Brazil's environmental agency, IBAMA, has issued a "partial" installation license for the Belo Monte dam, to be built on the Xingu River in the Amazon. The license allows the initial stages of construction, including the clearing of vast areas of forest, to commence, despite the numerous human rights and environmental violations this involves, and huge opposition from the local population.

Palestinians demonstrating in support of Egyptian anti-government protesters were forcibly disbanded when a few dozen men in plainclothes disrupted the rally in Ramallah Feb. 5. Several hundred protesters carrying the Egyptian and Tunisian flags and chanting "The people want to bring down the regime" were set upon by a gang of men chanting "The people want Mahmoud Abbas!" The two groups clashed before the protesters were dispersed. (CNN, Feb. 5)

Thousands of people marched in Milan to demand the resignation of Italy's Premier Silvio Berlusconi Feb. 5. Some of the country's foremost progressive intellectuals, including Umberto Eco and anti-mafia author Roberto Saviano, as well as union leaders and others, addressed the crowd. (AP, Feb. 5) Some 70,000 also marched Serbia's parliament building in Belgrade, demanding early elections—but here, the populist space was assumed by the right, with Tomislav Nikolic of the nationalist Serbian Progress Party (SNS) addressing the crowd. (AFP, Feb. 5)

At least two people were killed and 17 others were wounded in the northern Tunisian city of El Kif on Feb. 5 when police opened fire on protesters who reportedly threw fire bombs and stones at a police station. Some 1,000 people gathered in a protest to demand the dismissal of the city' police chief. (Reuters, Feb. 5)

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with his new government Feb. 5, as the executive committee of his ruling party stepped down in a purge evidently aimed at appeasing protesters who have now been taking to streets for 12 consecutive days. Tahrir Square remains occupied by demonstrators, who rejected the cabinet and party changes as inadequate and continue to demand Mubarak's resignation.

On Feb. 2, Jewish Voice for Peace Los Angeles chapter leader Estee Chandler discovered a "WANTED for treason and incitement against Jews" poster plastered on her front porch. The photo featured her picture, workplace, and most disturbingly, names of nieces and nephew, as well as charges about "anti-Jewish" activity. Jewish Voice for Peace is a national organization with 27 chapters, dedicated to ending Israel’s occupation and promoting a just US foreign policy that recognizes the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on Feb. 3 said the death of a Guantánamo Bay detainee highlights problems with the detention system currently used by the US for dealing with terrorist suspects. The detainee, Awal Gul, had been at the Guantánamo detention center since October 2002, suspected of having aided the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Gul apparently died on Feb. 1 of an apparent heart attack after he had completed aerobic exercises.

The US is conducting a manhunt for a previously unknown cell believed to be involved in the planning of the 9-11 attacks, according to a US cable released by WikiLeaks. In the cable, Mirembe Nantongo, the deputy chief of mission in Doha, told the Homeland Security Department in Washington that three Qatari men were under suspicion of conducting surveillance operations on the attack sites.