Giant swastikas appeared on the walls of the synagogue in Dresden, Germany, on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht Nov. 8. Unidentified perpetrators painted the graffiti, covering approximately six meters of brickwork. Heinz-Joachim Aris, chair of the State Union of Jewish Communities in Saxony, said he was disgusted and frightened by the crime. He also said he does not understand how it could have happened, as the synagogue is usually guarded. The case is being investigated by the Special Commission on Right-wing Extremism.

Populist leaders in Latin America increasingly use legal and political means to silence critics in the media, Enrique Santos Calderón, president of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), said Nov. 6. Tactics include revoking broadcast licenses, fostering hostility toward journalists, and giving a free hand to government supporters who have attacked broadcast stations, newsrooms and printing plants. "We are extremely concerned at the growing level in recent weeks of harassment and violence in various countries," Calderón said at IAPA's annual meeting in Buenos Aires. "Democratic systems require a free and unfettered press."

The Native Federation of the Rio Madre de Dios (FENAMAD) reports that at least 200 indigenous people have gathered at the settlement of Salvación, the local base for Texas-based Hunt Oil in the rainforest region of southeast Peru, in an ongoing occupation to halt the company's operations. After a meeting at Salvación between company representatives, local indigenous leaders and high-ranking government ministers Oct. 28, FENAMAD announced it was breaking off dialogue and announced an open-ended plantón (protest vigil). Fifty National Police officers have been mobilized to Salvación, where the stand-off continues.

The neo-Nazi organization White Justice has been preparing terrorist attacks and abductions of police officers and "highly positioned Jews" in the Czech Republic, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) reported Nov. 6. At four "fight camps" inside the country, their members have been training in paramilitary tactics and setting cars on fire. MfD reports its sources for the information are a secret neo-Nazi website and the testimonies of the founding members of White Justice, Filip Stránský and Lukáš Sedláček.

Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo fired the head of the armed forces Nov. 6, two days after he sacked the commanders of the army, navy and air force amid rumors of a coup. Rear Admiral Ciber Benitez was replaced him with Gen. Juan Oscar Velázquez, who was dismissed as army commander. Before the shake-up, Lugo warned that there were "pockets of coup-plotters" in the armed forces. However, a statement issued by the president's office said the changes were part of a "normal and legal administrative process" that should not be considered any indictment on the officers' record. The statement said "there is no reason they should be the subject of speculation."

Seven Yanomami Indians in Venezuela have died from an outbreak of suspected "swine flu" in the last two weeks. Another 1,000 Yanomami are reported to have caught the virulent strain of flu. The Venezuelan government has sealed off the area, and sent in medical teams to treat the Yanomami. The regional office of the World Health Organization has confirmed the presence of swine flu. There are fears that the epidemic could sweep through the Yanomami territory and kill many more Indians.

Saudi Arabia's air force attacked Yemeni rebels holding territory in the in Jabal al-Dokhan along the kingdom's southern border Nov. 5. The Defense Ministry in Sanaa denied local media reports that Saudi jets struck within Yemeni territory. The air-strikes followed a gun-battle in which a Saudi border guard was killed and 10 wounded when Houthi rebels from Yemen attacked. The Houthis issued a statement saying they seized the Jabal al-Dokhan because Saudi Arabia had allowed the Yemeni army to use the area for attacks on the rebels. (Bloomberg, Nov. 6; Arab News, NYT, Nov. 5)

Rights advocates are protesting an Australian detainment camp on a remote Indian Ocean island as the "new Guantánamo Bay." Christmas Island, a full 1,000 miles from the Australia mainland, is currently holding some 1,500 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and other Asian countries. A group of 39 "boat people" from Sri Lanka, rescued by a gas tanker after their makeshift craft sank in Australian territorial waters about 600 kilometers northwest of the Cocos Islands, are currently en route to the island.