In the latest in a series of such incidents in recent weeks, gunfire erupted across the Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan Aug. 26, injuring four Indian border guards. Bala Subramanyam, spokesman for the Indian Border Security Force, told AFP: "It was not clear whether it was Pakistani troops or militants who fired at our positions." The firing across the LoC comes a day after Indian troops shot dead four militants during a battle along the ceasefire line. In a separate attack, militants killed an Indian soldier. (AFP, Aug. 26)

At least 20 people were injured in a bomb blast at a pro-autonomy rally in Pakistan's Baluchistan province Aug. 26. Officials said a bomb rigged to a parked motorcycle detonated near the rally's stage in the town of Jaaferabad, leaving some people in a critical condition. The rally was held to mark the second anniversary of the killing during a military operation of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a tribal chieftain and former Baluchistan governor. Bugti led an armed campaign to pressure the central government to award Baluchistan a larger share of revenues from oil and gas extracted from the region.

Former Boston Indymedia journalist and media activist Bryan Conley, founder of grassroots media videoblog Alive in Baghdad, is one of six US citizens detained in China for covering actions of Students for a Free Tibet during the Olympics. The other five pro-Tibet activists are Jeffrey Rae, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss, Tom Grant, and James Powderly. On Aug. 21, the Chinese government handed them and four other European activists a 10-day detention sentence.

Hundreds of Tibetan exiles Aug. 24 staged a peaceful march in Kathmandu to protest China's rule in Tibet, coinciding with the concluding ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. There were heavy deployment of riot police in the area, but no arrests were reported. Over 2,000 Tibetans—including women, children, nuns and monks—marched from Buddhanath to Swoyambhu, two of the city's historic Buddhist stupas. Many recited hymns in memory of those killed in the Chinese repression this year.

From the Uyghur American Association (UAA), Aug. 22:

The Uyghur American Association (UAA) believes that recent comments made by Wang Lequan signal an upcoming period of fierce repression against Uyghurs across the People's Republic of China (PRC), particularly in East Turkestan, also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

President Evo Morales announced Aug. 24 he has put all of Bolivia's gas and oil installations under military protection, as protesters in Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca and Tarija departments prepare new actions to resist national control of the hydrocarbon resources. "I've spoken with armed forces commander in chief, General Luis Trigo, who has precise instructions to safeguard and defend the Bolivian people," Morales told a meeting of pro-government labor unions in Cochabamba. "The government will protect the pipelines and valves." (AFP, Aug. 25)

The first US war resister deported from Canada was sentenced to 15 months in prison Aug. 22 at a court martial hearing in Colorado. Pte. Robin Long, 25, of Boise, Idaho, was also given a dishonorable discharge after pleading guilty to charges of desertion. The sentence was the longest any convicted army deserter has received since the beginning of the current Iraq war, according to retired US Army Col. Ann Wright, a former diplomat who resigned from her post in protest at the war's outset. Wright testified against the legality of the Iraq war on Long's behalf. Of the thousands of soldiers sentenced for desertion or going AWOL, only former army sergeant Kevin Benderman received an equal term in 2005.

In a charter flight that left on Aug. 12 from Seattle, Wash., US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 106 people—including eight women—to Indonesia, Philippines and Cambodia. The 49 Filipinos, 44 Indonesians and 13 Cambodians were taken from different locations around the US to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma in preparation for the flight. The deportees included 46 people with criminal convictions. ICE officers and medical staff with the Division of Immigration Health Services accompanied the flight, along with consular officials from the countries involved.