4 d. ago Mercury treaty summit criticized for inaction on gold mining crisis

A global mercury summit in Geneva has faced criticism from environmental and Indigenous groups for failing to act on mercury use in small-scale gold mining, the world’s top source of mercury pollution and a growing threat to the Amazon

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping’: the lawless rush for rare earth minerals in Venezuela

Guerrilla groups have seized control of mining areas, exploiting Indigenous people and fuelling environmental ruin on the border with ColombiaFor months, Brig Gen Rafael Olaya Quintero, commander of the Orinoco naval force, has been chasing tin and coltan traffickers across the waterways at Colombia’s border with Venezuela.His mission has become more urgent since the global shift towards clean energy has generated an unprecedented rush for rare earth elements and critical minerals. These materials are vital components in electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, fighter jets and guided missiles, with demand also driven by increased defence budgets in the EU, US and China, and throughout the world. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago A decade after Brazil’s deadly dam collapse, Indigenous peoples demand justice on the eve of COP30

Ten years after Brazil’s worst environmental disaster, the Indigenous Krenak people are still mourning what they call “the death of the river.”

Events

7 d. ago ‘A meeting of voices’: flotillas head into Belém ahead of Cop30 climate summit

Indigenous leaders, environmental activists and forest defenders are determined to make this a summit like no other A day into a river voyage between Santarém and Belém, a dozen or so passengers on the Karolina do Norte move excitedly to the port side of the boat to see the cafe au lait-coloured waters of the Amazon river mix with the darker, clearer currents of the Xingu.“That confluence is like the people on this boat,” said Thais Santi. “All from different river basins, but coming together for this journey.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Public servants are being targeted and MPs have been murdered. But we will prevent fear from destroying our politics | Dan Jarvis

A new law will restrict protests outside the homes of public office holders. The right to demonstrate is a given, but to menace private homes is just not right Every day, I hear appalling stories of the abuse suffered by people who step forward to represent their communities and serve our country. It is shocking to see the level of harassment and intimidation faced by those in our parliament, our town halls and elsewhere in public service. Every story I hear only increases my determination to stop it happening and keep those who serve safe.The horrific murders of my friends Jo Cox and David Amess were not isolated tragedies. They sent shockwaves through parliament and our democracy. Their loss left behind grief and a fear that shapes our politics.Dan Jarvis is security minister and Labour MP for Barnsley North Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago I am the first Indigenous journalist to exclusively interview António Guterres. How many others will listen?

A young journalist reflects on the UN leader’s responses, and hopes his messages – about human violence on an increasingly hostile planet – resonated before Cop30‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN headThere we were at the edge of the forest. The computer screen had been up for a long time, everything arranged so that nothing would go wrong; that the internet wouldn’t go down, that the computer battery wouldn’t die, and a glass of water and ice in front of me so I wouldn’t be left without words. Silence filled the other side of the camera until a figure appeared, and there he was: António Guterres, the man who speaks for the world, the secretary general of the United Nations.A few weeks earlier, I had received an invitation from Jonathan Watts of the Guardian newspaper, asking me to interview Guterres with him. I accepted. It would be my first time speaking to someone with that level of authority. But what would I ask him? Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Fourth man jailed for violent disorder outside hotel housing asylum seekers

Police said the 28-year-old acted in an ‘intimidating way, encouraging other people there to face off against our officers’.

Events

3 w. ago Indigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing state intimidation

Critics say referendum on rewriting country’s eco-friendly constitution is president’s latest pro-extractivist moveIndigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing a wave of state intimidation ahead of a national referendum next month on whether to rewrite the world’s only constitution that recognises the rights of nature.The pressure is being applied by the rightwing president, Daniel Noboa, who has begun his second term with a Trumpian agenda of consolidating power and sweeping away legal and social barriers to extractivist businesses, such as mining. Continue reading...

Politics