In an official report, Paraguay's Department of Indigenous Affairs (INDI) confirmed this week that an uncontacted tribe is living on lands in the northern Chaco region owned by a controversial ranching company. Signs of the isolated Ayoreo tribe have been found on lands of the Brazilian firm River Plate. The investigation shows clear signs of the presence of the so-called "hiding tribe"—detailing footprints, holes dug to capture tortoises, and broken branches. INDI warned that the tribe is being "forced to flee to other areas to avoid being discovered." The evidence will have consequences for cattle ranching companies River Plate and BBC SA, which have already been accused of putting the lives of the Ayoreo at risk. Satellite images from 2011 revealed their destruction of almost 4,000 hectares of forest inhabited by uncontacted bands, and led to the companies being charged with illegal deforestation.

The UN representative to Colombia said Feb. 27 the country's victims law has "holes" because threats and violence against displaced campesinos seeking to reclaim land are impeding successful implementation. The law, officially know as Law 1448, allows victims of violence committed by guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and state security forces after 1985 to claim financial compensation. It also allows for displaced people to reclaim land that was stolen or obtained through intimidation and force by illegal armed groups. Todd Howland said, "the risk and vulnerability of leaders in the process of land restitution are extremely high, given the criminal interests in properties subject to restitution."

Colombia's FARC guerilla army announced Feb. 26 its intention to release all 10 captive members of the security forces, and to abandon kidnapping of civilians for extortion purposes. The announcement was made in a statement published on the website of ANNCOL, a news organization with alleged ties to the rebel group. The FARC announced "our decision to add the remaining four to the announced decision to release six prisoners of war" and that "from today on we ban the practice" of "the retention of people...in order to finance our struggle." The guerrilla group announced that it will continue its armed struggle, but to "resort to other forms of funding and political pressure."

Millions of workers walked off their jobs across India on Feb. 28, with the telecoms, transport sector and postal service most affected. The "all-India" 24-hour general strike was most universally observed in the southern state of Kerala, which remains effectively paralyzed. The Congress-led government in the state has enforced a dies non (no work—no pay) order against the public-sector strikers. Among other demands, strikers want the government to contain inflation, provide universal social security for workers in the vast "informal" sector, and to stop selling off stakes in state-run companies. The action constitutes the 14th general strike since India liberalized its economy with major reforms in 1991. (Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Feb. 28)

Some 5,000 Malaysians staged a protest against a refinery for rare earth elements being built by the Australian mining company Lynas in Kuantan, Pahang state, Feb. 26. The protest—dubbed Green Gathering 2.0—featured green-clad activists beating drums as well as opposition MPs. Many protesters wore green T-shirts with the words "Stop Lynas," and some shouted "Destroy Lynas!" Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said his alliance will seek an emergency motion in parliament to urge the government to cancel the project, and pledged that the opposition would scrap the plant if it won elections expected by June. "We don't want [this project] to sacrifice our culture and the safety of the children," he told the crowd. The Lynas website was also hacked, with a Malaysian flag and the slogan "Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia" replacing the corporate logo.

Some 60,000 Azeris gathered in Baku Feb. 26 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Khojaly massacre in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. President Ilham Aliyev participated in the mass gathering at Azadlig Square. Young people held portraits of the victims, under banners reading, "The world must recognize the Khojaly genocide" and "No to Armenian fascism!" (News.az, Feb. 26)

Khader Adnan, the Palestinian who recently ended a 66-day hunger strike against his detention by Israel without charge or trial, is recovering well, but still remains in a precarious medical condition, according to a joint statement from the Palestinian prisoner support group Addameer and Physicians for Human Rights—Israel, which respectively sent a lawyer and doctor to visit him on the 23rd. That same day, news emerged that a Palestinian woman has begun her own hunger strike against her detention without charge or trial by Israel. Hana Yahya al-Shalabi spent more than two years in administrative detention, and had been freed in October as part of the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. On Feb. 17, al-Shalabi, who is 29, was once again arrested by Israeli occupation forces from her home near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, and is again under detention without charge or trial. (Electronic Intifada, Feb. 23)

Leaders of Hamas turned against their long-time ally President Bashar Assad of Syria on Feb. 24, throwing their support behind the rebellion aimed at overturning his dynastic rule. The policy shift—announced in Hamas speeches at Friday prayers in Cairo and a rally in the Gaza Strip—deprives Assad of one of his few remaining Sunni supporters in the Arab world and deepens his international isolation. "I salute all the nations of the Arab Spring and I salute the heroic people of Syria who are striving for freedom, democracy and reform," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told thousands at Cairo's al-Azhar mosque. "We are marching towards Syria, with millions of martyrs," chanted worshipers at al-Azhar. The move means a break between Hamas and its longtime de facto ally Hezbollah, which staunchly supports Assad. (Reuters, Feb. 28)