National guardsmen in riot gear have blocked the path of hundreds of Central Americans near the town of Frontera Hidalgo in southern Mexico.
Security forces corralled the migrants and hauled them on to buses, as Mexico continues with efforts to contain mass migration under pressure from the Trump administration.
Brazil’s president made anti-indigenous joke on Facebook broadcast, the latest in a succession of discriminatory comments
Indigenous activists have vowed to sue Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, for racism after his latest bigoted outburst.
In one of his weekly Facebook broadcasts on Thursday, Bolsonaro declared: “Indians are undoubtedly changing … They are increasingly becoming human beings just like us.”
Continue reading...Allegations of domestic violence and marital infidelity have bogged down one of the most diverse parties
Scandals involving domestic violence and marital infidelity have overshadowed the campaign to elect a new congress in Peru, in which gender equality and women’s rights have been key issues.
Peruvians will elect 130 new lawmakers on Sunday after the previous chamber was dissolved by President Martín Vizcarra in a controversial but popular move in September.
Continue reading...Mexico continues with efforts to contain the procession under pressure from the Trump administration
National guardsmen in riot gear have corralled hundreds of Central Americans and hauled them on to buses as Mexico continues with efforts to contain mass migration, under pressure from the Trump administration.
Security forces blocked the migrants’ path near the town of Frontera Hidalgo on Thursday afternoon, after hundreds had swept into Mexico across the Suchiate River that divides the country from Guatemala.
Continue reading...More than a dozen people outside Vancouver courtroom with ‘Free Meng’ signs were promised C$100 for two hours’ work on a movie
Protesters calling for the release of a senior Chinese telecommunications executive arrested in Canada have admitted they were paid actors, in the latest twist in a closely watched extradition case that has chilled relations between Ottawa and Beijing.
More than a dozen people joined a demonstration on Monday outside a Vancouver courtroom where the Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou is fighting extradition to the US for alleged fraud related to sanctions against Iran.
Continue reading...Latino writers say Jeanine Cummins’ novel uses stereotypes and exploits the suffering of Mexican immigrants
American Dirt, the third novel by Jeanine Cummins, begins with a group of assassins opening fire on a quinceañera cookout. We watch Lydia’s entire family get killed, one by one. Only Lydia and her eight-year-old survive.
The scene is one of many depictions of graphic violence in American Dirt and it has sparked an intense conversation about “pity porn” and writing about the Mexican immigrant experience.
Continue reading...Brazilian prosecutors have charged 16 people – including the former CEO of mining giant Vale – with murder and environmental crimes over the collapse of a tailings dam which killed 270 people on 25 January 2019.
The charges were announced by state prosecutors in Minas Gerais days before the first anniversary of the disaster, which sent a torrent of liquid mining waste across the picturesque countryside, flattening Vale’s plant, offices and canteen, and killing guests at a nearby countryside guesthouse.
Continue reading...Scuffles have broken out between hundreds of Central American migrants and National Guard agents at the border between Guatemala and Mexico. The troops formed a barrier to stop the migrants from entering deeper into Mexico as they attempted to cross into the US
Continue reading...Greenwald accused of helping hackers who obtained cellphone messages between leading figures in anti-corruption investigation
Brazilian federal prosecutors have indicted the American journalist Glenn Greenwald for cybercrimes, alleging he “helped, encouraged and guided” a group of hackers who obtained cellphone messages between leading figures in Brazil’s mammoth Car Wash anti-corruption investigation.
The leaks, subsequently published in several stories on the investigative site the Intercept Brazil, which Greenwald co-founded, appeared to show collusion between then judge Sérgio Moro and prosecutors and exacerbated questions of political bias of the investigations. Moro was subsequently named justice minister by the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Continue reading...Province declares state of emergency as snow blocks roads and traps residents
Canadian soldiers have arrived in Newfoundland to help the province clear up after a massive blizzard over the weekend, as residents grow restless about restrictions on travel and closed businesses.
By Sunday night, nearly 200 soldiers had arrived after Dwight Ball, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador province, requested federal help. The move underscored the immense challenges communities face in clearing snow that has blocked residents from leaving their houses and accessing their vehicles.
Continue reading...Prince Harry and Meghan will no longer be working royals. That should be in everyone’s interests
A centuries-old institution survives not only through the accumulated weight of tradition, but through the ability to make sharp adjustments to its course when it finally realises it must. The British monarchy, by temperament a tortoise, has just put on a turn of speed again. Saturday’s statements from the Queen and the Sussexes will not halt the storm surrounding the couple, but are designed to let the worst of the tempest abate.
Less than two weeks before, Prince Harry and Meghan had announced their untenable desire to partially step back, operating half-in and half-out of the institution. Instead, they will effectively stand down, giving up royal duties and relinquishing their share of the sovereign grant from the Treasury. They will also repay the £2.4m public funds used to refurbish their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage. In a classic establishment compromise, they will keep the right to be styled HRH on the understanding that they will not exercise it. In theory, this retention would allow them to return as working royals should they change their minds. But while the arrangements are due for review in a year, the deal looks more like a decree nisi than a trial separation.
Continue reading...Blizzard dumps nearly 80cm of snow on Canadian city of St John’s as government says military reserves may be called up
Canada’s federal government will help Newfoundland on the Atlantic coast dig itself out in the wake of a massive winter blizzard that buried cars and left thousands without power.
The storm on Friday and Saturday dumped as much as 76.2cm (30 inches) of snow on St John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, and packed wind gusts as high as 130km/h (81mph). The snowfall was an all-time record for the day for St John’s international airport.
Continue reading...Roberto Alvim set off a storm of outrage with comments about culture that were eerily reminiscent of Hitler’s propaganda chief
Brazil’s culture secretary, Roberto Alvim has been fired after he appeared to paraphrase the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels in an online video to promote a national arts prize.
“Brazilian art in the next decade will be heroic and national,” said Alvim, to the music from Wagner’s Lohengrin, said to be Hitler’s favourite opera, with a portrait of the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and a Brazilian flag in the background.
Continue reading...The prairie town of Andrew is no stranger to loss, but when its last grain elevator was slated for demolition, the community fought to win a stay of execution
For nearly a century, a wooden tower has loomed over the prairie town of Andrew in western Canada, rising from the rolling landscape land like a lone sentinel. Built during the agricultural boom of the early 20th century, the grain elevator – and six others that stood nearby – once bore testament to the town’s prosperity.
Today, the main street of Andrew is quiet, even on a weekday at noon. Many of the town’s storefronts are shuttered and all that remains of the railway line is a faint imprint on the ground. The local school only has 70 students, and residents wonder how long it can remain open.
Continue reading...Move in effect dashes migrants’ plans to travel together in a ‘caravan’ to the United States
Guatemalan police accompanied by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have swept up hundreds of migrants, returning them to the Honduran border and in effect dashing their plans to travel together in a “caravan” to the United States.
Other, smaller groups traveled on in dribs and drabs in a movement involving several thousand people but very different from previous caravans.
Continue reading...New Orleans and Cuban musicians join in Havana’s annual jazz festival, defying Trump’s efforts to weaken US-Cuba relations
Continue reading...The convoy carrying the opposition lawmakers was attacked in Caracas while they were on their way to the national assembly
Continue reading...Lawmakers hold session on outskirts of capital after people dressed in civilian clothes target their vehicles
Government security forces and armed motorcycle groups loyal to Nicolás Maduro have forcefully blocked opposition lawmakers from entering Venezuela’s national assembly building, prompting them to hold their session on the outskirts of the nation’s crisis-torn capital.
It was the second time this month that lawmakers have been barred from the building that houses the only branch of government that remains out of control of Maduro’s socialist government.
Continue reading...A plane crash that killed 57 Canadians amid Trump-stoked tension with Iran is the latest sign that Canada cannot rely on its US ally
When a Canadian business magnate sent off a flurry of tweets blaming Donald Trump for provoking the crisis which eventually led to the accidental shooting-down of a Ukrainian passenger jet, the posts quickly went viral.
Michael McCain, the billionaire CEO of Maple Leaf Foods, used the company’s branded Twitter account to describe the US president as a “narcissist” and described the 176 passengers and crew as “collateral damage” from Trump’s “irresponsible, dangerous, ill-conceived behaviour”.
Continue reading...Despite a peace accord aimed at improving conditions in rural areas controlled by illegal armed groups, 107 defenders died in 2019
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed alarm at the “staggering number” of social activists killed in Colombia despite a peace accord aimed at improving conditions in poor, rural areas.
According to the UN, 107 human rights defenders were killed in 2019, a worrying number that could grow to 120 as investigations are completed. At least 10 activists have been reported killed in the first two weeks of 2020.
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