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☆ Eyeball to eyeball: Estonia stares down Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Jill Dougherty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It sits high on the western bank of the Narva River, its 13th-century castle proudly flying the blue, black and white flag of Estonia. We think we know roughly what makes them tick.”Like parts of Ukraine, Estonia was illegally annexed and occupied by the Soviet Union. Estonians at the conference were adamant: Unless Russia is utterly defeated in Ukraine, there is no reason to expect Putin will change his strategic objective. Jill Dougherty/CNNSeveral Russians at the conference said they feel personally responsible for the horrors Russia is unleashing on Ukraine. What’s more, Vladimir Putin is winning support for the war from so-called “swing states” and nations in the Global South.

☆ Brazil police shoot dead 4 illegal gold miners on Yanomami reservation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] A helicopter of the Brazilian Environmental Agency (IBAMA) is seen near Uraricoera river during an operation at illegal mining in the Yanomami indigenous land, Roraima state, Brazil, February 11, 2023. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File PhotoBRASILIA, May 1 (Reuters) - Brazilian police and environmental protection agents were ambushed by illegal gold miners on the Yanomami Indigenous reservation in the Amazon on Monday and four miners were shot dead in the exchange of gunfire, a government statement said. The Environment Ministry said their team was attacked when they moved in to dismantle a wildcat mining camp run by an organized crime gang. Brazilian authorities are keen to show that they mean business in their efforts to remove the remainder of the wildcat miners on the reservation following the fatal shooting of a Yanomami man. Gold miners killed one man and seriously injured two others in an attack on Saturday in the Yanomami territory, where authorities have been evicting illegal miners who invaded Brazil's largest indigenous reservation, the size of Portugal.

☆ Brazil to step up removal of indigenous land invaders after Yanomami killing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People who were working in illegal mining sit in the trunk of a car to travel to the city as they arrive at Porto do Arame after leaving the Yanomami indigenous land, in Alto Alegre, Roraima state, Brazil, February 12, 2023. REUTERS/Amanda PerobelliBRASILIA, April 30 (Reuters) - Brazil will increase efforts to remove the remainder of wildcat miners from indigenous lands following a shooting attack by invaders that killed a Yanomami indigenous person and left two others seriously injured, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples said on Sunday. An inter-ministerial delegation is en route to Roraima state to "further reinforce actions to remove criminals," the ministry said on Twitter. Since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office in January, its administration has announced actions to remove thousands of illegal miners from the country's largest indigenous reservation in northern Brazil. Lula's government declared a medical emergency for the Yanomamis earlier this year and pledged zero tolerance for mining on indigenous reservation land protected by Brazil's Constitution.

☆ Brazil's Lula resumes creation of Indigenous reservations halted by Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File PhotoBRASILIA, April 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced the formal recognition of six Indigenous reservations on Friday, fulfilling a campaign promise to reverse the policy of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Lula made the announcement as part of the annual meeting in Brasilia of representatives of Brazil's one million Indigenous people. The Free Land Camp is a five-day event featuring music, dance and food in tents erected on the grass esplanade of the capital. Indigenous leaders called on the president to speed up the recognition of some 300 Indigenous territories that have been mapped out but have waited for years to be formally recognized. With no state protection, Indigenous communities are in danger of invasions by illegal loggers and wildcat gold miners that surged under Bolsonaro.

☆ GM reveals Buick Envista as brand's last new gas-powered vehicle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

DETROIT – General Motors on Monday revealed the last new gas-powered Buick vehicle ahead of the brand's transition to an all-electric domestic lineup by 2030. The final new traditional nameplate for the brand will be the 2024 Buick Envista, a small crossover that has the look of a sedan but the ride height and storage of a comparable SUV. It features a smooth, long exterior with styling inspired by the brand's well-received Wildcat concept car last year. The Envista will replace the Buick Encore as the brand's entry-level model, starting at $24,495 for a base model and $29,695 for a top-end Avenir model. GM discontinued production of the Encore last year in exchange for a larger "Encore GX" vehicle that starts between about $26,000 and $35,000.

BRASILIA, April 5 (Reuters) - A Supreme Court judge backed a government move to crack down on illegal gold mining in Brazil, suspending a legal practice of buyers accepting the origin of the precious metal with paper receipts based on the "good faith" of the seller. The injunction by Justice Gilmar Mendes gave the government 90 days to adopt a new regulatory framework for the gold trade to stop the sale of gold mined illegally from indigenous lands and other environmentally protected areas. The previous government of President Jair Bolsonaro eased environmental protections and encouraged wildcat mining in the Amazon rainforest. A surge in illegal mining on the Yanomami indigenous reservation caused disease and malnutrition that led the Lula government to declare a humanitarian crisis. The Brazilian Institute of Mining (Ibram), which represents gold mining companies such as AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (ANGJ.J) and Yamana Gold Inc (YRI.TO), as well as multinational giants such as Vale (VALE3.SA), Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX) and BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AX), said 20% of Brazilian gold had no declared origin in 2021, citing data from the National Mining Agency.

BRASILIA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Brazil's government is taking a fresh tack in its effort to crack down on illegal gold mining in the Amazon, preparing legislation that would require electronic tax receipts for the buying and selling of the precious metal, four sources with knowledge of the plans said. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to end years of environmental backsliding under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, and crack down on illegal mining in the Amazon. The central bank said the goal was to implement "a new inspection system that allows the traceability of the gold extracted, as well as the adoption of electronic invoices." The situation is so bad, Ibram says, that even the central bank does not know if the gold it buys is legal or illegal. The mining lobby has been calling for the adoption of electronic invoices to end the illegal gold trade, Ibram President Raul Jungmann told Reuters.

☆ Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls in first month under Lula
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoSAO PAULO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell in January from a year earlier, satellite data showed on Friday, in the first monthly figures under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In mid-January, Brazilian environmental agents launched their first anti-logging raids under Lula, who has pledged to end surging destruction under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. The fresh figures come after Reuters reported exclusively on Thursday that the United States was considering its first contribution to a multilateral fund aimed at fighting Amazon deforestation, with a possible announcement during President Joe Biden's meeting with Lula at the White House on Friday. The Brazilian-administered Amazon Fund, supported mainly by Norway and Germany, was reactivated by Environment Minister Marina Silva the day she took office last month, after being frozen since 2019 under Bolsonaro. The Brazilian government is also fighting wildcat mining on Yanomami land in the Amazon, its largest indigenous reservation, amid a humanitarian crisis blamed on illegal gold miners.

☆ Yanomami health crisis in Brazil can only be solved by expelling miners, official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The medical emergency the Yanomami people of Brazil are suffering can only be overcome if illegal gold miners that invaded their reservation are evicted, an indigenous health official said on Tuesday. We believe the reopening of medical units can only be done when the miners are all removed," Indigenous Health Secretary Ricardo Weibe Tapeba told a news conference. About 20,000 wildcat miners on the Yanomami reservation in the state of Roraima in northern Brazil have brought malaria and severe food shortages that caused the death of starving Yanomami children, he said. Some 700 patients have been airlifted to the state capital of Boa Vista and are being treated at the CASAI indigenous health center hospital and a field hospital set up there, Weibe added. Their mineral-rich lands attracted wildcat miners for decades, especially after a military government built a road through the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s.

☆ Illegal miners in Yanomami reservation seek Brazil government help to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Illegal gold miners blamed for causing a humanitarian crisis on Brazil's largest indigenous reservation are asking authorities to help them leave, one of their leaders and a Brazilian senator said on Monday. In a video he posted on social media, Mesquita asked the government to unblock rivers for 10-15 days for the miners to leave the reservation in the northern state of Roraima. "What matters is that the miners leave peacefully and protected," he said. Some of the miners that are beginning to leave the Yanomami reservation are expected to head across the border into neighboring French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana. Their mineral-rich lands have attracted wildcat miners for decades, especially after a military government built a road through the Amazon rainforest in the 1970s.

☆ Brazil readies task force to expel miners from Yanomami lands, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Anthony Boadle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A village of indigenous Yanomami is seen during Brazil's environmental agency operation against illegal gold mining on indigenous land, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in Roraima state, Brazil April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/File PhotoBRASILIA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Brazil is preparing a task force of armed forces, police and government agencies to expel illegal gold miners who invaded the Yanomami indigenous reservation, officials said on Tuesday. Defense Minister Jose Mucio said the military is needed to drive out the miners, who are well armed and have helicopters. Wapichana said the task force, as in past offensives against illegal miners, will involve the Federal Police, environmental protection agency Ibama, Funai and several ministries, as well as the military. Wapichana said the government will move against the organized crime and financial groups that supply and fund the illegal mining, and launder the gold.

☆ Here's how a wildly outgunned US Navy pilot outfoxed one of the Soviet Union's best jets, scoring a string of kills in a legendary dogfight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

An outgunned US Navy pilot downed four Soviet MiG-15 jets in a legendary dogfight over 70 years ago. This swept-wing Soviet aircraft was considered to be superior to the straight-wing American Panther in terms of overall performance. A Grumman F9F Panther fighter jet fires its guns during an attack on the North Korean port of Hungnam. "In the moment I was a fighter pilot doing my job," Williams said in an account of the fight, according to Pacific Fleet. Williams' dogfight isn't the only example of US planes battling enemy aircraft that are superior on paper.

☆ Brazil's Yanomami region looks like ‘concentration camp,’ says official
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“It looks like a concentration camp,” Tapeba, a doctor appointed to the position by Brazil’s new government, said in a radio interview. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left, visits the Yanomami Indigenous Health House (Casai) in the Boa Vista rural area, Roraima state, Brazil, on Saturday. “It’s an extreme calamity, many Yanomami are suffering from malnutrition and there is a total absence of the Brazilian state,” Tapeba said. This can only be resolved by removing the gold miners and that can only be done by the armed forces,” he said. Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the removal of the gold miners.

☆ Brazil declares emergency over deaths of Yanomami children from malnutrition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRASILIA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's ministry of health has declared a medical emergency in the Yanomami territory, the country's largest indigenous reservation bordering Venezuela, following reports of children dying of malnutrition and other diseases caused by illegal gold mining. In four years of Bolsonaro's presidency, 570 Yanomami children died of curable diseases, mainly malnutrition but also malaria, diarrhea and malformations caused by mercury used by wildcat gold miners, the Amazon journalism platform Sumauma reported, citing data obtained by a FOIA. Lula visited a Yanomami health center in Boa Vista in Roraima state on Saturday following the publication of photos showing children and elderly men and women so thin their ribs were visible. In recent violent incidents, men on speed boats on the rivers have shot with automatic weapons at indigenous villages whose communities oppose the entry of gold miners. Lula said the new government will put an end to illegal gold mining as it moves to crack down on illegal deforestation in the Amazon, which surged to a 15-year high under Bolsonaro.

☆ Netanyahu seals dramatic comeback as he is sworn in as Israel prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The plans have sparked an unprecedented uproar from across Israeli society, including the military, LGBTQ rights groups, the business community and others. Netanyahu is the country’s longest serving prime minister, having held office from 2009 until 2021 and a stint in the 1990s. Netanyahu’s previous administrations have been strong proponents of Israel’s West Bank settlement enterprise, and that is only expected to be kicked into overdrive under the new government. Most of the international community considers Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. Netanyahu has tried to allay those concerns by pledging no harm to LGBTQ rights.

☆ In 'Wildcat', Amazon fauna helps heal emotional wounds of war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Rollo Ross | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Their triumphs and travails are at the heart of "Wildcat", a documentary filmed deep in the rainforest that premieres on Amazon's Prime Video on Friday. Then they get a call from a friend that an ocelot kitten was found by loggers and little Keanu helps Turner out of his grief. The documentary came about after Zwicker shot videos documenting Khan's upbringing, hoping it would help other conservationists return cats to the wild. Directors Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh came on board to document the lives of Turner, Zwicker and their animals after receiving Keanu. With proceeds from the reported $20 million Amazon Studios paid for the documentary, Zwicker is building up her conservation program Hoja Nueva, while Turner has set up his own charity, Emerald Arch.

☆ Netanyahu government makes West Bank settlement expansion top priority
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Palestinian protesters argue with Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israeli settlements near Nablus in the West Bank. Nasser Ishtayeh / Sipa USA via APIsrael captured the West Bank in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians seek the West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state. Most of the international community considers Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. Several of Netanyahu’s key allies, including most of the Religious Zionism party, are ultranationalist West Bank settlers.

☆ ‘Wildcat’ Review: Finding Peace With Predators
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The documentary “Wildcat” is about wildlife conservation the way Ernest Hemingway ’s “Big Two-Hearted River” was about fly-fishing. Both are, instead, about the balm of nature on the wounds of war. Directed by Melissa Lesh and Trevor Beck Frost , “Wildcat” is not a short story. It’s not: The story of Ms. Zwicker and her abusive, alcoholic but lovable father is not just background. It establishes her in the not-uncommon position of being a woman who thinks she can save a tormented man.

☆ 10 money managers who quietly control the vast fortunes of Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin, the Waltons, and other big-name billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Many über-rich people don't outsource their wealth — they hire their own chief investment officers. He left SAC in 2005 for Dune Capital Management, but stayed in touch with Steve during his five-year term at the investment firm. Andrew oversees CPV's portfolio, which primarily comprises direct private investments such as Collectors Universe, a collectibles-authentication company, and the New York Mets. In 2011, Wildcat Capital Management was launched with Potter as president and chief investment officer. Since November 2021, Carland has also served as the interim chief investment officer for Builders Vision's asset arm.

☆ Los Angeles’ Celebrity Mountain Lion P-22 Euthanized
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A trail camera in Los Angeles captured a photo of P-22 in 2012, when he was about 2 years old. The California mountain lion known as P-22 that roamed parts of Los Angeles for more than a decade was euthanized Saturday following a medical evaluation, officials said. The 12-year-old male wildcat had severe injuries and chronic health problems, according to a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

☆ Big cat cubs rescued from Ukraine reach Poland
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Four lion cubs and a black leopard cub from war-torn Ukraine have found safety in a Polish zoo, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said, after surviving drone attacks and bombing in the first few months of their lives. The cubs were transferred to animal rescue organisations in Kyiv and Odessa after a crackdown on the exotic pet trade in Ukraine, and are now in Poznan zoo in western Poland awaiting onward travel. IFAW said it had partnered with a sanctuary in the United States and one in Europe to care for the cubs, who were bred in captivity and cannot be released into the wild. The Wildcat Sanctuary (TWS) in the United States will take care of the lion cubs. Reporting by Lewis Macdonald, writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Air traffic controllers suspend strike in West and Central Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Ngouda Dione | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DAKAR, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A 48-hour strike by air traffic controllers in West and Central Africa has been suspended, their union said on Saturday. The strike, which started on Friday, has disrupted flights across the region and left hundreds of passengers stranded at airports on Saturday. The Union of Air Traffic Controllers' Unions (USYCAA), which called the wildcat strike, said in a statement it decided to suspend its strike notice for 10 days immediately so as to allow for negotiations. The union said more than 700 air traffic controllers joined the strike to demand better working and pay conditions. The controllers work under the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) an 18-member state agency that manages air traffic over an area covering 16 million square km of airspace.

☆ Air traffic control strike disrupts flights across West Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterDAKAR, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Dozens of flights were cancelled across West and Central Africa on Saturday as a strike by regional air traffic controllers entered a second day, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at airports. The 48-hour strike was called by a union representing workers of the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), which regulates air-traffic control in 18 countries. The air traffic controllers, who have threatened to prolong the strike if their demands are not met, are seeking better working and pay conditions. "In spite of the prohibition of the strike by all the courts ... the Union of Air Traffic Controllers' Unions (USYCAA) has launched a wildcat strike," ASECNA said on Friday. National carrier Camair-Co said on Friday it had cancelled all its flights due to the strike.

☆ Some West African air traffic controllers go on strike as union defies ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ASECNA had said on Thursday that some of its air traffic control staff had threatened a 48-hour strike that could impact flights. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"In spite of the prohibition of the strike by all the courts, and in spite of the orders of requisition of the air traffic controllers ... the Union of Air Traffic Controllers' Unions (USYCAA) has launched a wildcat strike," ASECNA said on Friday. Paul Francois Gomis, a leader of Senegalese air traffic controllers who were on strike, said that some union members in Cameroon, Congo and the Comoros had been arrested for participating in the strike. Gomis also said that Air Senegal had grounded several flights as a result of the action. On Thursday, a court in Senegal suspended the call to strike by air traffic controllers in Senegal and Ivory Coast, ASECNA said.

NASA's Perseverance rover has collected several "tantalizing" rock samples from an ancient river delta on Mars, setting the stage for an elaborate future mission that aims to retrieve the specimens and bring them back to Earth. Perseverance has been exploring the 28-mile-wide basin of Jezero Crater since it touched down on Mars in February 2021. The rover previously found igneous rocks, likely formed deep underground through volcanic processes, on the crater floor. Perseverance has collected 12 "scientifically compelling" rock cores to date, along with one sample of the Red Planet's atmosphere. Subsequent missions will send another spacecraft to Mars to collect the samples and ferry them back to Earth for more detailed analysis.

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