The United Nations on Sept. 14 expressed its concern over forced labor in Brazil, asserting that businesses treat workers as virtual slaves with "impunity." Gulnara Shahinian, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, visited Brazil in May, and in a report praised the country for acknowledging the problem of forced labor and taking measures against it. "These exemplary actions are, however, threatened by the impunity enjoyed by landowners, local and international companies and intermediaries," the report said. (Expatica, Sept. 14)

A bomb went off early Sept. 16 at a shopping mall in Buenos Aires, causing extensive damage to American Airlines and Alitalia ticket offices but causing no casualties. Leaflets found at the scene bore the name of a Chilean anarchist cell "Vandálica Teodoro Suarez," and included demands for the release of "political prisoners" and autonomy for the Mapuches, an indigenous people who straddle the Chile-Argentina border.

Thousands protesters led by high school students marched on Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo on Sept. 16 to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the "Night of the Pencils," when student protesters demanding free public transportation and other benefits were kidnapped and killed by the military dictatorship. For the past four weeks, high school and university students in Argentina have occupied over 30 high schools, several buildings at the University of Buenos Aires, and the National University of Arts (IUNA) in response to budget cuts. The occupations have been repeatedly attacked by police forces. (Momento24, LAHT, Sept. 16; Occupy California, Sept. 12)

Colombia's Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD), backed up by two armored personnel carriers, invaded the campus of the University of Antioquia in Medellín, where students were holding protests against the imposition of new ID cards Sept. 15. The ESMAD used tear gas, and some students responded with hurled rocks and bottles. At least one student was seriously injured. On Aug. 26, ESMAD forces invaded the poor Medellín district of Comuna 13, briefly battling with residents who fought back with machetes and clubs. Two were injured and two arrested. (Rebelión, Mexico, Sept. 17; El Pais Vallenato, Valledupar, Sept. 15; El Heraldo, Barranquilla, Aug. 26)

BP says it plans to complete the sealing of its Macondo well on Sept. 18 as subcontractor Transocean Ltd.'s "Development Driller III" rig has drilled the final 45 feet of a relief well. The well, in the Mississippi Canyon Block 252, has been sealed from above since July 15, but is being intersected from below to complete Macondo's shutdown. The relief well's drilling was halted for nearly a month, first due to weather impacts, before resuming this week. An estimated 4.9 million barrels leaked from the well, of which BP estimates it captured 800,000. (Oil & Gas Journal, Dow Jones, Sept. 17)

An international day of action has been called for Sept. 17 to support Alexei Gaskarov and Maxim Solopov, two young anti-fascist activists arrested following a July 28 protest against the cutting of the Khimki Forest outside Moscow for a new Moscow-St. Petersburg toll highway, the first of its kind in Russia. Khimki town authorities and the highway project contractor have recruited nationalist thugs to break up a peaceful protest camp organized by environmentalists and local residents, and illegally arrested and beat up journalists covering the story. After the July protest in Khimki, in which some windows were broken, the FSB (former KGB) and its affiliated (and ironically named) Center for Extremism Prevention carried out a sweep of local anti-fascist youth, in which Gaskarov and Solopov were arrested. They face up to seven years in prison for disorderly conduct, although there is no evidence of their complicity in illegal activities.

A European Union summit opened in Brussels Sept. 16 amid continued tension over the French expulsion of Roma migrants and a threat to take Nicolas Sarkozy's government to the European Court of Justice. The EU justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, expressed regret for comparing French treatment of Roma with that of Jews during World War II, but insisted she was right to rebuke the French government.

Jonathan Evans, director of Britain's MI5 internal intelligence agency, said in a rare public speech Sept. 16 that attacks on the UK are increasingly likely to emanate from Somalia, Yemen or Belfast, as al-Qaeda-linked groups flee strongholds in Pakistan. The spy chief said the 2012 London Olympic Games will likely be a major target, and warned that dissidents who reject Northern Ireland's peace process could strike mainland British cities for the first time since 2001.