International
Indigenous woman wins award for campaign against mining companies in the Amazon
May 25 |
Alessandra Korap Munduruku, who spearheaded a campaign that forced large mining corporations to respect the indigenous territory of her people in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, received the Goldman Environmental Prize.
The activist is among six 2023 winners from around the world in recognition of her achievements and on-the-ground environmental leadership awarded by the San Francisco-based Goldman Foundation.
In May 2021, Anglo American AAL.L agreed to withdraw 27 exploration applications for mining activity on indigenous lands, according to the foundation, including the territory of the Sawré Muybu – where Alessandra Munduruku is from – an area of 1,600 square kilometers in the Tapajós River rainforest.
“The award recognizes our struggle and tells the world ‘Here we are.’ Multinational companies cannot enter without consulting indigenous peoples,’” he told Reuters by phone.
Anglo American did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Goldman Foundation said the company told the Brazilian government at the time that it would abandon prospecting applications because of concerns raised by indigenous communities.
“Alessandra’s successful campaign represents a significant shift in private sector accountability around destructive mining in Brazil amid an intense government push for extraction in the Amazon,” the foundation said in a statement.
Following Anglo American’s decision, other major mining companies announced they would also withdraw prospecting permits on indigenous lands in Brazil, the foundation said, a fact corroborated by Brazilian lobby group Ibram.
The Sawré Muybu’s territory is still threatened by mining companies because it has not yet been formally recognized as an indigenous reserve. Alessandra called on the leftist government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to process the recognition urgently.
Alessandra, 38, said she will use the prize money to finish her university studies and become a lawyer.
International
Germany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott
The German Football Association (DFB) and FIFA will decide with full “autonomy” whether to boycott the upcoming World Cup, which will be hosted mainly by the United States in six months, following threats made by former U.S. president Donald Trump, the German government told AFP on Tuesday.
Trump has threatened to seize Greenland and impose higher tariffs on European countries that oppose the plan, raising political tensions between the United States and Europe.
“This assessment therefore lies with the relevant federations, in this case the DFB and FIFA. The federal government will respect that decision,” Sports State Secretary Christiane Schenderlein said in a statement emailed to AFP.
AFP had asked the German government about the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup to be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
“The federal government respects the autonomy of sport. Decisions regarding participation in major sporting events or possible boycotts fall exclusively within the responsibility of the relevant sports federations, not the political sphere,” said Schenderlein, a member of the conservative CDU, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
International
Daily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial
Two British tabloids accused of phone hacking and other forms of “unlawful information gathering” against Prince Harry and six other individuals, including singer Elton John, insisted on Tuesday that their reporting relied on legitimate sources.
Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, sought to rebut allegations of privacy violations through illegal methods on the second day of trial at London’s High Court, following a lawsuit filed by the seven claimants.
Prince Harry, 41, who attended court hearings on both Monday and Tuesday, could be called to testify starting Wednesday in a trial expected to last up to nine weeks.
Lawyers for the claimants said the alleged illegal activities took place between 1993 and 2011, with some incidents reportedly extending as late as 2018. They argue that the tabloids hired private investigators to intercept phone calls and obtain confidential information, including detailed phone records, medical histories, and bank statements.
However, Anthony White, counsel for ANL, told the court that the trial would show the company presents “a compelling account of a pattern of lawful source acquisition” for its articles.
White added that the claims would require the court to believe that journalists and staff at the tabloids had engaged in widespread dishonesty, which the company strongly denies.
International
Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40
The death toll from the train accident that occurred on Sunday in southern Spain has risen to 40, according to investigative sources cited by EFE on Monday afternoon.
Since early Monday, search operations have focused on the damaged carriages of a Renfe train bound for Huelva, which collided with the last derailed cars of an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid after it left the tracks.
The crash has also left more than 150 people injured. Of these, 41 remain hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care units at hospitals across the Andalusia region.
More than 220 Civil Guard officers are working at the site, searching the railway line and surrounding areas for key evidence to help identify victims and determine the causes of the accident.
The tragedy has revived memories of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe in recent decades. In Spain, the most severe occurred on July 24, 2013, when an Alvia train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 people and injuring 130 others.
At the European level, the worst rail disaster took place on June 3, 1998, in Eschede, northern Germany, when a high-speed train struck a bridge pillar at 200 kilometers per hour, resulting in 98 deaths and 120 injuries.
Germany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott
Daily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial
Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40
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 agoU.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster
-
Central America2 days agoGuatemala prison uprisings leave 46 guards held by gangs
-
International1 day agoDeath toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40
-
International4 days agoCanada accuses Iran of killing its citizen during anti-government unrest
-
International4 days agoSheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain
-
Central America1 day agoGuatemala raises police death toll to nine after gang violence escalates
-
International1 day agoOver 160 christian worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna Church attacks
-
International2 days agoChile declares state of catastrophe as wildfires rage in Ñuble and Biobío
-
International3 days agoFormer South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison
-
International1 day agoSpain’s Prime Minister pledges transparency after train crash kills at least 39
-
International4 hours agoGermany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott
-
International4 hours agoDaily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial