Hundreds of thousands of Colombians marched Feb. 4 against kidnappings and other violence by the FARC guerillas in cities across the country. In Bogotá, marchers wore matching white T-shirts reading: "Yo Soy Colombia" (I am Colombia), with the kicker: "Stop the kidnappings, the lies, the murders... No more FARC." The protest, dubbed "A Million Voices Against the FARC," was ostensibly the fruit of a campaign launched last month by three young people on Facebook, the social-networking website. But the campaign clearly had official sanction. Throughout the country, schools canceled classes for the day or let students out early. In a public square in the northeastern city of Valledupar, President Álvaro Uribe voiced his support for the mobilization. Many marchers openly supported Uribe and chanted slogans against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. (CSM, Feb. 6) In Paris, Astrid Betancourt, sister of FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, called the mobilization a "grotesque manipulation." (Milenio, Mexico, Feb. 5)

Human Rights Watch criticized Egypt Feb. 6 for eight arrests prompted by one man's statement that he was HIV-positive, saying the detentions embodied "both ignorance and injustice." The men, all arrested since October, were given HIV tests without their consent, and two were subjected to forensic anal tests to look for evidence of homosexual conduct, which HRW said amounted to torture. Three who tested HIV-positive are reportedly being held in hospital handcuffed to their beds and "only unchained for an hour each day."

Turkish F-16 fighter planes Feb. 4 struck suspected PKK targets in northern Iraq, carrying out what Turkey's Hurriyet daily counts as the fifth over the border operation in recent months. The Turkish military's General Staff said the air raids, launched from bases in Diyarbakir, lasted 12 hours and hit a total of 77 targets. The PKK's notorious "Hakurk Camp" that was also targeted in the December and January raids was hit again. The villages of Avashin and Basyan were also reportedly hit. No casualties were reported, as residents had abandoned the villages after the previous bombardments. Meanwhile, clashes between Turkish security forces and the PKK left ten guerillas dead outside the southeastern Turkish city Bingol. (Hurriyet, AHN, Feb. 5)

Emulating US strategies on the Mexican border, Israel has approved the construction of a reinforced fence along its border with Egypt to stop Palestinian militants reaching Israel via the Sinai desert. The measure was agreed by a security cabinet meeting in response to the temporary breach of the Gaza-Egypt border, when thousands of Palestinians left the Strip unchecked. Plans for a fence were considered years ago but dropped as too expensive.

On Jan. 14, US Attorney Johnny Sutton filed a lawsuit on behalf of the US Department of Justice against the city of Eagle Pass, Texas, to seek access to land for a planned border fence. It was the first of 102 lawsuits expected to be filed in an escalating battle with local landowners and municipalities as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeks to build 370 miles of new border fencing by the end of the year.

As of Jan. 29 Mexican officials and representatives of the National Union of Mine and Metal Workers of the Mexican Republic (SNTMMRM) said they had agreed on a "no aggression" pact and were ready to negotiate starting on Jan. 30. The union and the government have had a series of confrontations since February 2006, when the Labor and Social Security Secretariat removed SNTMMRM general secretary Napoleon Gomez Urrutia from his post for alleged corruption. Topics for negotiation were to include the removal of police and soldiers from the giant Cananea copper mine, site of a six-month strike; the disposition of bodies neverrecovered from the Pasta de Conchos coal mine after a February 2006 explosion that killed 65 workers; mine safety issues; strikes likely to break out in the mining industry; and wage and contract issues. Union representatives say they expect Gomez Urrutia to return to Mexico from the US by March at the latest. (La Jornada, Jan. 29)

After 112 days on hunger strike, on Jan. 30 imprisoned Chilean activist Patricia Troncoso Robles ended a protest which started in October around demands for the release of 20 indigenous Mapuche prisoners and an end to the military's presence in Mapuche territories. In an agreement negotiated by Conference of Bishops president Alejandro Goic, Troncoso will be transferred to a prison work and study center; beginning in March she will have weekend releases. Mapuche prisoners Jaime Marileo Saravia and Juan Millalen will have the same benefits; they were part of the hunger strike but resumed eating after 60 days.

Ecuador's government announced [Feb. 1] that it was revoking Ascendant Copper's mining concessions for the controversial Junin Project. Mining and Petroleum Minister Galo Chiriboga told reporters that the government decided to revoke a total of 587 mining concessions for reasons that include companies' failure to pay proper fees on concessions.