage the environment. Laos committed to the review by a Japanese firm in December at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Indonesia after drawing criticism that its own environmental impact study was inadequate.

Islamist fighters of Ansar Dine have completely pushed Tuareg rebels of the MNLA out of Timbuktu, the jihadist organization announced June 27—days after a loosely allied Islamist faction, the MUJAO, took control of Gao from MNLA forces. A convoy of Islamist fighters is now said to be headed to Gao from Kidal, to drive the last remaining MNLA forces from the territory. Ansar Dine fighter Oumar Ould Hamaha told AP by telephone that the group now commands the northern half of Mali, an area larger than France, and plans to fully impose Islamic law. "Our fighters control the perimeter. We control Timbuktu completely. We control Gao completely. It's Ansar Dine that commands the north of Mali," said Hamaha, chief of security for the group in Gao. "Now we have every opportunity to apply shariah." Last week in the city of Gao, an unmarried couple was publicly lashed 100 times by the militants, according to AP.

At their recent meeting in La Paz, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signed a bilateral agreement for the Islamic Republic to provide counter-narcotics aid to the Andean nation. According Bolivia's drug czar Felipe Caceres (officially vice-minister for Social Defense and Controlled Substances), the Iranian military will train 10 officers in intelligence and planning operations. Iran will also provide communications equipment for Bolivian anti-drug efforts. Reports did not make clear if the aid will be going to Bolivia's army or National Police. Caceres also credited Brazilian reconnaissance drones for recent successful raids on narco-traffickers in Bolivia's east, with more than 240 cocaine labs claimed destroyed in Santa Cruz department this month. Caceres did not provide details about the unmanned aerial vehicles other than to say they are Israeli-made, patrol the border, and also enter Bolivian airspace. (InSight Crime, June 21; AP, June 20)