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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.

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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. 

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“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.

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“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.”

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International

President Boric announces curfew following triple police homicide in Chile

Chile offers residency and Chilean nationality to Nicaraguan opponents

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has implemented a nighttime curfew in three municipalities of the Biobío region following the murder of three police officers. The Chilean leader emphasized that “criminals will answer to Chile and its justice system.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Boric stated that he made the decision “after discussing with the General Director of the Carabineros, the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Head of National Defense, and the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having also considered various alternatives and taking into account the needs of the ongoing investigation.”

He further detailed that “I have instructed to decree a curfew in the municipalities of Cañete, Contulmo, and Tirúa from midnight to 7:00 AM. Additionally, police and military presence will be intensified to our utmost capacity with joint patrols in the area.”

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International

President López Obrador meets with Astros and Rockies ahead of Mexico City Series

Last Friday, before the 2024 Mexico City Series between the Astros and Rockies at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with representatives from both teams.

Through his social media, the President shared his interaction with executives from the Houston and Colorado teams, as well as with Astros’ Mexican pitcher, José Urquidy.

“Yesterday (Friday), before starting the tour, I had breakfast with executives and friends from the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. There’s increasingly more baseball fever in our country,” López Obrador wrote.

The photos also featured former Mexican major leaguers Vinicio “Vinny” Castilla and Jorge de la Rosa, both of whom played for the Colorado team.

On Saturday night, the Houston Astros won the first game in the “capital inferno,” home of the Mexico City Red Devils, with a commanding score of 12 to 4.

This Sunday, the second game of the series will take place at AHH, with both teams arriving in Mexico on a losing streak. Another great Major League celebration is anticipated at the “fire diamond.”

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International

Social media star Om Fahad fatally shot in Baghdad

An Iraqi TikToker, previously sentenced to prison last year for posting content deemed “indecent” on social media, was fatally shot in Baghdad on Friday, according to two security officials.

Om Fahad, who had tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, gained fame for her videos featuring her in tight outfits dancing to Iraqi music, in a country that is predominantly conservative and patriarchal.

The young woman was shot by an assailant on a motorcycle while she was in her vehicle outside her home in central Baghdad, two security officials reported anonymously to AFP.

In February 2023, a court initially sentenced Om Fahad to six months in jail for “publishing various videos with indecent intentions that violate modesty and public morals.”

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