International
August Amazon fires remain near highs under Bolsonaro
AFP
The number of fires in the Brazilian Amazon as the burning season opened in August fell slightly from 2020, but remained close to the near-decade highs seen under President Jair Bolsonaro, new data showed Wednesday.
Brazil’s space agency, INPE, recorded 28,060 fires in the Brazilian Amazon last month — down 4.3 percent from August 2020, but well above the average of 18,000 for the decade before Bolsonaro took office in 2019.
The far-right president, who has pushed to open protected lands to agribusiness and mining, has presided over a surge of deforestation in the Amazon.
Under his administration, Brazil’s share of the Amazon has lost around 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) of forest cover a year — an area nearly the size of Lebanon.
That is up from around 6,500 square kilometers per year during the previous decade.
The number of fires has surged, too.
“The amount of fires registered each August has reached absurd levels since 2019,” said Cristiane Mazzetti, of environmental group Greenpeace, condemning a new “Bolsonaro standard” of destruction.
Fires often increase in the Amazon when dryer weather arrives from around August to November, as farmers, ranchers and land speculators fell trees, then burn them to clear the land.
Scientists say natural wildfires are virtually non-existent in the famously wet Amazon.
In 2019, Bolsonaro’s first year in office, a sharp rise in Amazon fires caused worldwide outcry and fueled fears for the future of the world’s biggest rainforest, a key resource in the race to curb climate change.
INPE recorded 30,900 fires in August 2019, up from 10,421 the year before.
The agency’s figures go back to 1998. The worst August on record was 2005, with 63,764 fires.
Ane Alencar, director of science at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), said this year’s fire season would depend on climate factors such as rainfall.
But “we are still at about the same level as in 2019,” she told AFP.
“It’s like we’re getting used to these very high numbers.”
Environmentalists are also concerned over a sharp increase in fires in the huge Pantanal wetlands south of the Amazon, around a quarter of which was devastated by fires last year.
The region is again facing a record drought this year.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International3 days agoColombia sees deadliest surge in violence since FARC peace deal
-
International4 days agoNine dead after driver runs over crowd at Vancouver Street Festival
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemala sees road blockades amid protests against lawmaker pay hikes
-
International3 days agoConclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
-
International4 days agoKing Charles III expresses deep sadness after Vancouver festival tragedy that left nine dead
-
International3 days agoSpain’s PM calls for calm and patience amid ongoing blackout
-
International3 days agoMexican activist who exposed pornography ring found dead in Veracruz
-
International3 days agoMadrid carries out 286 elevator rescues amid massive blackout
-
International1 day agoVatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
-
International1 day agoKristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
-
Internacionales6 hours agoClashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
-
International6 hours agoMan arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka