International
The Brazilian Amazon relives the drama of drought: empty channels and isolated communities
The Brazilian Amazon is once again suffering an extreme drought that threatens to worsen in the coming months.
In Manaquiri, near Manaus, there are already dry riverbeds, cornered fish and about twenty isolated rural communities.
After a dramatic 2023, Brazil faces the worst drought since 1950 this year and one of the most affected parts of the country is the Amazon region, according to the National Center for Surveillance and Alert of Natural Disasters data.
In the state of Amazonas, the Government has decreed an “emergency situation” in its 62 municipalities due to drought and forest fires. The meteorological specialists had already anticipated it and it has been confirmed.
“Everything indicates that we will have a very serious drought. The rivers will go down like never before,” warned the governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima.
The Negro River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon, today has a level four meters lower than in the same period last year. Throughout Amazonas, the Brazilian state with the largest number of indigenous population, the drought already directly affects about 80,000 families, according to the Civil Defense.
Several hundred of them are in Manaquiri, where from the end of August you can walk along the dry bed of the river that bathes this town (Paraná Manaquiri).
The footprints are marked on the sandbanks, once covered with fresh water and today naked in the sunlight. Where boats loaded with goods used to sail and today you can ride a horse.
Hundreds of herons take advantage of the drought to feed on fish that are restricted to the little river left.
Meanwhile, Ednaldo Freitas, 35, is busy connecting all the hoses he had at home and thus be able to reach the part where there is still water, according to EFE.
That’s not his only problem. Their children have to walk several kilometers these days to get to school, because the boat that transported them no longer arrives because there is no river.
To go to Manaus, the regional capital, it is still possible to go by another tributary, although it takes an hour longer than usual, which hinders the transport of medicines, food, etc., and harms the local economy.
And with the severe drought, fires have multiplied. This Sunday there were 3,640 active foci throughout Brazil, half of them in the Amazon, the largest tropical forest on the planet. In the state of Amazonas alone there were 237.
In other areas of the country, the flames are also advancing. A fire has burned in four days about 10,000 hectares of the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, near the Federal District of Brasilia, which this Sunday was again shrouded in smoke.
São Paulo and Minas Gerais, the two most populous states in Brazil, have also mobilized a large number of troops to fight forest fires in their territories, on which there are suspicions that many of them have been caused.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
Analyst warns of cracks in Nicaragua’s inner circle as Ortega prepares succession
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
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
-
Central America5 days agoHonduran prosecutors charge three with terrorism and assassination plot against Manuel Zelaya
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemalan police regain control of prisons after gang riots leave one guard dead
-
International3 days agoErin weakens to Category 3 after rapid intensification to Category 5
-
International5 days agoTrump and Putin end Alaska summit without Ukraine peace agreement
-
International2 days agoNYPD declares suspicious Times Square package safe after investigation
-
International4 days agoEx-Pemex director linked to Odebrecht scandal detained in Texas, faces trial in Mexico
-
International1 day agoPeruvian woman arrested in Bali for smuggling cocaine in sex toy
-
International1 day agoCuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
-
International4 days agoResidente to perform free concert at Mexico City’s Zócalo on september 6
-
International1 day agoTrump says Russia open to security guarantees for Ukraine amid peace talks
-
International2 days agoTexas opens major migrant detention center amid civil rights protests
-
International2 days agoThree arrested in Dubai hours after $25 million pink diamond theft
-
Sin categoría2 days ago
Zelensky meets Trump with European leaders amid peace deal tensions
-
International1 day agoFinnish MP Eemeli Peltonen dies at 30 in Parliament building
-
Central America10 hours agoAnalyst warns of cracks in Nicaragua’s inner circle as Ortega prepares succession
-
International14 hours ago
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
-
International14 hours agoThree U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking