Europe

Sweden: Sámi protest British mining company

Swedish police have repeatedly broken up a protest occupation by Sámi indigenous people against iron mining in a crucial reindeer herding area above the Arctic Circle. 

Southern Cone

Paraguay: military unleashed to fight guerillas

Paraguay’s Congress voted up broad powers allowing the new right-wing president to use the armed forces for domestic policing, following a wave of guerilla attacks on estates.

Africa

Darfur: ethnic war exploding again

Efforts by pastoralist militias to bar refugees from returning to their lands in Darfur have sparked yet a new wave of fighting and displacement—with 250,000 uprooted this year. 

Mexico

Mexico: municipal uprising against road project

Comuneros in the Mexican village of Tepoztlán seized the town hall and took the mayor captive to demand cancellation of a highway expansion they say violates their land rights.

Mexico

Anti-mining protests in Mexico, Canada

The July 22 Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit Mining, most widely observed in the Andean nations, also saw coordinated protests in NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada. 

Mexico

Chiapas cancels carbon deal with California

The government of Chiapas cancelled a controversial forest protection plan that critics said failed to address root causes of deforestation and endangered indigenous peoples.