International

Waterways in Brazil’s Manaus choked by tons of trash

AFP

In Manaus, the largest city in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, tons of stinking trash fill the canals and streams, giving one the feeling that they’re visiting a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

On the west side of the city, in a poor neighborhood where homes have been erected on stilts, a worker uses an excavator to scoop up a bucket-load of bottles, pieces of plastic and even home appliances that have been tossed in the water.

Not far from the city’s main port, municipal workers wearing orange uniforms gather garbage from a boat and pile it onto a big barge floating on the Rio Negro, one of the Amazon River’s main tributaries.

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With the rising water levels signaling an end to the rainy season, the mounds of trash are often intermingled with leaves and tree branches.

Each day, nearly 30 tonnes of debris is plucked from the water. In some areas, the water is almost completely covered.

The massive influx of trash to Manaus’s waterways occurs around this time every year, but city authorities believe the situation has gotten worse in recent weeks.

From January to May, city workers have removed 4,500 tonnes of trash, most of which could have been recycled instead of being thrown in the river.

“The people who live on the water’s edge throw garbage straight into the streams… few people put it in the trash,” says Antonino Pereira, a 54-year-old Manaus resident who complains that the stench is unbearable.

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According to the city’s undersecretary of sanitation, Jose Reboucas, if the population was more aware of the costs associated with littering, the city could save one million reais (about $190,000) per month.

“The awareness of the population will be very beneficial for our city and especially for our environment,” he told AFP.

The Amazonian region is also facing a major threat from deforestation, with more than 3,750 square kilometers (1,450 square miles) of jungle chopped down since the beginning of the year.

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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.”

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.”

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.”