Istanbul has been a busy place on the diplomatic front over the past two days. In the most significant development, the 32-nation Contact Group on Libya—including members of NATO, the EU and the Arab League—officially recognized the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate government of Libya. Meeting with NTC leader Mahmud Jibril, the United States, Turkey and other delegations conferred on the Benghazi-based rebel council recognition as the North African country's "legitimate governmental authority." The Contact Group statement said dictator Moammar Qaddafi "must leave power according to defined steps to be publicly announced."

The movement Sheikh Jarah Solidarity organized a high-profile march in Jerusalem July 15 to demand an independent Palestine in the 1967 borders. More than 3,000 people—Jews, Muslim, and Christians, Israelis and Palestinians—showed up and marched for three hours in the piercing sun, drumming and chanting: "Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies," "Say no to fascism," and "From Bilin to Jerusalem, Palestine will be free." Tens of Palestinian flags were waved on the route which passed alongside the walls of the Old City.

The Israeli government is under heat now also from citizens who are normally indifferent to its immoral conduct. After a successful boycott of cottage cheese that forced the producer to put down the prices, hundreds of Israelis are now taking to the streets in protest of lack of affordable housing, building a tent town on Tel Aviv's fashionable Rothschild Boulevard. Rents in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and most other large cities are so high that even people with average salaries cannot afford them. For example, a three-room apartment in central Tel Aviv is around 7,000 NIS (about $2,000). The average salary in Israel is 8,698 NIS, and minimum wage in Israel is 4,100 NIS.

The People's Defense Front in Víctor Fajardo province of Peru's central Andean region of Ayacucho, on July 12 announced a one-week deadline for the Southern Peru Copper Corporation to halt its exploration activities in the area before local campesinos launch an indefinite civil strike, or paro. The Front's president, Rubén Usccata Saccatoma, said the company's operations pose a threat to mountain lakes that provide water to five communities in the province, and said there would be no negotiation on its demand. Southern Peru Copper began explorations on the local Cerro Chinchinga, Hualla district, in February. On July 5, the Front led a 24-hour "preventative" paro as a warning for the company to quit the zone. (Enlace Nacional, July 15; La Republica, July 13; El Muki blog, Peru, July 7)

Some 180 hectares (450 acres) of rainforest in the Amazon were defoliated using a potent mix of herbicides dropped by airplane, reports IBAMA, Brazil's environmental law enforcement agency. The affected area, which is south of the city of Canutama and near the Mapinguari Jacareúba/Katawixi indigenous reservation in Rondônia state, was first detected by Brazil's deforestation monitoring system. A subsequent helicopter overflight last month by IBAMA revealed thousands of trees largely stripped of their vegetation. Authorities later found nearly four tons of chemicals—2,4 - D AMINE 72, U46BR, Garlon 480, and mineral oil—along trans-Amazon highway 174. The herbicides would have been enough to defoliate roughly 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) of forest, presumably to be cleared for cattle ranching or agriculture.

A 54-year-old resident of Santa Ana, Calif. suspected of taking part in the Guatemalan army's December 1982 massacre of at least 162 villagers was deported to that country July 12, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced. Pedro Pimentel Rios was arrested last July by ICE agents for allegedly participating in the massacre at Las Dos Erres, in the northern jungle department of Petén. The bodies of 162 people, including children, have been recovered at Dos Erres, but another 100 people are unaccounted for, so the death toll from the massacre could be much higher. Rios was among 20 members of an elite Guatemalan army unit, the Kaibiles, accused in the massacre.

International solidarity actions will be held July 16 with a protest at Bilbao's city hall to stop the imminent eviction and demolition of the Kukutza III Gaztetxea community center to make way for a housing development. The Kukutza III Gaztetxea community center has been squatted by local Basque youth and activists for 13 years, housing numerous artists and hosting such musicians as Manu Chao and Fermin Muguruza. Although the property had long been effectively abandoned, the owners now plan to demolish the building for what the community center calls "speculative interests." The Bilbao city government has turned down proposals to buy the property to save the community center. Kukutza III Gaztetxea urges supporters to "organize solidarity demonstrations in your towns and cities." (Kukutza III Gaztetxea, Le Journal du Pays Basque, Urruña/Urrugne, July 15; El Correo, Bilbao, July 14)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a statement July 15 confirming the occupied status of East Jerusalem. "UNESCO wishes to reiterate that, contrary to recent claims, there has been no change in UNESCO's position on Jerusalem," the statement reads. "In line with overall UN policy, East Jerusalem remains part of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the status of Jerusalem must be resolved in permanent status negotiations." The statement notes that the Old City of Jerusalem is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger. "UNESCO continues to work to ensure respect for the outstanding universal value of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem." UNESCO had been criticized recently after it emerged that the organization's website listed Jerusalem as Israel's capital, despite the international—and United Nations—consensus that the Eastern part of the city is under military occupation. (Ma'an News Agency, July 15)