A 24-hour national general strike on July 11 against the economic policies of Dominican president Leonel Fernández was "95 to 100%" effective, according to the organizers. After the first 12 hours, Fidel Santana, a spokesperson for the National Strike Committee, congratulated the Dominican people, calling them "the basic protagonist of this day's success." He claimed that an important element in the strike was the absence of efforts to force the productive sectors, commercial enterprises and transportation companies to observe the strike call; he said protesters were showing respect for people who chose not to honor the work stoppage.

Tens of thousands of Chilean students and supporters marched through downtown Santiago on the central Alameda avenue on July 14 in their fourth massive demonstration demanding a reversal of the system of privatized education instituted under the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. As in previous days of action, there were also large marches in other major cities.

A July report by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem finds that of more than 800 Palestinian youths under the age of 18 charged with throwing stones in the West Bank over a six-year period, only one was acquitted. From the beginning of 2005 to the end of 2010, at least 835 Palestinian minors were arrested and tried in military courts in the West Bank on charges of stone throwing. Thirty-four of them were aged 12-13, 255 were 14-15, 546 were 16-17. Only one of the 835 was acquitted; all the rest were found guilty.

Barack Obama's White House meeting with the Dalai Lama sparked the requisite protests from Beijing, in what has become a completely choreographed political spectacle. Press accounts (AHN, PTI, July 18) inform us that "Obama stressed that Washington recognizes that Tibet is a part of China" even as he "stressed the importance of protecting human rights of Tibetans in China." Not appeased, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Obama’s meeting with "the Dalai has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, hurt the feelings of Chinese people and damaged the Sino-American relations," expressing "stern objection" and adding: "We demand the US side seriously consider China's stance, immediately adopt measures to wipe out the baneful impact, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and cease to connive and support anti-China separatist forces that seek Tibet independence." The Dalai Lama also met with US congressional leaders, including the reactionary House Speaker John Boehner.

Nery Jeremías Orellana, 26, the manager of Radio Joconguera in the town of Candelaria, in the western department of Lempira, was gunned down the morning of July 14, bringing the number of Honduran journalists killed since the start of the year to three. A total of 12 journalists have been killed in the past 18 months in Honduras without any of their murders being solved. "Orellana headed a commercial radio station that works with civil society organizations and belongs to an alternative network of community radio stations," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. "He was also a member of the Broad Front of Popular Resistance (FARP), an opposition movement. All this means that he was [the] kind of journalist who was liable to be a target for violence."

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.