Deadly Iran protests continue as Trump renews intervention threat

-
By JON GAMBRELL AP The death toll in violence surrounding protests in Iran has risen to at least 35 people, activists said Tuesday, as the demonstrations showed no signs of stopping. The figure came from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which said more than 1,200 people have been detained in the protests, which have been ongoing for more than a week. It said 29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 250 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces, The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest. A wave of protests sparked by Iran’s failing economy has continued for a ninth day, as President Donald Trump renewed his threat of US intervention. Trump warned on Sunday night that Iranian authorities would be “hit very hard” if more protesters died. “We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they ...
Post a Comment

Indigenous Brazil community stays on flooded land in dispute with developer

-

By Debora Ely Reuters

Stranded for nearly three weeks by record flooding in southern Brazil, one tiny Indigenous community is determined not to evacuate what they consider sacred ancestral lands that are in dispute with real estate developers.

The Mbya Guarani people have been living since 2018 on a peninsula in far southern Porto Alegre, the state capital of Rio Grande do Sul.

The community has long been at odds with Arado Empreendimentos Imobiliarios, the firm that has been planning a residential development on nearly 426 hectares (1,053 acres) in the area for over a decade, part of which is in dispute.

Heavy rains have battered Rio Grande do Sul since late April, causing historic floods that have killed over 160 people, while nearly 100 residents are still missing and more than 500,000 have been displaced.

Even with the devastating floods, community leaders say they would not consider leaving.

“After this flood dries up I’m going to go further over there,” chieftan Timoteo de Oliveira Karai Mirim, 62, told Reuters, pointing to higher ground within the disputed land in an area known as Ponta do Arado.

“The businessman will say that we have no right, but I’ll stay. We have already chosen this place and we are not going to leave,” he added.

The Mbya Guarani’s presence is protected by federal courts, which suspended an injunction returning the land to the developer owners until Brazil’s Supreme Court makes a broader ruling on the demarcation of Indigenous lands, said lawyers for Arado Empreendimentos.

The developer is prepared to take legal action if the community tries to expand by moving to higher ground on the property.

“We have no information that they would move from their current location, but if they do we will have to take legal measures,” land owner Iboty Brochmann Ioschpe, affiliated with the company, told Reuters.

Kreta Kaingang, coordinator of national Indigenous organization APIB, said the Mbya Guarani fear that if they move to a shelter they will never be allowed to return.

So they continue to camp in the area, even as the rising Guaiba River swallowed a 10-meter strip of sand and destroyed five bamboo houses, soaking mattresses, clothes and food. The muddy waters also flooded the road that provides land access to the village.

Seventeen people from four families live in the community, with their ducks, chickens and dogs. With a broken boat and no accessible roads, they are depending on donations to survive.

Some say they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to.

“There is no road to get around and go to the city, and you can’t go by water either,” said Pablo Natalicio de Souza, 37, nephew of the Mbya Guarani’s chieftan. “There’s no way to get out of here.”

The Mbya Guarani are the only Indigenous community still isolated by the floods, according to APIB.

The disaster has affected 30,000 Indigenous people in Rio Grande do Sul, according to an estimate from Brazil’s Ministry of Indigenous Peoples.

Last year, Brazil’s National Indigenous People Foundation began studies in the area, the first step to determine demarcation of Indigenous territories.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/IDioVy3

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Myanmar earthquake death toll rises as fresh tremors further complicate rescue efforts

-
Image
A5.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, on Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The tremor was part of a series of aftershocks following Friday’s devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which resulted in the collapse of numerous buildings and significant infrastructure damage. The death toll has risen to over 1,600, with more than 3,400 individuals reported missing; these numbers are expected to increase as rescue operations continue. Foreign rescue teams and supplies arrived in Myanmar on Sunday to help the impoverished country cope with an earthquake that killed over 1,600 and left many near the epicentre scrambling for help without proper equipment. The 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar’s strongest in a century, jolted the Southeast Asian nation on Friday, leaving 1,644 people dead, 3,408 injured and 139 missing, the military government said. India, China and Thailand are among Myanmar’s neighbours that have sent relief ...
Read more

Israel says situation on Lebanon border ‘not sustainable’

-
By James Mackenzie Reuters  Israeli officials and media reacted with satisfaction on Monday after a  long-expected missile attack  by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement appeared to have been largely thwarted by pre-emptive Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Israel seemed content to let Sunday’s attack, in retaliation for the  killing of a senior Hezbollah commander  in Beirut last month, count as settled for the moment. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said Hezbollah had suffered a “crushing blow” from the Israeli strikes but that a longer lasting solution was still needed. “The current situation is not sustainable,” he told a briefing, referring to the tens of thousands evacuated from their homes in northern Israel, a situation mirrored on the other side of the border in southern Lebanon. “Israel will do its duty and return its population to our sovereign territory.” Hopes that children might return for the start of the ...
Read more