Indigenous people protest Brazil not protecting ancestral lands
Brasilia, Brazil Reuters Several thousand Indigenous demonstrators marched chanting to drum beats on Thursday to the seat of power in Brazil’s capital to protest against the government’s failure to protect their ancestral lands. The annual event this year focused Indigenous anger over plans to build a railway to transport grain from farm states to Amazon […]
US, 17 other countries urge Hamas to release hostages, end Gaza crisis
Washington DC, US Reuters The United States and 17 other countries on Thursday issued an appeal for Hamas to release all of its hostages as a pathway to end the crisis in Gaza, but Hamas vowed not to relent to international pressure. “We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in […]
Brazil’s Bolsonaro rallies supporters in Rio
Rio de Janeiro/Sao Paulo Reuters Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday rallied thousands of supporters in Rio de Janeiro in a bid to raise his political capital after losing a bid for reelection to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October, 2022, and facing allegations of involvement in a coup. Images shared on […]
Brazil’s Lula recognises two more Indigenous lands, but postpones four others
Brasilia, Brazil Reuters Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva officially recognised two more Indigenous territories on Thursday, but said he decided not to sign off on four others because they still need to be cleared by people currently occupying them. The recognition grants the territories legal protection as reservations to be defended against invasions […]
Brazil braces for worst coral bleaching ever
Japaratinga, Brazil Reuters Brazil is bracing for what may be its worst-ever coral bleaching event as extremely warm waters damage reefs in the country’s largest marine reserve – threatening the region’s tourism and fishing revenues. With the world’s corals now suffering a fourth mass bleaching event in three decades, some had hoped Brazil’s reefs would […]
Brazil’s Yanomami leader asks the Pope to support President Lula in reversing damage to the Amazon
Vatican City AP Pope Francis met Wednesday with a leader of Brazil’s Yanomami people, who asked for papal backing for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ’s efforts to reverse decades of exploitation of the Amazon and better protect its Indigenous peoples. Davi Kopenawa, a Yanomami shaman, said he came to the Vatican at Francis’ invitation to brief him […]
Slavery tribunal?: Africa, Caribbean unite on reparations
CATARINA DEMONY, of Reuters, reports on the support building for the creation of an international tribunal on atrocities dating to the transatlantic trade of enslaved people…
Study finds mercury contamination in Brazil’s Yanomami people
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Reuters Indigenous people from nine villages in Brazil’s Yanomami territory were found to be contaminated by mercury, with those living closer to illegal gold mining sites presenting higher levels of contamination, a study released on Thursday found. The study by Brazil’s state-run Fiocruz institute collected hair samples from about 287 Indigenous […]
Record wildfires hit Venezuela during climate-driven Amazon drought
Sao Paulo/Maracay, Venezuela Reuters Venezuela is battling a record number of wildfires, according to data released on Monday, as a climate change-driven drought plagues the Amazon rainforest region. Satellites registered more than 30,200 fire points in Venezuela from January to March, the highest level for that period since records started in 1999, according to Brazil’s […]
Surging dengue cases in Americas cause alarm as potentially worst-ever season looms
Mexico City, Mexico Reuters Dengue cases in the Americas rose in the first three months of this year by three times the number of infections reported in the same period last year, the head of the Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday. Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay are the countries hardest hit by dengue in […]