More than 30,000 people have fled DR Congo after a group of Ugandan rebels attacked a border town, says the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR.

The Allied Democratic Forces raided the town of Kamango on Thursday, according to the Ugandan army spokesman.

The Congolese national army has now retaken Kamango.

The ADF is based in mineral-rich eastern DR Congo, where numerous armed groups have caused havoc over the past two decades.

The huge number of refugees came in so quickly that the government and aid workers are still working out what to do, says the BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga in Bundibudgyo, on the Ugandan border with the DRC.

Long wait

No food or adequate shelter has been distributed to the refugees. Many had to sleep out in the open in school compounds, or on the verandas of shops, she says.

The ADF was formed in 1996 by a puritanical Muslim sect in the Ruwenzori mountains of western Uganda.

In 1998 it increased its activities and a number of bomb blasts in markets and restaurants in Kampala were blamed on the group.

After years of sporadic raids, the Ugandan army almost destroyed the ADF's capacity in 2004 and it moved into DR Congo.

However, a United Nations report last year said the rebels had expanded their military capacity and established links with Somalia's al-Shabab militants.

Por Malena Castaldi y Felipe Llambias

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Líderes de la unión aduanera sudamericana Mercosur enviaron el viernes un duro mensaje a Washington sobre las denuncias de espionaje de Estados Unidos en la región y defendieron su derecho de ofrecer asilo al ex contratista de inteligencia Edward Snowden.

En una cumbre en Montevideo, los mandatarios también condenaron a España, Francia, Italia y Portugal por haber cerrado la semana pasada su espacio aéreo al avión que trasladaba al presidente boliviano Evo Morales desde Moscú a La Paz por sospechas de que transportaba al fugitivo Snowden.

Los líderes destacaron que llamarán a consulta a sus embajadores en esos países para que les informen sobre lo sucedido.

"(Los presidentes) repudiaron las acciones que puedan menoscabar la potestad de los Estados de conceder e implementar de forma plena el Derecho de Asilo", dijo la declaración final del encuentro entre los mandatarios de Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay y Venezuela.

El Mercosur también rechazó "todo intento de presión, hostigamiento o criminalización de un Estado o de terceros sobre la decisión soberana de cualquier nación de conceder asilo".

La declaración refleja un claro enfrentamiento con Estados Unidos, que demanda el arresto del ex contratista de inteligencia bajo cargos de espionaje tras revelar detalles de sus programas de vigilancia secreta.

El presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama, advirtió que el país que refugie a Snowden pagará un costo serio por su decisión, mientras que Washington desplegó su artillería diplomática para evitar que algún Gobierno reciba al ex agente de inteligencia.

Sin embargo, en un abierto desafío a Washington, los gobiernos izquierdistas de Venezuela, Bolivia y Nicaragua han ofrecido asilo a Snowden, varado en la zona de tránsito del aeropuerto internacional de Moscú desde fines de junio y con su pasaporte estadounidense revocado.

El Mercosur, en la declaración final de su cumbre, se solidarizó con los gobiernos de Bolivia, Nicaragua y Venezuela por el ofrecimiento de asilo a Snowden.

"Se ha ratificado el derecho de asilo como un derecho fundamental, del derecho humanitario de estos tiempos sobre todo de países democráticos", dijo en un discurso el presidente venezolano, Nicolás Maduro.

Snowden dijo el viernes que buscará asilo temporal en Rusia antes de viajar posiblemente a América Latina.

Los presidentes del Mercosur también "rechazaron enfáticamente la intercepción de las telecomunicaciones y las acciones de espionaje en nuestros países, ya que constituyen una violación de los derechos humanos, del derecho a la privacidad y del derecho a la información de nuestros ciudadanos y ciudadanas".

TENSION CRECE

Tras el incidente con Morales, la tensión entre América Latina y Washington se agudizó esta semana, luego que el periódico brasileño O Globo informó que la Agencia Nacional de Seguridad de Estados Unidos realizó actividades de espionaje, que consideraron a Colombia, Brasil y México como prioridades.

"Nosotros también fuimos alcanzados (por el espionaje). Hiere nuestra soberanía y los derechos individuales inalienables de nuestra población. Debemos adoptar medidas (...) para evitar la repetición de situaciones como ésta", dijo la mandataria brasileña, Dilma Rousseff.

La nave de la presidencia boliviana que trasladaba a Morales se vio forzada a aterrizar en Viena, donde estuvo varias horas hasta que se le permitió el despegue.

"Este es el mundo que estamos viviendo, donde hay nuevas formas de colonialismo. Más sutiles que las conocimos hace dos siglos cuando bajaban con ejércitos y se llevaban la plata y el oro", afirmó Fernández en referencia al incidente con el mandatario boliviano.

El tratamiento a Morales llevó a líderes latinoamericanos a calificar el episodio como una afrenta a toda Sudamérica y a acusar a la Casa Blanca de estar detrás del episodio.

El canciller uruguayo, Luis Almagro, dijo que los presidentes decidieron "convocar en consulta a los embajadores acreditados en los países europeos involucrados para que informen sobre los hechos ocurridos".

REPUDIO REGIONAL

Países latinoamericanos están exigiendo a Washington explicaciones por las acusaciones de que espió en la región con programas secretos de vigilancia.

Las actividades de vigilancia también alcanzaron a Argentina, Ecuador, Panamá, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Paraguay, Chile, Perú y El Salvador, según el diario brasileño.

Citando documentos filtrados por Snowden, O Globo dijo que los programas de la agencia fueron más allá de temas militares en la región, al involucrar lo que calificó como "secretos comerciales", incluyendo asuntos de petróleo y energía.

El Mercosur está formado por Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay, Uruguay y Venezuela. Morales también estuvo presente en el encuentro dado que Bolivia es un país asociado al bloque.

El Mercosur exigió el cese de las acciones de espionaje y anunció que llevará el tema a las Naciones Unidas, ya que solicitó a Argentina que someta el asunto a consideración del Consejo de Seguridad, órgano en el que ocupa un asiento no permanente.

Paraguay no participó del encuentro debido a que el país fue separado temporalmente de los órganos políticos del bloque luego del cuestionado juicio político relámpago que sacó del cargo al ex mandatario Fernando Lugo a finales de junio del año pasado.

No obstante, Maduro dijo que el Mercosur aprobó la reincorporación de Paraguay.

㼀 Pese a las manifestaciones de unidad, el Mercosur ha visto declinar en los últimos años su proyecto de construir una unión aduanera sudamericana para convertirse en un foro político.

El comercio entre sus principales miembros, Brasil y Argentina, ha sufrido por las restricciones aplicadas por Buenos Aires al ingreso de productos brasileños para proteger el superávit comercial con el que financia a su aislada economía.

Diplomáticos sudamericanos esperaban que las presidentas de Argentina y Brasil, Cristina Fernández y Dilma Rousseff, mantuvieran una reunión bilateral una vez concluida la cumbre del Mercosur para abordar las conflictivas relaciones comerciales entre ambas naciones.

Pero, el canciller argentino, Héctor Timerman, dijo que el encuentro se canceló por motivos de agenda de Fernández, por lo que las rispideces comerciales quedaron en la práctica fuera de la cumbre.

Rousseff, sin embargo, en su discurso ante el pleno de mandatarios, propuso a sus pares del Mercosur acelerar las negociaciones comerciales internacionales del bloque, incluyendo una en marcha con la Unión Europea.

(Reporte de Felipe LLambías y Malena Castaldi. Escrito por Guido Nejamkis. Editado por Alejandro Lifschitz.)

Por Reynaldo MUNOZ SANABRIA  - AFP 

El racismo y la discriminación hacia los indígenas se mantienen latentes en América Latina, donde aún está vigente el modelo de colonización implantado hace más de 500 años, pese a esfuerzos internacionales para contrarrestarlos, afirmó este sábado una representante de la ONU.

Esa forma de pensar considera a todo lo relacionado a los pueblos indígenas "como algo atrasado y salvaje, que además ve al indígena como sospechoso de terrorismo", declaró este sábado a la AFP Mirna Cunningham, miembro del Foro Permanente de Asuntos Indígenas de la ONU.

"La criminalización que hacen los gobiernos latinoamericanos sobre las acciones y protestas de los pueblos originarios y de ver al indígena como terrorista refleja las concepciones racistas que trajeron los colonizadores hace más de cinco siglos", subrayó Cunningham.

Esa percepción radica en que "el indígena no tiene entre sus prioridades la acumulación de riquezas, muy común en la sociedad occidental, porque también piensa que se deben proteger los bosques y el medio ambiente, además de tratar de preservar su identidad cultural, lo que lo convierte en sospechoso", reflexionó.

Cunningham, de nacionalidad nicaragüense, participó en la Jornada Internacional "Pueblos Indígenas y Derechos", organizada por la asociación Chirapaq (Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú), como uno de los pasos previos a la Conferencia Mundial de Pueblos Indígenas que celebrará Naciones Unidas en 2014.

La reunión, con asistencia de líderes de pueblos autóctonos de América Latina y el Caribe, concluyó la noche del viernes con el acuerdo de asumir la defensa de sus territorios ante la depredación de empresas extractivas.

-RACISMO HISTÓRICO-

En el evento Tarcila Rivera, Coordinadora Continental del Enlace de Mujeres Indígenas de las Américas y presidenta de Chirapaq, estimó que "el racismo es una cuestión estructural e histórica, que se ha convertido en una ideología que considera a los indígenas como ciudadanos de tercera categoría".

Cunningham observó que aunque hay instrumentos internacionales a favor de la defensa de las naciones originarias, como la Declaración de la ONU sobre Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, en muchas partes de Latinoamérica la situación de discriminación hacia estos colectivos se ha acentuado.

Uno de esos instrumentos es el Convenio 169 de la OIT sobre la necesidad de la consulta previa a los pueblos indígenas cuando una empresa quiere entrar a sus territorios. Ese convenio ha sido ratificado por 14 países latinoamericanos. "Pero la mayoría de gobiernos firma acuerdos internacionales y luego los incumple; eso es firmar por firmar", anotó.

Como secuela de esa actitud los gobiernos siguen otorgando concesiones a empresas mineras en territorios indígenas: "Las transnacionales se muestran poderosas y cuentan con el respaldo de los gobiernos, algunos de ellos son débiles ante las presiones de esas empresas".

La representante del Foro Permanente de la ONU aclaró que las naciones originarias no se oponen al desarrollo, pero "planteamos que ese desarrollo debe respetar todas las formas de vida y debe ser sostenible".

Cunningham remarcó que las naciones indígenas tienen un modelo de desarrollo propio que debe ser respetado y que se basa en la defensa del medio ambiente y de los recursos naturales, especialmente del agua.

El papel de los movimientos indígenas es encontrar mecanismos de control para monitorear que los gobiernos cumplan las normas internacionales, dijo al señalar que el objetivo es que la conferencia de pueblos indígenas del próximo año incorpore nuevos acuerdos para aplicar de manera efectiva las normas en defensa de sus pueblos.

Líderes indígenas de América Latina y del Caribe concluyeron el viernes un encuentro en Perú acordando asumir la defensa conjunta de sus territorios, como punto central a presentar en la Conferencia Mundial de Pueblos Indígenas que celebrará las Naciones Unidas en 2014.

Esa forma de pensar considera a todo lo relacionado a los pueblos indígenas "como algo atrasado y salvaje, que además ve al indígena como sospechoso de terrorismo", declaró este sábado a la AFP Mirna Cunningham, miembro del Foro Permanente de Asuntos Indígenas de la ONU.

Cunningham observó que aunque hay instrumentos internacionales a favor de la defensa de las naciones originarias, como la Declaración de la ONU sobre Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, en muchas partes de Latinoamérica la situación de discriminación hacia estos colectivos se ha acentuado.

(Reuters) - Mexico's biggest brewers, Corona maker Grupo Modelo and Sol producer Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, have agreed to face more competition to end a dispute over their long domination of the domestic beer market, the world's sixth-biggest.

Mexico's Federal Competition Commission (Cofeco) said on Thursday that Modelo, a unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (ABI.BR), and Cuauhtemoc, which belongs to Heineken NV (HEIN.AS), would in the next five years have to reduce exclusivity deals they have with clients in Mexico or face heavy fines.

The directive follows a longstanding complaint from rival SABMiller (SAB.L), whose brands include Miller, Grolsch and Peroni, and which has struggled to make headway in Mexico.

In terms of the amount of beer consumed, Modelo accounted for some 56 percent of the Mexican market in 2012, with Heineken Mexico at 43 percent, data from market research firm Euromonitor shows. SABMiller was a distant third with 0.3 percent.

The two brewing giants agreed to conditions that include limiting exclusivity deals in convenience stores and restaurants to a maximum of 25 percent of points of sale, reducing this to 20 percent over the next five years.

In addition, no such agreements may exclude sales of artisanal beer brewed by small-scale beer makers, Cofeco said.

The watchdog also set a penalty for breaking the terms of the agreement at up to 8 percent of Cuauhtemoc's or Modelo's annual Mexican revenue.

Modelo had domestic sales of 51.6 billion pesos ($4.01 billion) last year, implying a penalty of up to $321 million - or about a third of the company's net profit in 2012.

The settlement gives microbrewers, as well as SABMiller, a better chance to compete, but not everyone was persuaded.

SAB Miller's Mexico unit said a complete opening of the market would have been better for all involved. "Miller is analyzing the settlement to determine its response in due course," Armando Valenzuela, chief executive of Miller Trading Company in Mexico, said in a statement.

One of Cofeco's five commissioners voted against the settlement because he wanted a stronger ruling. "In principle, I think these exclusive agreements are wrong, because they reduce choice for consumers," said Miguel Flores.

Exclusive agreements between restaurants and bars and the dominant pair of brewers already account for 25 percent to 30 percent of the market, the commissioner said. "This is just formalizing the status quo. There is no change in the market," said Flores.

The ruling, which allows existing agreements to expire, was "not that harsh" Credit Suisse said in a research note.

SABMiller would have improved access to the market, but it still faces some barriers to Mexico, including its brand portfolio, Credit Suisse analyst Antonio Gonzalez wrote.

Shares of Heineken and AB InBev, the world's biggest brewer, closed up nearly 1 percent after the decision. Shares of SABMiller, the second-largest brewer worldwide, were up nearly 2 percent on the London Stock Exchange.

DOMINATION

Restaurants and bars in Mexico have received a range of incentives for entering into exclusivity deals with the brewers, including awnings, games, refrigerators and discounts on inventory purchases, if sales are high enough.

Many Mexicans have looked forward to change in the market, which is a duopoly for the two big brewers.

"The monopoly that Grupo Modelo and Cuauhtemoc have is really screwed up," said Paco Bernal, the dreadlocked manager at El Palenguito, a small, dimly lit mezcal bar in Mexico City's Roma Norte neighborhood, earlier this week.

AB InBev and Heineken have carved up much of Brazil's market in addition to that of Mexico, while SABMiller has leading positions in smaller Latin American nations such as Colombia andPeru.

Following the Cofeco settlement, SABMiller will probably start offering big discounts and lots of incentives to Mexican retailers, said James Mosher, an expert on the brewing industry at the CDM Group consultancy.

"I would expect, depending on how effective the agreement is ... in 10 years they'd be able to grab 10 percent of the market," Mosher said.

AB InBev this year completed the purchase of the half of Modelo it did not already own, after settling a dispute with the U.S. Justice Department.

Dutch brewer Heineken acquired Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, whose other brands include Dos Equis and Indio, from Coca-Cola bottler Femsa (FMSAUBD.MX) in 2010.

Femsa, which has a 20 percent stake in Heineken, operates convenience store chain Oxxo and has exclusivity deals to sell the Dutch company's beers. Modelo has similar agreements with bars and restaurants. ($1 = 12.8570 Mexican pesos)

(Additional reporting by Tomas Sarmiento, Gabriel Stargardter and Alexandra Alper; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Dan Grebler, Bernard Orr, Gary Hill, Steve Orlofsky and Miral Fahmy)

It started as a craze for T-shirts printed with cartoon images of Hitler’s face. This dubious trend among teenagers in Thailand soon moved on to include SS style bike helmets, temporary swastika tattoos, and pictures of cute teddy bears doing the Nazi salute.

Soon, kids were seen on the streets of Bangkok posing for photos, grinning next to cartoon effigies of the man responsible for the deaths of 12 million people during the Holocaust. Then it emerged other incidents had taken place including a Nazi themed school fashion show and a sports day parade in the northern city of Chang Mai in which a group of students dressed up as SS soldiers as a surprise for their teachers.

“Hitler Chic,” as it was dubbed in the media last year, has quickly snowballed in Thailand, revealing a lack of historical education and awareness in a country that was left largely untouched by World War II.

Unsurprisingly, the new craze has prompted confusion among foreign tourists and outrage among several international organisations, including Itzhak Shoham, the Israeli ambassador to Thailand, who said the trend “hurts the feelings of every Jew and every civilized person.”

The complaints elicited bemused responses from Thailand’s cultural elite, who brushed it off as misplaced humor, stemming from kids who aren’t taught about the history of the Holocaust in school. One blogger said they thought the world had lost its sense of humor. “Why is this different from the West’s obsession with Che Guevara?” he wrote.

Interest in the trend seemed to be dropping off until last week when pictures on Twitter started circulating of a fried chicken joint in Bangkok allegedly named Hitler. Modeled after Kentucky Fried Chicken, the restaurant's logo features the face of the Fuhrer plastered onto the body of bow-tie wearing Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC. The images prompted a renewed outburst of anger, followed by a heavily worded statement from Kentucky Fried Chicken saying they were considering suing the restaurant.

"We find it extremely distasteful and are considering legal action since it is an infringement of our brand trademark and has nothing to do with us," a spokesperson for Yum!, KFC’s parent company said.

It was later pointed out that the pictures of the restaurant may be old and that the chicken joint in question has since changed its name.

True or not, the revival of the debate around Hitler Chic has prompted some to call for history to be re-instated as one of the key subjects in the Thai syllabus to avoid further misunderstanding and embarrassment.

Varakorn Samakoses is the president of Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok and former deputy minister for education. He says a lack of emphasis on history teaching in Thailand means students are graduating without a proper grasp of events that shaped the world around them.

“Kids are much more interested in the present and the future, they are not taught to appreciate or take seriously what happened in the past,” he said, adding that because Thailand avoided much of the hardships suffered by other countries during World War II and under colonial rule, people find it harder to relate to stories of genocide and chaos.

“Even teachers are ignorant of these issues,” he said. “This is something that should change. History should be one of the most important parts of the syllabus. [Children] should know what goes on because history always repeats itself.”

Lack of education and empathy may be a big problem here, but its not restricted to Thailand. Other countries have also picked up on the Hitler Chic craze, including the sale of Hitler key rings in 7/11 stores in Taiwan, Nazi T-shirts in Japan and Korea and a clothing store in Hong Kong caught decorating the counter with Nazi flags.

But the message that foreigners don't approve of Hitler Chic seems to be catching on.

Last Saturday, a young Chinese man was perusing a set of Hitler T-shirts at Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok. The man and his friend joked as they held up different T-shirts, including one of the German dictator dressed as Ronald McDonald.

“I want this. I will wear it at home in China,” he said. “I work at McDonalds so I like it very much.”

When asked if he knew who Hitler was, the man – who declined to give his name – smiled sheepishly. He nodded to indicate he did and then seemed to get embarrassed. As this reporter walked away, his friend muttered something under his breath and the pair left abruptly. Later this reporter saw the T-shirt he was going to buy, still hanging up.

Four South American countries say they will recall some of their ambassadors after the Bolivian president's plane was banned from European airspace.

Evo Morales' plane, returning from Russia, was rerouted to Austria, amid rumours that American fugitive Edward Snowden was on board.

Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay say the incident violated international law.

Envoys will be recalled from France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, they say.

Mr Snowden, a former CIA contractor, is wanted by Washington on charges of leaking secrets about US surveillance schemes.

'Hostile act'

Speaking at a summit in Montevideo, the Uruguayan foreign minister, Luis Almagro, said the actions of the European governments were "groundless, discriminatory and arbitrary".

He went on: "The gravity of the situation - which is a typical neo-colonial practice - is an unusual, unfriendly and hostile act which violates human rights and affects the freedom of transit, displacement and immunity that is enjoyed by every head of state."

The European countries have called the incident a "misunderstanding". France has apologised, blaming "conflicting information" while Spain said it had been told Mr Snowden had been on the plane.

On Friday, Mr Snowden said he sought asylum in Russia as he was unable to travel to Latin America.

Continue reading the main story

“

Start Quote

We repudiate any action aimed at undermining the authority of countries to grant and fully implement the right of asylum”

Mercosur statement

He spoke at a Moscow airport, in his first appearance in three weeks, after meeting human rights groups and lawyers.

He has been in the transit area at Sheremetyevo airport since arriving from Hong Kong on 23 June.

The American has sent requests for political asylum to at least 21 countries, most of which have been turned him down.

However, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have indicated they could take him in.

South American anger

The decision by South American nations to recall four of their Europe envoys was taken in the framework of the presidential summit of the regional trade bloc, Mercosur, which comprises Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay.

Some European countries are likely to close their airspace again to any plane suspected of carrying the fugitive.

In a statement, Mercosur said: "We repudiate any action aimed at undermining the authority of countries to grant and fully implement the right of asylum."

It called for "solidarity with the governments of Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which have offered to grant asylum to Mr Edward Snowden".

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Mercosur would also demand "explanations and public apologies" from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal over the plane forced landing.

Bolivia, which is an associate member of Mercosur, summoned the ambassadors of the four European countries last week over the diversion of the plane, which it called an act of aggression.

Source: BBC

By Corrie MacLaggan

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas' Republican-controlled Senate has voted to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, ending a high-profile political battle that stirred debate over abortion rights well beyond the state's borders.

Already approved by the House, the sweeping bill to restrict abortions now goes to Republican Governor Rick Perry, who is certain to sign it and had called a second special session of the legislature to get it through.

It makes Texas the 13th U.S. state to pass a 20-week ban. The 20-week provision is based on disputed research suggesting fetuses feel pain at that point in a pregnancy. Current limits are 26 weeks in Texas.

The Senate passed the measure late on Friday by a vote of 19 to 11 in front of a full public gallery while protesters yelled and chanted outside the chamber.

The issue has stirred huge attention, including internationally, in part because of an 11-hour filibuster in June against the bill by state Senator Wendy Davis, a Democrat. Her actions at the time prompted comparisons with the James Stewart movie "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington".

Despite political support in Texas for the bill, there could be legal hurdles. Courts have blocked the ban in three of the 12 states that passed it, and opponents of the Texas bill vowed to challenge the decision in court.

Thousands of activists for and against the bill gathered at the state capitol this summer for rallies and marches and to testify at public hearings.

"Let's draw the line and not torture these babies that are aborted," bill supporter Senator Bob Deuell, a Republican and a family physician, said during Friday's nine-hour debate.

The Texas measure would change standards for abortion clinics in ways that opponents say would cause dozens of the facilities to shut down, forcing Texans to turn to illegal, unsafe means. Bill supporters disagree that clinics would have to close.

"This bill is creating a situation where women in Texas today not only will not be made safer but they will absolutely be at risk of their health," said Davis.

The bill also requires doctors performing an abortion to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic. Supporters of that provision said it was important in case complications arose in an abortion and the woman needed to be hospitalized.

The Texas legislation also calls for stricter guidelines for how doctors administer abortion-inducing drugs, such as the regimen known as RU-486.

PACKED STATEHOUSE

The pink granite statehouse was packed on Friday, with Texans opposed to the bill wearing orange and holding signs that said, "My body, my choice," some of them jumping, chanting and loudly shouting outside the Senate chamber.

Those supporting the bill wore blue, some carrying Bibles and crosses and holding signs that said things like, "Unborn babies feel pain."

"What happened here tonight is going to fast-forward change in Texas in the long run, but unfortunately a lot of women will suffer in the process," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Perry called lawmakers back to Austin for a second special session to reconsider the proposal after Davis's successful filibuster, and this time lawmakers were not fighting the clock. The second special session began July 1 and could last up to 30 days.

"Today the Texas legislature took its final step in our historic effort to protect life," Perry said in a statement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety increased security for Friday's debate, searching bags of everyone who entered the Senate gallery. The department said officers found 18 jars containing what appeared to be feces, one jar suspected of containing urine and three bottles of what they think is paint.

"All of these items - as well as significant quantities of feminine hygiene products, glitter and confetti possessed by individuals - were required to be discarded; otherwise those individuals were denied entry into the gallery," the department said in a statement.

The confiscation of feminine hygiene products sparked an outcry on social media about "tampongate".

(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Jeremy Gaunt)

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