Category Archives: Americas

‘Gigantic step backwards’: far-right gains in Chile threaten abortion rights

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Concerns mount as ultraconservative Republican party’s ‘right to life’ proposal could be enshrined in constitution

The hard-won right to an abortion in Chile is at risk of being overturned, activists have warned, as the country’s far right moves to enshrine protection for “the life of the unborn child and maternity” in a new constitution.

Concerns have grown over the ultraconservative Republican party’s plans to pare back reproductive rights in Chile as it now holds significant sway in the fate of the country’s constitutional saga.

“Clearly, there is great concern over the risks to women and children implied by the suggested amendments, which threaten the most basic rights of human beings,” said Lieta Vivaldi, the director of Alberto Hurtado University’s gender and social justice programme.

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Ally of former leftist Ecuador president to face tycoon’s son in runoff election

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Luisa González, who has pledged to revive Rafael Correa’s social programmes, to run against Daniel Noboa in October

A protege of Ecuador’s former leftist president Rafael Correa will face the son of one of the country’s richest men in a runoff presidential vote in October, after first-round voting on Sunday failed to produce an outright winner.

With more than three-quarters of ballots counted, Luisa González, who has promised to revive Correa’s social programmes, was tallying just over 33% support, while Daniel Noboa, the son of the prominent banana businessman and former presidential candidate Álavaro Noboa, was on 24%.

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Canada wildfires: Trudeau deploys military to tackle blazes across British Columbia

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More than 35,000 residents under evacuation orders across province, while flames are being held at bay 15km from Yellowknife in Northwest Territories

Canada will send in armed forces to tackle fast-spreading wildfires in British Columbia, prime minister Justin Trudeau has said, as more than 35,000 people were put under evacuation orders in the western province.

British Columbia imposed a state of emergency late on Friday, giving officials more power to deal with fire risks. The main fire was centered around Kelowna, a city 300km (180 miles) east of Vancouver with a population of about 150,000.

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Ecuadorians vote for new president in election marred by candidate’s murder

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Security is high since the murder of Fernando Villavicencio as candidates hope to overturn crime rates and a struggling economy

Ecuadorians are voting to choose a new president they hope will lead the country out of a wave of violence and economic troubles, after a campaign darkened by bloodshed.

Candidates have pledged to fight sharp increases in crime, which the current government blames on drug gangs, and improve the struggling economy, whose woes have caused a rise in unemployment and migration.

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Hurricane Hilary approaches California amid warnings of ‘serious threat’

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‘Catastrophic’ flooding expected despite weakening to category 1 cyclone after wildfires in Maui and Washington state

Hurricane Hilary was closing in on southern California on Sunday as federal emergency officials, stretched by deadly wildfires in Maui and Washington state, warned of a “serious impact and threat”.

Despite weakening to a category 1 cyclone, the storm was still packing winds of 80mph as it approached Mexico and the south-western US, with “catastrophic” flooding expected to follow landfall.

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Canada wildfires: thousands told to flee in British Columbia, as drone-flying tourists criticised

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Minister says it is a matter of life and death for residents near city of Kelowna, as drone operators warned against ‘irresponsible’ activity in fire areas

Officials in the Canadian province of British Columbia have implored tens of thousands of residents to heed warnings and evacuate from areas threatened by “severe and fast-changing” wildfires, and urged “irresponsible” wildfire tourists to stop flying drones in the area.

“We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued,” Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management, said on Saturday. “They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties, but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave.”

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Washington state wildfire leaves one dead and nearly 200 structures destroyed

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Evacuations ordered after wind-fueled blaze expands unchecked near eastern city of Spokane and shuts highway

A wind-driven wildfire in eastern Washington state has destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead, authorities have said.

The blaze began shortly after midday on Friday on the west side of Medical Lake, about 15 miles (24km) west of Spokane, and then expanded, state Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Isabelle Hoygaard said on Saturday.

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Hurricane Hilary downgraded amid warnings of ‘catastrophic’ flooding

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Drowning reported in Baja California peninsula ahead of storm’s arrival on Saturday night before hitting southern California on Sunday

Hurricane Hilary was downgraded to a category 1 storm as it moved towards the Baja California region on Saturday evening, amid warnings of deadly flooding.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory on Saturday night that “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” was still likely and that the storm had maximum sustained winds of 90mph (145km/h).

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‘A huge human drama’: how the revolt that began on the Gladstone plantation led to emancipation

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The Demerara Rebellion failed, but it was a step towards ending slavery in the British empire

• William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery

The Demerara Rebellion of August 1823 was a pivotal event in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

While the transatlantic slave trade, the largest forced migration in human history, was outlawed by Britain in 1807, slavery continued across the colonies. Conditions were brutal in Demerara, one of three provinces that made up British Guiana, where sugar plantations were among the most profitable in the world.

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How William Gladstone defended his father’s role in slavery

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The great Victorian statesman’s glittering career was financed by huge profits made in the 1820s and 30s on Guyanese estates

• William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery

William Gladstone’s father, John, was an absentee landlord who never visited his estates in the Caribbean but became fabulously rich from the proceeds of slavery.

His pursuit of profit at the expense of free – and then cheap – labour in Guyana transformed the South American country for ever.

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‘I felt absolutely sick’: John Gladstone’s heir on his family’s role in slavery

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Charlie Gladstone on why the only way he can live with his family’s dark past is to turn it into something positive
• William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery

For Charlie Gladstone, the question is not what sort of ancestor he had, but what sort of ancestor he wants to be.

When he learned about John Gladstone’s involvement in slavery he was moved to tears. “I felt absolutely terrible. I really, really hated it. It was a shock and I felt absolutely sick.”

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William Gladstone: family of former British PM to apologise for links to slavery

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Descendants of PM, whose father’s wealth came from sugar plantations, travel to Guyana for 200th anniversary of rebellion by enslaved Africans

The family of one of Britain’s most famous prime ministers will travel to the Caribbean this week to apologise for its historical role in slavery.

Six of William Gladstone’s descendants will arrive in Guyana on Thursday as the country commemorates the 200th anniversary of a rebellion by enslaved people that historians say paved the way for abolition.

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Ecuador prepares for ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ vote to stop oil drilling

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Referendum alongside presidential election will decide whether to halt extraction in Amazon national park

As Ecuadorians go to the polls on Sunday they must not only decide between eight presidential candidates but also vote on an unprecedented referendum question that could set a new course for the oil-reliant nation.

The poll will decide whether to halt drilling at the Yasuní Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oilfield, also known as oil block 43, which lies in an Amazon national park and one of the world’s richest pockets of biodiversity. Ecuador’s largest protected area is also home to the Waorani people and the country’s last Indigenous communities in voluntary isolation, the Tagaeri and Taromenane.

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Guatemala elections to serve as crucial test for democracy in Central America

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Polls show centre-left anti-corruption candidate has the lead as Sunday’s vote takes place against backdrop of smear campaigns

Guatemala is bracing for elections this weekend seen as a key test for the rule of law, amid growing concerns over the state of democracy in Central America. Sunday’s vote takes place against a backdrop of smear campaigns, legal manoeuvring and an apparent effort to force the leading candidate out of the race.

Opinion polls show the centre-left anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo with a double-digit lead over his opponent, Sandra Torres, a former first lady who in 2011 divorced her husband in a failed attempt to dodge a constitutional ban on close relatives of the incumbent running for the office.

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Canada wildfires: British Columbia in state of emergency as 19,000 flee Yellowknife fire

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Premier says days ahead will be ‘extremely challenging’, as firefighters in neighbouring Northwest Territories fight to save city

The premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency, saying authorities there were “facing the worst wildfire season ever”, as thousands were evacuated from cities east of Vancouver.

Premier David Eby said on Friday night: “Over the past 24 hours, the situation has evolved rapidly and we are in for an extremely challenging situation in the days ahead.”

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As Hurricane Hilary prepares to land, California and Mexico brace for impact

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Southern California gets first tropical storm warning as conditions could potentially affect Baja California peninsula late Friday

Hurricane Hilary, which quickly grew to category 4 strength off Mexico’s Pacific coast, whipping up 145mph winds, could become the first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years.

As the hurricane barrels northward, officials have issued the first ever tropical storm watch for the US west coast. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have also been issued for parts of Baja California and mainland Mexico, where fierce winds and rain could cause flooding and landslides.

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Canada fire crews battle to stop wildfire from engulfing city of Yellowknife

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Firefighters work around clock to spread retardant and dig fire breaks as thousands evacuate capital of Northwest Territories

Fire crews are working around the clock to dig fuel breaks, spread fire retardant and drop water from the air in emergency efforts to stop a vast wildfire from destroying the capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT).

Teams used backhoes and bulldozers to carve out huge 100m x 15,000m fuel breaks in the surrounding forests, removing trees and brush in hopes of stopping the 1,670 sq km (644 sq mile) blaze from reaching Yellowknife.

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Haiti: 97% of households in some areas suffering from severe hunger

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Of 2,664 households interviewed in Croix-des-Bouquets and Delmas, 2,596 were usually getting one meal a day, survey found

Haiti’s hunger crisis is now so acute that 97% of households in some areas around the capital are suffering from severe hunger, according to a new survey by the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps.

Of 2,664 households interviewed in the neighbourhoods of Croix-des-Bouquets and Delmas, 2,596 were suffering from severe hunger and usually getting no more than one meal a day.

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Ecuador election: assassination looms large as voters prepare to go to polls

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Winner of Sunday’s vote will face huge public demand to tackle violence after killing of candidate Fernando Villavicencio

The brazen assassination of a presidential candidate will hang heavy over Ecuadorian voters as they choose a new president this weekend, following the latest eruption of drug cartel violence in the once-peaceful nation.

The winner of Sunday’s vote will face an overwhelming public demand for security – but may not have the budget or the political capital to overhaul failed crime-fighting policies and fund new ones.

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Colombia’s leftwing president rocked by spiralling narco cash allegations

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Drug money claims involving Gustavo Petro’s son Nicolás could hamper progressive agenda

The lawyer representing a businessman accused of financing killings by paramilitary death squads has admitted that his client donated money to the campaign of Colombia’s first ever leftwing president, Gustavo Petro.

Alfonso Hilsaca knowingly gave 400m pesos ($95,000) to Gustavo Petro’s eldest son as a donation to his father’s electoral campaign, his lawyer said this week – though he said Hilsaca had not expected Nicolás Petro to steal the money for himself.

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