A video aired on Brazilian media shows the exact moment a dam burst in Brazil on 25 January. The dam break at an iron ore mining complex operated by the minerals firm Vale killed at least 65 people. A further 279 are missing. Cars can be seen driving around desperately trying to escape as a dramatic gush of mud approaches. The surge buried buildings adjoining the dam and several parts of the nearby city of Brumadinho.
Continue reading...Category Archives: Brazil
‘The river is dying’: the vast ecological cost of Brazil’s mining disasters
Water resources are tapped with often reckless abandon and poor regulation. And it looks set to go on under new president
The Brazilian government has been urged to step up punishments for environmental crimes after the deadliest mining disaster in decades.
The torrent of mud and iron ore tailings that engulfed the community of Brumadinho on Friday continues to inflict a toll on residents, river systems and freshwater species.
Continue reading...Brazil dam collapse: five arrested including three mining firm staff
Three employees of Vale and two subcontracted engineers held over Brumadinho disaster
Brazilian police have arrested five people in an investigation into the causes of the Brumadinho dam disaster.
The dam break on Friday at an iron ore mining complex operated by the minerals firm Vale killed at least 65 people, and a further 279 are missing.
Continue reading...Rescuers sift through toxic mud in search of Brazil dam victims – video report
Rescue workers in Brazil waded through treacherous mud looking for bodies as pressure mounted on the mining company responsible for a dam that burst and spilled a flood of iron-ore waste
Continue reading...Brazil dam collapse: bodies pulled from toxic mud as hope fades for survivors
Minas Gerais locals recall another dam collapse involving mining firm Vale as hunt continues for 292 people still missing
The dirt road which once led to the Nova Estância guesthouse and a handful of nearby farms now ends in a slew of sticky, acrid sludge that stretches as far as the eye can see, a deep red gash across the green of the rolling Brazilian countryside.
The road, a small bridge it once crossed, the guesthouse and hundreds of people were all swallowed by mud when a tailings dam at the Córrego de Feijão mine collapsed on Friday, unleashing a torrent of liquid waste.
Continue reading...‘We are afraid’: Brazilian women alarmed at relaxation of gun laws
Bolsonaro’s move allowing more people to own firearms is causing unease in a society where domestic violence is rife
A pledge to make it easier for “good citizens” to buy guns for self-defence helped sweep Jair Bolsonaro to power. But there is alarm that the Brazilian president’s decree loosening firearms laws will make pervasive violence against women even worse – and more deadly.
“I believe this is a very negative measure that will lead more women to be threatened by violence,” said Maria da Penha, the women’s rights activist whose case changed Brazil’s domestic violence laws. “This decree should be reviewed.”
Continue reading...Fresh warning at Brazil mining site where dam collapsed
People evacuated after high water level warning at another Vale mining dam in Brumadinho
An alarm warning of an imminent mining dam rupture was issued early on Sunday near Brumadinho, the same Brazilian community where the collapse of a dam killed 34 and left hundreds more feared dead.
The alarm, warning of dangerously-high water levels at a dam that is part of the Córrego do Feijão mining complex in south-east Brazil went off at 5:30 am, a statement by the mining company Vale said.
Continue reading...Hundreds feared dead as Brazil dam collapse releases mud tide
Officials warn few survivors are expected after mining workers in canteen and on a bus are caught in a wave of iron ore waste
Hundreds of people are feared dead after a dam operated by the mining company Vale collapsed in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, releasing a wave of red iron ore waste and causing the worst environmental catastrophe in the country’s recent history.
Authorities say that 40 people have died, and more than 300 people remain missing according to the company. The disaster comes only three years after a similar failure of the Fundão tailings dam near Mariana – co-owned by Vale – which killed 19 people.
Continue reading...Brazil dam collapse: seven bodies found and scores still missing
Burst of tailings dam at iron ore mine releases wave of red sludge, with chance of finding survivors ‘minimal’
Seven bodies have been found and more than a hundred people remain missing after a dam operated by the mining giant Vale collapsed in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, releasing a wave of red iron ore waste and raising fears of widespread contamination.
Fire chief Col Edgar Estevão said there were seven dead, nine wounded and 100 people had been rescued from the sea of mud released by the dam, according to the G1 news site. The fire brigade believe around 150 are missing, he said.
Continue reading...Aftermath of deadly dam collapse in Brazil – video report
At least 58 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds remain missing after Friday’s dam collapse and mudslide in Minas Gerais state. The search was paused because of concerns that another dam operated by the same firm, Vale, was also at risk of rupturing, and authorities began evacuating several neighbourhoods in the city of Brumadinho
Continue reading...Brazil’s sole openly gay congressman leaves country after death threats
Jean Wyllys said he was currently outside of the country and had no plans to return after a growing number of threats in past year
Brazil’s first and only openly gay congressman has announced that he is leaving his job – and the country – after receiving death threats.
In a newspaper interview on Thursday, Jean Wyllys said he was currently outside of Brazil and had no plans to return after a growing number of threats over the past year.
Continue reading...Brazil’s government reveals plans to privatize key shipping route
Jair Bolsonaro plans to overhaul country’s transportation infrastructure despite concerns of increased deforestation on the Trans-Amazonian highway
Brazil’s new government has unveiled plans to privatize the Trans-Amazonian Highway, in a fresh attempt to complete – and fully pave – the dictatorship-era road which has already been blamed for extensive deforestation.
The government also plans to sell to investors a concession to run BR-163, a key northern route for shipping Brazilian grains, adding it along with the Trans-Amazonian to a priority list for privatization at a meeting next month, infrastructure minister Tarcisio Freitas told Reuters in an interview.
Continue reading...Jair Bolsonaro says he will ‘open up’ Brazil’s economy in pro-business speech at Davos – video
Brazil’s rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro causes alarm among environmentalists after stressing that protecting his country’s unique ecosystem has to be consistent with economic growth. His brief speech to the World Economic Forum outlines a tax-cutting, privatisation agenda. Bolsonaro pledges to bring about economic change, saying that by the end of his term, Brazil will be ‘in the ranking of the 50 best countries to do business with’
Continue reading...How can we take power away from criminal gangs? Legalise drugs | Martin Drewry
Prohibition makes our world a more dangerous place, trapping people in poverty
I have spoken out on many issues during my career, but there is one that leaders in poorer countries passionately lobby me to campaign on: the prohibition of drugs.
The “war on drugs” is harming the most vulnerable and criminalising poverty. It is not a war on drugs – despite decades of prohibition, drug production and consumption is on the increase globally – it is a war on the poor. Prohibition damages people and the planet.
Continue reading...Brazil environment chief accused of ‘war on NGOs’ as partnerships paused
Civil society groups condemn move by minister, appointed by far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, as illegal attack on environment
Brazil’s new environment minister, Ricardo Salles, has suspended all partnerships and agreements with non-governmental organizations for 90 days, in a move that was described as “a war against NGOs”.
Announcing the move, Salles said the three-month suspension was to allow a re-evaluation of such partnerships, but civil society organizations described the move as a blatant and illegal attack on the environment and those working to protect it.
Continue reading...‘Climate of panic’: bombings in Brazil reveal growing power of gangs | Jo Griffin
Wave of attacks in Ceará state exposes how poverty, lack of policies for young people and creaking prison system add up to perfect storm
Antonio Carlos da Silva was returning home to the Lagoa Redonda district of Fortaleza when two armed men drove past in a black car, ordering businesses to shut and residents to go inside and turn off the lights. Da Silva spent the next day indoors with no drinking water as a wave of unrest engulfed the north-eastern Brazilian city.
“There’s a climate of panic and people are terrified to go out. It’s like you’re a prisoner in your home and even then not safe,” says Da Silva. “These attacks are worse than in the past; they’re attacking shopping centres, bridges. No one knows how it will end.”
Continue reading...Cesare Battisti arrest highlights rightwing alliance of Italy and Brazil
Matteo Salvini celebrates likely extradition of leftwing militant by Jair Bolsonaro
Cesare Battisti, a former leftwing guerrilla fighter wanted by the Italian authorities over four murders in the late 1970s, has been arrested in Bolivia and has been extradited to Italy.
The prime minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, said a government aircraft was on its way to bring Battisti, 63, back to Rome and Brazilian officials later confirmed his extradition. Conte praised the Bolivian and Brazilian authorities for the overnight capture of Battisti, who has been on the run for almost four decades, in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and said he would begin his life sentences as soon as he lands on Italian soil.
Continue reading...‘Raining spiders’: airborne arachnids appear over south-east Brazil
Soaring temperatures bring tales of eight-legged invaders as huge numbers of communal species spin invisible webs in the sky
Summer in south-east Brazil has brought soaring temperatures and some disconcerting eight-legged visitors.
Residents in a rural area of southern Minas Gerais state have reported skies “raining spiders”, a phenomenon which experts say is typical in the region during hot, humid weather.
Continue reading...‘It’s complete chaos’: Brazilian state overwhelmed by rash of gang violence
Attacks in Ceará are an early challenge for new president Jair Bolsonaro, who swept to power with tough-on-crime proposals
Carlos Robério and his colleagues were expecting an attack on their minibus co-op in Fortaleza, north-eastern Brazil. Over the previous few nights, gang members had already destroyed one of their vehicles, and torched dozens of city buses.
But when the assault came, there was little Robério could do but watch the CCTV feed as a group of youths doused one of the co-op’s kiosks and set it on fire.
Continue reading...Rio governor confirms plans for shoot-to-kill policing policy
Brazilian activists and experts expressed outrage after Wilson Witzel said security forces were authorized to use lethal force
Human rights activists and public security experts have expressed outrage after the newly elected governor of Rio de Janeiro state confirmed plans to implement shoot-to-kill policing tactics in the crime-ridden region.
Related: Jair Bolsonaro launches assault on Amazon rainforest protections
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