From Amnesty International, May 8:

Arms transfers to Sudan fuel serious human rights violations
Arms, ammunition and related equipment are still being transferred to Darfur in the west of Sudan for military operations. Extremely serious violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law are being committed by the Sudanese government, the government-backed Janjawid militias and armed opposition groups in these operations.

Argentine President Néstor Kirchner made a telephone call over the weekend to his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez, asking him not to nationalize Sidor, Venezuela's biggest steel mill. The head of Argentina's Techint Group, which owns Sidor, is ex­pected to fly to Caracas next week for urgent talks with Chávez.

From AFP, May 7 via iAfrica.com:

Riot squads fired tear gas on Sunday at protestors throwing stones, bottles and, in one instance, acid at police in cities across France after right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential victory.

On May 1, 2007, thousands of people around the US marched and rallied for immigrant rights. Media coverage focused on the fact that the demonstrations were much smaller than similar actions last spring—even though advocates knew well in advance that the numbers in the streets this May 1 wouldn't match last year's mass mobilizations. Organizers and policy analysts offered several reasons for the lower numbers: conflict over the STRIVE Act, a legislative proposal which some groups support but many see as far too punitive; the fact that harsh anti-immigrant legislation like HR4437, which spurred last year's protests, is no longer on the table; and fear among immigrants stemming from a major increase in raids over the past year. Immigrants and supporters rallied this year around legalization as well as an end to the raids. In all, more than half a million people demonstrated in over 100 cities and towns in 26 states and the District of Columbia. The following summary is based on available news reports.

A group of students from Oaxaca’s autonomous State University allied with the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) occupied Radio Universidad—the University radio station—on April 30. The students said it was a limited take-over to last until 8 PM, May 2. As of 4:45 Oaxaca time on that day, Internet connections for Radio Universidad were down. It was not apparent why. Nor was it known if the station was broadcasting or being jammed.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa announced last week that he will increase military and security forces around oil facilities and allow the use of force to remove protestors. "We will not allow any more invasions of oil installations or the blockage of roads," said Correa while visiting the Amazon, which contains the country’s largest oil reserves. [Reuters, April 27]

Amnesty International published a report this week exposing Brazil's public security crisis. "Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have reached a tragic impasse. Criminal gangs ... have rushed to fill the vacuum left by the state, Balkanizing the cities into a patchwork of violent fiefdoms," the report ("From Burning Buses to Caveirões": The Search for Human Security") stated. [AI, May 2]

From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC) and US Labor Against the War (USLAW):

Joint Report to the IFC and USLAW
on the 2007 Manila International Peace Conference, April 27-29
The 2007 International Peace conference was held in Manila from April 27-29. It was hosted by the Japanese National Assembly for Peace and Democracy (ZENKO) and Parents and Children Against War and Violence in the Philippines (MALAPAD KA). Over 100 delegates from 5 countries: the Philippines, Iraq, Japan, the U.S., and Indonesia attended; the largest delegation was from Japan.