Environmentalists and activists for Brazil’s indigenous peoples on Thursday cheered a federal court order halting construction at the controversial US$11 billion Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.
Government officials meanwhile said they would appeal the decision on the dam, a project which is a centerpiece of efforts to boost energy production in the rapidly growing economy, but has drawn criticism both at home and abroad for its impact.
Antonio Melo, spokesman for the Xingu Forever Alive movement, a coalition of dam opponents aimed at defending the river Xingu, hailed what he said was “a partial victory.”
However, he said he hoped the ruling would be upheld and that “the justice system will fulfill its role and protect the population from the risk of losing its resources for water and food.”
The decision “is welcomed by the indigenous communities threatened by the project,” said Sarah Shenker of Survival International, an advocacy group for tribal peoples.
On the government side, the attorney general’s office was “not yet informed of the decision,” but “will probably appeal,” a source close to the office said.
The court ruling on Wednesday halted all work by the Norte Energia consortium, saying any alteration of the river could cause irreparable harm to the environment.
The decision was a major boost to environmentalists and Amazon Indian tribes who have decried what they say will be massive destruction of fauna and flora in the area.
The project has drawn international criticism, including from Oscar-winning movie director James Cameron of Avatar fame, who said rainforest indigenous tribes could turn to violence to block dam construction.
The Belo Monte dam would be the third-biggest dam in the world, after China’s Three Gorges construction and the Itaipu dam on the border of Brazil and Paraguay.
It would produce more than 11,000 megawatts, or about 11 percent of Brazil’s current installed capacity.
The project is expected to employ 20,000 people directly in construction, flood an area of 500km2 along the Xingu river and will displace 16,000 persons.
The construction ban should be valid from the date that Norte Energia receives notification, likely next week, a federal justice spokesman said.
People with missing teeth might be able to grow new ones, said Japanese dentists, who are testing a pioneering drug they hope will offer an alternative to dentures and implants. Unlike reptiles and fish, which usually replace their fangs on a regular basis, it is widely accepted that humans and most other mammals only grow two sets of teeth. However, hidden underneath our gums are the dormant buds of a third generation, said Katsu Takahashi, head of oral surgery at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan. His team launched clinical trials at Kyoto University Hospital in October, administering an experimental
IVY LEAGUE GRADUATE: Suspect Luigi Nicholas Mangione, whose grandfather was a self-made real-estate developer and philanthropist, had a life of privilege The man charged with murder in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare made it clear he was not going to make things easy on authorities, shouting unintelligibly and writhing in the grip of sheriff’s deputies as he was led into court and then objecting to being brought to New York to face trial. The displays of resistance on Tuesday were not expected to significantly delay legal proceedings for Luigi Nicholas Mangione, who was charged in last week’s Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson, the leader of the US’ largest medical insurance company. Little new information has come out about motivation,
NOTORIOUS JAIL: Even from a distance, prisoners maimed by torture, weakened by illness and emaciated by hunger, could be distinguished Armed men broke the bolts on the cell and the prisoners crept out: haggard, bewildered and scarcely believing that their years of torment in Syria’s most brutal jail were over. “What has happened?” asked one prisoner after another. “You are free, come out. It is over,” cried the voice of a man filming them on his telephone. “Bashar has gone. We have crushed him.” The dramatic liberation of Saydnaya prison came hours after rebels took the nearby capital, Damascus, having sent former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad fleeing after more than 13 years of civil war. In the video, dozens of
ROYAL TARGET: After Prince Andrew lost much of his income due to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, he became vulnerable to foreign agents, an author said British lawmakers failed to act on advice to tighten security laws that could have prevented an alleged Chinese spy from targeting Britain’s Prince Andrew, a former attorney general has said. Dominic Grieve, a former lawmaker who chaired the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) until 2019, said ministers were advised five years ago to introduce laws to criminalize foreign agents, but failed to do so. Similar laws exist in the US and Australia. “We remain without an important weapon in our armory,” Grieve said. “We asked for [this law] in the context of the Russia inquiry report” — which accused the government
RSS