Colombia's Caño-Limón oil pipeline was bombed by presumed FARC guerillas Jan. 20—with pumping still halted following a similar attack one week ago, the national oil company Ecopetrol said. The new rupture, at Convención in Norte de Santander department near the Venezuelan border, has local communities worried about an oil slick that is advancing on the Río Catatumbo. Authorities are racing to contain the oil before it contaminates the river. Two days earlier, a blast ruptured the smaller Zulia-Ayacucho pipeline through the region, also threatening the Catatumbo. The attacks come amid a new FARC offensive in Norte de Santander, which included a car bomb attack in Tibu that killed three civilians.

Mali's army says 47 were killed in ongoing clashes this week with a new Tuareg rebel group, whose members include former pro-Qaddafi fighters. "Our armed forces have bravely beaten back the attacks of the former Libyan fighters and the MNLA rebels," the armed forces said in a statement Jan. 19, using the acronym of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. But MNLA spokesman Moussa Ag Acharatoumane denied the government's account, telling the Reuters that his fighters had killed around 30 to 40 soldiers. Both rebel and government forces claim to be in control of Aguelhoc. The MNLA spokesman said fighting was suspended in Tessalit to allow for the withdrawal of Algerian soldiers who had been helping Mali. Sources told Al Jazeera that the army is conducting house raids and arrests in the northern towns of Gao and Kidal, targetting Tuareg tribal sheikhs, as well as Tuareg military and political figures.

Israel's Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a warning to Israelis to stay away from Bangkok, citing intelligence indicating that Hezbollah militants could be preparing an attack in Thailand ahead of the Feb. 12 fourth anniversary of the assassination of the Shi'ite movement's senior commander Imad Mughniyeh. Israel reportedly informed Thai authorities on Dec. 22 that three Hezbollah operatives had entered Thailand in order to launch an attack on Israeli tourists. On Jan. 13, Thai authorities arrested Idris Hussein (also rendered Hussein Atris), a dual Lebanese-Swiss citizen, at Bangkok airport a few minutes before he was due to board a flight out of the country. Hussein was charged with possession of ammonium nitrate and other controlled chemical substances after a search of a building he had rented in Samut Songkhram, southwest of Bangkok. A manhunt is said to be underway for at least one other suspect. Following Hussein's arrest, Israel, the US and nine other countries issued travel advisories warning against visiting Bangkok. US ambassador Kristie Kenney said on Twitter the threat is "Bangkok specific" and "credible." (Bloomberg, Bangkok Post, Jan. 17; JTA, Ha'aretz, Jan. 15)

After a regional strike had shut down Colombia's central Andean department of Huila for 15 days, the protest campaign was suspended Jan. 17 when the central government agreed to public hearings on the controversial Quimbo hydro-electric project. The pact signed by protest leaders, the Huila regional government and national Environment Ministry calls for hearings to convene the first week of February in Garzón municipality, one of those affected by the project. The paro (civil strike) was called by the Association of the Affected by El Quimbo Dam (ASOQUIMBO), the Regional Indigenous Council of Huila (CRIHU) and other popular organizations. Protesters blocked equipment at the construction site, bringing work to a halt, as well as blocking the central highway through the region.

President Barack Obama denied a permit for the controversial Keystone XL oil sands pipeline Jan. 18, saying the deadline imposed by Congress did not leave sufficient time to conduct the necessary review. "The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline's impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment," Obama said in a statement. Late last year, Republicans attached to an unrelated short-term payroll tax cut extension a provision that compelled the White House to make a decision on the pipeline within 60 days.

One solider was killed in northern Mali Jan. 17 in a clash with Tuareg fighters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)—who authorities said were backed up by former pro-Qaddafi Libyan soldiers. The army said it beat back the Tuaregs and Libyans with a helicopter assault, destroying six vehicles in the skirmish at Menaka in the Gao region. (Reuters, Jan. 17) National Transitional Council forces in Tripoli are meanwhile preparing an offensive against Qaddafi-loyalist strongholds in Libya's south. Rival militias clashed near the town of Gharyan left four dead and 50 wounded before a prisoner swap was brokered to end the fighting. The clash began when a man was stabbed and stripped naked at a vegetable market. The fighting pitted the Martyrs Brigade of Gharyan against the Assaba militia, said to be Qaddafi loyalists. (AFP, BBC World Service, Jan. 17)

The Ethiopian government under its "villagization" program is forcibly relocating approximately 70,000 indigenous residents from the western Gambella region to new villages that lack adequate food, farmland, healthcare, and educational facilities, Human Rights Watch said in a report Jan. 16. State security forces have repeatedly threatened, assaulted, and arbitrarily arrested villagers who resist the transfers. "The Ethiopian government’s villagization program is not improving access to services for Gambella's indigenous people, but is instead undermining their livelihoods and food security," said Jan Egeland of Human Rights Watch. "The government should suspend the program until it can ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place and that people have been properly consulted and compensated for the loss of their land."

After a week of "Occupation" protests paralyzed the country's cities, Nigeria's government slashed fuel prices on Jan. 15. Fuel prices had jumped to $3.50 a gallon after President Goodluck Jonathan lifted subsidies, sparking the protest wave. But Jonathan said he will reduce the price only to about $2.75 a gallon—not the $1.70 Nigerians had been paying before the government eliminated subsidies on Jan. 1. Popular leaders say they will maintain their protests, and talks between the government and labor unions have failed to reach an accord. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has not withdrawn its threat to shut down oil production in the country. Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities across the country for five consecutive days last week, and three were killed in clashes with police in Kano City.