Chinese protesters Aug. 17 broke into a smelting works they blame for the lead poisoning of hundreds of children, smashing trucks and tearing down fences. Villagers around the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Company in Fengxiang county, Shaanxi province, launched their spontaneous protest after the government ruled that emissions from the facility had harmed the health of local people. At least 615 of the 731 children in two nearby villages have been diagnosed with dangerously high amounts of lead in their blood.

Chinese artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei says he was roughed up and detained by police last week when he and 11 others tried to attend the trial of rights advocate Tan Zuoren, who has been charged with subversion. The accusations against Tan Zuoren are apparently tied to his investigation of the deaths of thousands of schoolchildren in the May 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, as well as essays he wrote about the 1989 student protests in Tiananmen Square that ended in a deadly military crackdown.

Philippine Sen. Rodolfo Biazon Aug. 17 called for suspension of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), claiming the group helped fight the military during last week's clash on Basilan Island. The firefight left 23 government troops dead in Tipo-tipo district, in what the government called a "counter terrorism" operation aimed at the Abu Sayyaf group. (Manila Times, Aug. 18; Inquirer, Manila, Aug. 17)

A bomb blast killed at least seven—including women and children—Aug. 17 in the Pakistani town of Charsadda, NWFP. The bomb was hidden in a box of medicine given to the driver of the vehicle to deliver in a nearby village. It was a time device that went off when the driver stopped at a fuel station. Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the blast, saying the victims belonged to a tribe that had raised an anti-Taliban militia.

Mexico's Supreme Court Aug. 12 overturned the sentences of 22 men who were imprisoned in the 1997 massacre of 45 indigenous peasants at Acteal in southern Chiapas state. In a 4-1 vote, the court found that irregularities were committed by prosecutors who handled the case. The cases of 35 more convicted in the massacre are under review. Victor Hugo López of the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center agreed the case should be reopened, but urged a wider probe: "We also agree that some procedures were violated as these people were investigated. But we think there is more to it. We do not think that the Acteal massacre resulted from a conflict between rivaling communities. We think the Mexican state is responsible for this crime." (FSRN, NYT, Aug. 12)

Police in Peru fired tear gas to disperse protesters blocking a highway near Pisco Aug. 15. The protesters were denouncing government inaction on helping the southern town rebuild from a 2007 earthquake that destroyed some 75,000 homes. Two years later, many people in the region still live in tents and shacks. Protesters burned tires and snarled traffic on the Pan-American highway for hours. (Reuters, BBC News, Aug. 15)

A leader in the movement opposed to re-opening the El Dorado goldmine in El Salvador is in stable condition after being shot eight times in the back and legs Aug. 13. Doctors at San Salvador's Rosales Hospital said it was "miraculous" that Ramiro Rivera survived the attack, which occurred in front of his home. Rivera identified one of two assailants, who was detained by police in Cabañas.

The Yemeni army entered into its fifth day of deadly fighting against Zaydi Shi'ite insurgents in the north of the country Aug. 16. Airstrikes and artillery fire were used in battles with Zaydi militants of the Houthi militia. Six government troops killed, an official from Amran province said. (AlJazeera, Aug. 16)