Chinese authorities released a letter Aug. 3 purportedly written by relatives of the exiled Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer blaming her for last month's deadly unrest in Xinjiang. "Because of you, so many innocent people lost their lives in Urumqi on July 5," the letter says, the Xinhua news agency says. A friend and associate of Kadeer based in Germany said the letter was a forgery. China has blamed Kadeer for the violence between Uighurs and Han Chinese in which the government says nearly 200 people were killed. Kadeer denies the charges. (NYT, Aug. 3)

Pakistan's Supreme Court adjourned a hearing Aug. 3 on whether to re-arrest Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group said to have been behind last year's Mumbai attacks. Detained after the attacks, Saeed was released in June because of lack of evidence. The government appealed the release, but the hearing on the appeal was adjourned because the attorney general was not prepared for the case. No new date was set. (Reuters, Aug. 4) Meanwhile, two men and a woman convicted of the 2003 Mumbai attacks will be executed by hanging, an Indian court ruled Aug. 6. Indian investigators linked those attacks as well to Lashkar-e-Taiba. (NYT, Aug. 6)

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) again raided the West Bank village of Bil'in in the wee hours of Aug. 3, arresting seven Palestinians and one US solidarity activist. The force wearing combat paint and masks invaded several homes. Two Palestinian youths were among those arrested, as was Mohammad Khatib of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. The home of another member of the Popular Committee was raided, but soldiers could not arrest him because he was not present. The raid is the latest of several that Israeli forces have carried out in Bil'in since June.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) last week announced they are conducting criminal investigations into charges of intentional misconduct by their soldiers during December and January's fighting in the Gaza Strip. In a report seeking "to place the Gaza Operation in its proper factual and legal context," the IDF said that they are currently investigating 13 allegations against IDF personnel, including pillaging Palestinian homes, mistreating detainees, and using civilians as human shields.

Energy investments in Peru, which is working to become an exporter of oil and natural gas, are expected to hit $1.5 billion in both 2009 and 2010 despite the recent wave of protests, PeruPetro president Daniel Saba told Reuters. After an initial delay, PeruPetro plans to auction more than a dozen lots this year. Energy outlays last year totaled some $1.48 billion. "In spite of [oil] prices having fallen...no investor has left Peru," said Saba. "All of them continue working and what's more, there are new investors arriving, and wanting to participate in the market."

The 18,000-year-old Chacaltaya glacier overlooking La Paz has vanished six years earlier than scientists predicted, ending the world's highest ski run—and threatening water supplies to the Bolivian capital. The World Bank says water could be diminished imminently to the 2 million people in La Paz and neighboring El Alto. Chacaltaya—"bridge of ice" in the Aymara language—has been a barren slope devoid of permanent snow for some six months as the Southern Hemisphere's summer came on. Scientists had forecast for its disappearance for 2015. The World Glacier Monitoring Service at the University of Zurich says that from the Andes to the Alps, glaciers have retreated for 18 years—and twice as fast now as a decade ago. (Bloomberg, Aug. 5)

At least 185—mostly Lou Nuer tribespeople—were killed in South Sudan's Jonglei state Aug. 2 when their fishing camps were attacked by Murle fighters. Eleven SPLA soldiers, who were guarding their camp, were among those killed. Thousands of others have been displaced in Jonglei following an attack on Mareng village by Murle tribesmen. There have been several such attacks since March, resulting in a food crisis as displacement has disrupted agriculture. The fighting has claimed several hundred lives this year—more than in Darfur, the UN says.

Five agents were killed Aug. 2 when some 50 Shining Path guerillas attacked a base of the Peruvian police National Directorate of Special Operations (DINOES) at San José de Seque, Huanta province, Ayacucho region, in the Ene and Apurimac River Valley (VRAE). (RPP, Aug. 2) Legislator Elizabeth León (Bloque Popular) protested the recent closure of a nearby military base, charging that the government is withdrawing support for Plan VRAE. (RPP, Aug. 3)