The Israel Government Tourist Office (IGTO) lost an appeal Aug. 4 of a British ban on a vacation advertisement that described the Western Wall as part of Israel. The IGTO appealed after the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint in April that the Kotel is actually in the Occupied Territories. An image on the advert for vacations in Israel showed a picture of the wall with the gold Dome of the Rock in the background, captioned "Jerusalem." A spokesman from the ASA said: "After careful consideration, including of a report from the Independent Reviewer, the ASA Council has decided not to overturn its original upheld decision. The original adjudication will remain unchanged." (Jewish Chronicle, London, Aug. 5; IRNA, Aug. 4)

From the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Aug. 13:

Washington, DC – In a special session, the US Senate unanimously approved $600 million in emergency spending for border security. This comes on the heels of the 2010 Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Bill (HR 6080) passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Included in the $600 million is $176 million for 1,000 new Border Patrol agents to form a "strike force" that would be deployed along the Southwest border as needed; $32 million for drones to do unmanned surveillance on the border; and $80 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including $50 million for new personnel.

A crowd of about 300 villagers blocked a main road in eastern Afghanistan Aug. 12 and chanted "Death to the US!" The protest came after a raid by US forces in which they said three innocent villagers were killed at Zarin Khil, Sayed Abad district, Wardak province. Village elders said US troops stormed into a family’s house and shot three brothers—all young men—and then took their father into custody. Local police are said to be investigating the allegations. NATO forces rejected the claim, saying those killed in the overnight raid were "suspected insurgents", and that a local Taliban commander was detained.

President Barack Obama said Aug. 11 that the US can complete its combat role in Iraq safely at the end of this month and meet a deadline for removing troops from the country by the end of 2011. The statement came after a cabinet meeting which was addressed via video by the US commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno. But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, in his comments after the meeting, acknowledged that Iraq has still failed to form a new government five months after national elections.

Colombia's new President Juan Manuel Santos met with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez in a first step to restore bilateral relations Aug. 10. In a symbolically charged move, the meeting took place at the Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, a monument to Simón Bolívar near Santa Marta on Colombia's northern coast, where the liberator died in 1830.

A judge in Medellín acquitted ten soldiers on Aug. 6, including a colonel and major, of participation in the massacre of eight civilians at the "peace community" of San José de Apartadó in the northern Urabá region in February 2005. The case has been viewed as a critical measuring stick for the ability of the Colombian court system to render justice in the cases of thousands of killings of civilians in the country's armed conflict.

From the Amnesty International, Aug. 10:

The Taleban and other insurgent groups should be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, Amnesty International said, following the release of a UN report showing a rise in targeted killings of civilians in Afghanistan by anti-government fighters.

For the past two weeks, 17 political prisoners in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison have been on hunger strike to protest constant abuse; solitary confinement; lack of phone call rights and family visits; and lack of access to medical care, books and newspapers. One hunger striker, photojournalist Babak Bordbar, has been released. The remaining strikers include student activist Majid Tavakoli and human rights activist Koohyar Goodarzi. In addition to protests by the families of these prisoners, a group of political prisoners including Mansour Ossanloo of the Tehran Bus Workers Union and journalist Issa Saharkhiz have issued an open letter to urge an end their hunger strike. The letter states that "the democracy-seeking Green Movement needs capable forces and prolific youth like you to build a free Iran."