<p>The Kenyan National Assembly is currently debating amendments to the Public Benefits Organization Act (PBO) that critics say will stifle the activity of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. The Act is aimed at combating terrorism by limiting ways for terrorist organizations to receive funding from abroad. Among the proposed provisions is a 15% cap on funding to NGOs from foreign sources.

<p>The Norwegian government approved plans for a controversial mining project that will dump millions of tons of overburden and tailings from Engebø Mountain into Førde Fjord. The mine, operated by Nordic Mining, will extract rutile, a titanium mineral, over a planned 50-year lifetime of the project. Environmental groups, commercial fishing organizations, marine scientists, and political opposition have criticized the government's action, claiming the dumping will harm cod and salmon fisheries, as well as whale and porpoise habitat.

<p>A regional court in Loreto, Peru, ruled in favor of a United Cacao subsidiary in a case concerning the company clearing almost 5,000 acres of Amazonian forest in the country's northeast. The case was brought by Peru's Forestry Department, which claimed the company needed the department's approval before clearing trees for a cacao plantation. Observers point to ambiguities in Peru's environmental laws that allowed the site to be classified as agricultural despite the presence of forest.