From Amnesty International, Aug. 23:

Evictions crisis deepens for Palestinian villagers
The Israeli army has increased efforts to force Palestinian villagers out of the Jordan Valley region of the occupied West Bank, by destroying villagers’ homes and restricting their movement and access to water. Humsa and Hadidiya, two hamlets in the north of the Jordan Valley, are among the targeted villages. More than 100 villagers, most of them children, risk losing their homes and being forced out of the area.

From Amnesty International, Aug. 23:

Iran: Authorities thwart campaign for gender equality
Women's rights activists in Iran face imprisonment. Activists campaigning for gender equality in Iran are unable to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association, as shown by a number of recent arrests. Many of those arrested are supporters of the Campaign for Equality, a network which works to end legal discrimination against women.

From Fox News, Aug. 28:

Washington Post, Other Newspapers Won't Run 'Opus' Cartoon Mocking Radical Islam
A popular comic strip that poked fun at the Rev. Jerry Falwell without incident one week ago was deemed too controversial to run over the weekend because this time it took a humorous swipe at Muslim fundamentalists.

Opium production in Afghanistan has hit a record $3 billion this year, accounting for more than 90% of the world's illegal output, according to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Production is concentrated mainly in the strife-torn south of the country, where the Taliban—who banned poppy cultivation when they were in power—now profit from the trade, the report alleges. The reports says the area under opium cultivation rose to 193,000 hectares from 165,000 in 2006, while the harvest soared by more than a third to 8,200 tons from 6,100 tons. The amount of Afghan land used for growing opium was larger than the total under coca cultivation in Latin America, the report says.

The self-declared "autonomous municipality" of San Juan Copala and the Popular People's Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) announced they will hold a national meeting of autonomous municipalities, to take place at the indigenous mountain village September 15-16. APPO also said they will send representatives to the Zapatista Encuentro of the Peoples of America, a summit on indigenous rights to be held at the Yaqui village of Vicam in Sonora state Oct. 11-14. (La Jornada, Aug. 17)

The Colombian Army's Third Brigade, based in Cali, was deeply penetrated by drug trafficking mafia, according to a recent criminal investigation. "What the prosecutors' investigation has shown as it progresses," reported Bogota's Semana magazine Aug. 4, "is that 'Don Diego' [a drug mafia kingpin] didn't just buy these officers in exchange for one-time favors, but that many of them belonged to his organization. They were part of the mafia and put their jobs in the Army at its service." Brigade commander Leonardo Gomez Vergara resigned Aug. 16 as a result of the investigation, and a dozen other officers have been arrested or are under investigation.

Starting Aug. 20, Presidents George W. Bush and Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper met in Montebello, Canada, to discuss North American integration. The purpose was to advance the little-known second phase of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), called the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP).

On Aug. 9, 98 detainees at the federal immigration detention center in San Pedro, California refused to return to Pod 5 in an act of peaceful protest for health and dignity in their living conditions. Over 100 police, immigration and Coast Guard officials responded with threats and aggression against the protesters, according to activists from the Los Angeles-based group Homies Unidos, which organized support for the detainees. Homies Unidos activists said Coast Guard snipers armed with M-16s were on the roof of the detention center and in boats surrounding the facility during the protest, and one detainee was beaten by guards. Detainees' demands included adequate and nutritional meals; proper clothing; adequate medical treatment; respect and dignity; an end to persistent overcrowding; provision of necessary hygiene supplies; timely processing of their immigration cases; and recreation equipment to ensure mental and physical health. (Homies Unidos media alert, Aug. 12 & e-mail alert, Aug. 14)