Peru's government made much of its rainforest protection efforts at the Lima climate summit—but a new report names it as the fourth most dangerous country for ecology activists.
In the latest defeat for GMOs in Latin America, Guatemala's congress rolled back a CAFTA-mandated law to protect hybrid and GM seeds as "intellectual property."
A Yucatán judge has ruled that the Mexican government can't grant a license for GM soy in indigenous communities without first consulting the communities.
The US is threatening to cut aid if the Salvadoran government insists on buying seeds from small producers instead of big companies linked to US agribusiness.
Activists across Latin America participated in international protests against Monsanto and Chevron—but some "pink tide" governments continue to cozy up to Chevron.
"Don't eat things with transgenics; look for organics," a Chilean farmer advised consumers after winning a suit against Monsanto's Chilean seed distributor.
China is denying claims aired by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination that up to a million Muslim Uighurs have been detained in "re-education camps" in Xinjiang region. But Beijing appears to be imposing harsh surveillance and restrictions on freedom of worship on Muslims throughout China, even requiring those making the pilgrimage to Mecca to be fitted with GPS tracking devices. Yet such methods almost always prove counter-productive, leading to resentment that only fuels the unrest that Chinese authorities are responding to. This week saw mass protests in Weizhou, Ningxia province, after authorities attempted to demolish a newly built mosque which they said had not received construction permits. After days of protest, authorities backed down and agreed to postpone the demolition. (Photo of protest at Weizhou Grand Mosque from Weibo via BBC News)
