A Canadian mining company has appeared to move forward on exploring mining possibilities in Colombia's biodiverse Putumayo department, raising questions about the progressive government of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez, who won power by promising environmental protection. Natalia Torres Garzon reports. Photos by Antonio Cascio.
Residents of the Minneapolis neighborhood of East Phillips and members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) started an occupation in the early morning hours of February 21 to resist the city’s plan to demolish a Superfund site, which sits atop decades of arsenic contamination. Niko Georgiades reports for Unicorn Riot.
For the first time in Brazilian history, representatives from Indigenous communities have been placed in positions of power. They told Natalia Torres Garzon respecting Indigenous territory is essential to protecting the environment. This comes after thousands of acres of Indigenous lands were seized during the term of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The global climate meeting called COP27 (the 27th Conference of Parties) will be held November 6-18 in the remote Egyptian desert resort of Sharm el Sheikh. Given the repressive nature of the Egyptian government, this gathering will likely be different from others, where there have been large, raucous protests led by civil society groups. U.S.-based activist Medea Benjamin spoke with Egyptian journalist Sharif Abdel Kouddous.
The U.S. government holds many political prisoners, including journalists; national security state whistleblowers; Black, Indigenous, and other nationally oppressed revolutionaries; foreign diplomats; activists; and more, writes Stansfield Smith.
Sunday’s second-round presidential election in Colombia could transform the lives of residents in informal settlements, which make up 65 percent of housing in the country's cities. Former-militant-turned-politician Gustavo Petro and millionaire businessman Rodolfo Hernández approach the country's urban housing crisis and environmental policy in different ways, reports Natalia Torres Garzon with photography by Antonio Cascio.
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