International
Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon remains high in May
AFP
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell in May from the same month last year, but came in at the second-highest level on record for the period, continuing a devastating year for the world’s biggest rainforest.
Figures based on satellite data published Friday by the national space agency, INPE, showed a total of 900 square kilometers (347 square miles) of forest cover in the Brazilian Amazon was destroyed last month — equivalent to more than 126,000 football fields.
The figure was down 35 percent from May 2021, but was still the second-worst since records began in August 2015.
And deforestation so far this year is up 12.7 percent from the same period last year.
Experts say the destruction is mainly driven by farming and ranching in Brazil, the world’s top producer of soy and beef.
President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Brazil’s powerful agribusiness lobby, has presided over a surge in destruction in the Amazon, a key resource in the race to curb climate change, since taking office in 2019.
Under the far-right president, who is up for reelection in October, average annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has risen by 75 percent from the previous decade.
At the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this week, Bolsonaro said his country could expand agribusiness without harming the Amazon, and complained to US President Joe Biden about international pressure over the issue.
“We have a wealth in the heart of Brazil — our Amazon, which is bigger than Western Europe, with incalculable riches, biodiversity, mineral wealth, drinking water and oxygen sources,” Bolsonaro said, as he met Biden on the sidelines of the summit.
“Sometimes we feel that our sovereignty is threatened in that area but Brazil preserves its territory well,” he said.
“On the environmental issue we have our difficulties but we do our best to defend our interests.”
Experts say otherwise.
“Despite all the alerts from the scientific community, Brazil continues flying in the face of sustainable development,” Mariana Napolitano, science director at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Brazil, told AFP.
“These deforestation records make it clear an environmentally just and balanced future is more remote every day and make it clear how ineffective current environmental policies are.”
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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