With 49 legislative deputies present, Costa Rica's congress voted unanimously on Nov. 9 to approve revisions to the Mining Code that would ban open-pit mining of heavy metals in future projects. The revisions would also end the use of toxic substances such as cyanide and mercury in mining. President Laura Chinchilla, who declared a moratorium on new mining projects soon after she took office in May, is expected to approve the revisions.

About 15,000 protesters from independent unions, campesino organizations and other grassroots groups blocked access to the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico City on Nov. 12 and 13 to demand a reduction of allocations for the security forces in next year's budget and an increase in the allocations for social development.

Students from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) slowed traffic in and out of San Juan on Nov. 9 when they demonstrated in a major highway to protest plans for raising tuition by $800 in January. The previous night the Puerto Rican Senate had created a special fund that would provide about $30 million in scholarships to low-income students, but the protesters rejected the measure as inadequate. Students also met in assemblies at the UPR's Río Piedras, Humacao, Cayey and Arecibo campuses on Nov. 9 to discuss the tuition hike and other issues.

Gunmen stormed two adjacent homes in al-Tahrir neighborhood of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul late Nov. 15, killing the two male heads of the households, the latest in a series of attacks targeting Christians. Simultaneously, a bomb detonated outside a Christian's home in central Mosul, damaging the house's exterior.

Thousands demonstrated in Madrid Nov. 13 against Morocco's recent crackdown on protesters in the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara. Violence escalated Nov. 8, when Moroccan soldiers and police attacked a protest camp that had been established to mark the 35th anniversary of the territory's annexation by Morocco. The camp at Gdeim Izik, some 15 kilometers outside the regional capital Laayoune (El Aaiun), had grown to over 20,000 since being established on Oct. 9. Western Sahara's independence movement, the Poliario Front, is demanding a UN probe of the repression, claiming 36 protesters were killed, with hundreds injured and more than 160 detained. Morocco denies the claims, while asserting that eight members of its security forces were killed. The clashes occurred on the day that Morocco and Polisario held their latest round of UN-mediated talks near New York on the future of Western Sahara. (Reuters, Nov. 15; Green Left Weekly, Nov. 14; AP, Nov. 13; Sahara Press Service, Nov. 12)

Mexican authorities fear retaliatory violence after the killing of Gulf Cartel kingpin Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén AKA "Tony Tormenta" in a three-hour shootout with soldiers in Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, on Nov. 5. Three cartel gunmen, two members of the security forces and a journalist were also killed in the gun-battle. The federal army used 300 grenades in the battle, leaving several local buildings badly damaged. Local homes have since put up signs reading "Por favor—No lanzar granadas" (Please don't throw grenades). Municipal authorities report receiving telephone bomb threats aimed at Matamoros schools. (La Otra División del Norte blog, Matamoros, Nov. 13; AFP, Nov. 9)

In the wake of Barack Obama's visit to Indonesia, a video has emerged showing the torture of helpless detainees in the restive territory of West Papua. Rights groups are describing the footage as "Indonesia's Abu Ghraib," and say it raises serious questions about the Obama administration's decision to embrace cooperation with the Indonesian security forces. The video is the second in recent months to offer graphic footage of Indonesian security force torture of Papuans.

Burmese opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest Nov. 14, walking free for the first time in seven years. Euphoric crowds of supporters greeted her as spoke to them for the first time since 2003 from the front gate of her crumbling lakeside villa on University Avenue in Rangoon.