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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — His company is often criticized for its environmental record, but Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and the world’s richest man, said Monday that he was committing $10 billion to a new fund to tackle climate change. In a post to his 1.4 million followers on Instagram, the e-commerce tycoon said the Bezos Earth Fund would “fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve […]
by Jorge SVARTZMAN RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has unveiled a sweeping plan for the Amazon rainforest that would open indigenous lands to mining — a “dream” for the far-right leader, but a “nightmare” for environmentalists and tribal leaders. Bolsonaro proposed a new bill Wednesday that would allow mining, farming, and hydroelectric power projects on formerly protected land in the world’s largest rainforest, saying: “I hope this dream… comes true.” […]
PIARACU, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s pledge to open up the Amazon to mining companies was tantamount to “genocide”, indigenous leaders said Friday at a meeting to oppose the government’s environmental policies. Hundreds of elders gathered this week at Pairacu, deep in the rain forest, to form a united front against Bolsonaro’s environmental policies, which have seen deforestation in the jungle nearly double since the Brazilian leader came to power a year ago. […]
LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Amazon unveiled plans Monday to be a bigger player in the auto sector, announcing partnerships that will put its Fire TV platform in vehicles and offer more services through its Alexa digital assistant. In an announcement ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Amazon said it would allow car owners without built-in Alexa to add the smart assistant to the vehicle through a phone application. The “Echo Auto” […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil on Thursday released revised statistics showing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest surpassed 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) in the year to July 2019, the highest in more than a decade. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said last week that satellite data showed 9,762 square kilometers were cleared of trees in the 12-month period, an increase of 29.5 percent. This week’s revised statistics released by the INPE show […]
by Catherine MARCIANO Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Catholic bishops gathered at a special Vatican assembly will vote Saturday on whether to recommend to Catholic Church’s Pope Francis to open the priesthood to married men or create female deacons, issues that are taboo for traditionalists. The ballot comes at the close of a three-week “synod” on the Pan-Amazonian region which highlighted the challenges facing the region, from the destruction of the rainforest to […]
by Maira RENOU RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Its white flesh is tender and tasty, it can measure up to three meters long and weigh more than 200 kilograms: meet the pirarucu, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, and native to the Amazon. The enormous animal once threatened with extinction, is now on dinner plates in Rio de Janeiro’s fanciest restaurants, thanks to a number of chefs who have championed the delicacy, and […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In the mountainous northern Amazon, a tiny white-plumed suitor turns to face his would-be paramour and belts out a deafening, klaxon-like call, reaching decibel levels equal to a pile driver. Meet the white bellbird, which has just beaten out its rainforest neighbor, the screaming piha, for the title of the world’s loudest bird. Biologist Jeff Podos at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Mario Cohn-Haft of Brazil’s […]
by Catherine MARCIANO Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — An idea to fill empty pulpits in remote locations by allowing married men to become priests is bitterly dividing a Vatican assembly, with critics warning the emotive issue could fracture the Catholic Church. The hot-button topic of whether an exception can be made to the centuries-old custom of celibacy in places where there is a shortage of priests has dominated the start of the three-week […]
by Allison Jackson, with Valeria Pacheco in Puerto Maldonado, Peru Agence France Presse ITAITUBA, Brazil (AFP) — A shortage of Catholic priests in the Amazon is eroding the church’s influence in the remote region, bishops in Brazil and Peru warn, ahead of a Vatican synod dedicated to the rainforest. Wilmar Santin, one of scores of Brazilian bishops set to attend the October 6-27 gathering, says the church is ceding ground to more nimble Evangelical […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday it was a lie that the Amazon was being devastated by fire and accused countries critical of him of having a “colonialist spirit.” Speaking first at this year’s UN General Assembly, the far-right leader also heaped praise on his American counterpart Donald Trump for respecting his country’s sovereignty. The speech came a week after a Human Rights Watch report that accused Bolsonaro of […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Intrepid Brazilian and British scientists say they have located the Amazon’s tallest tree in northern Brazil, untouched by a spate of wildfires that have raged in the rainforest for weeks. The scientists say they located an unusually large specimen of the giant Dinizia Excelsa species — measuring 88 meters (288-feet) with a circumference of 5.50 meters — in a sanctuary of other Dinizia trees. “The species generally reach a height […]
