By Giem Guimaraes 29 September 2017 (Mongabay) – Brazil. The fifth largest country in the world. Besides housing the world’s largest rainforest and freshwater reserves, — approximately 12 percent of the world’s total — it is also the country with the largest commercial cattle production, with more than 215 million animals. Additionally, it has the […]
By Philip Fearnside 15 September 2017 (Mongabay) – On 23 August 2017, Brazil’s president Michel Temer issued a decree revoking the RENCA (National Reserve of Copper and Associated Minerals), an area the size of Switzerland on the northern side of the Amazon River straddling the states of Pará and Amapá. The Ministry of Environment had […]
By Gerard Couzens and Matt Roper 21 September 2017 (Daily Mail) – A British headteacher murdered while canoeing along the Amazon was tortured and sexually assaulted by a gang before being killed and dumped in the river, it has been claimed.Horrific new details of the last moments of Emma Kelty’s life were revealed in a […]
By Sue Branford 18 September 2017 (Mongabay) – The Temer government, widely criticized for its attacks on indigenous rights, has approved its first significant measure in favor of the country’s indigenous communities.Last week, Brazil’s official gazette published a decree, signed by Justice Minister Torquato Jardim, establishing the Indigenous Territory of Turubaxi-Téa along the middle reaches […]
By Christophe Simon 19 September 2017 (AFP) – Brazilian police said Tuesday that a British woman missing during an attempt to paddle the entire Amazon by kayak has been murdered and that three people are in custody The Amazonas state police force said a 17-year-old suspect has confessed to being part of a gang that […]
13 September 2017 (Survival International) – Brazilian Indians have appealed for global assistance to prevent further killings after the reported massacre of uncontacted tribespeople, and have denounced the government cuts that left their territories unprotected.Paulo Marubo, a Marubo indigenous leader from western Brazil, said: “More attacks and killings are likely to happen. The cuts to […]
By Tara Copp 13 September 2017 WASHINGTON (Military Times) – The Pentagon has continued to take steps to defend its military bases against extreme weather despite direction from President Donald Trump to stop preparing for climate change. In March, President Donald Trump rescinded all climate-related federal agency actions directed by President Barack Obama. The Obama-era […]
By Lucy Pasha-Robinson 13 September 2017 (The Independent) – Mexico has withdrawn its offer of aid to US victims of Hurricane Harvey after a 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, killing 96 people. A statement released by Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said the aid would now be redirected to help those […]
8 September 2017 (Daily Mail) – Anti-Apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu has condemned Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi for her silence on the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in her country. Critics have accused the Burmese leader – and Nobel peace prize winner – of turning a blind eye to the violent persecution of Rohingya Muslims. The […]
6 September 2017 (UN) – Pervasive levels of poverty, protracted conflicts and complex humanitarian emergencies have led to stagnation in reducing the global out-of-school rate over the past decade, prompting the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to call for more investments. With 11.5 per cent of school-age children – or 123 million missing school today, […]
