Excluded Headlines: Why is Jakarta sinking? And, record numbers of armed conflicts ...

Stay up to date on the Global South news stories the US- and Eurocentric media overlook, with author and journalist, Tamara Pearson.

In this week’s Global South news:

Record numbers of forced displacement and conflict - According to research from Oslo, violence is “at an all time high,” (over the past 30 years) with 59 conflicts last year and the past three years seeing more conflict-related deaths than the previous three decades. Likewise last year, the number of forcibly displaced people reached 120 million - up 6 million from 2022. Source, source

Chiquita Banana ordered to pay US$38.3million for funding paramilitary group in Colombia - On Monday, a federal jury in the US ruled that the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands International, accused of financing paramilitary groups (eg the AUC) in Colombia that left thousands dead, will have to pay $38.3 million to plaintiffs and victims' families. Source, source, source.

After months of protests, Argentine Senate passes anti-people law - The Bases Law, also known as the omnibus bill, includes deregulation, privatisation, weakening of workers’ rights, and tax breaks for investors. At least 25 people were arrested in protests against the Bases Law on Wednesday, and police used tear gas and rubber bullets on the protestors, even injuring deputies. The law will need a final green light from the lower house, which had already passed it but without some of the modifications. Source, source.

119,000 people displaced by floods in Kazakhstan - The floods are one of the worst disasters in the country’s history. Since March, tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed by floods and the threat of further flooding continues. Source.

Another massacre in Gaza - The Israeli army killed over 200 Palestinians during an operation to rescue four Israeli hostages. Hundreds more were injured. Meanwhile, recently released Palestinian hostages revealed how they were tortured by Israeli forces, including being attacked by and peed on by dogs. Half of Gaza’s population may face starvation by July, according to the FAO. Source, source, source.

China launches three-year plan to clean up ocean rubbish - The Chinese government wants to clean 65 bay areas, and establish regular clean-ups by 2027. Source.

Ecuadorians protest gov’t’s plant to remove fuel subsidy - On Wednesday various movements and organisations marched through Quito to protest the right-wing government and the new measure, which would negatively impact the price of transport, goods, and the general cost of living for the poorest sectors. Source.

Indonesia’s capital is sinking, government looks to move it - Because Jakarta is experiencing land subsidence (at 15cm a year), the government is considering moving the capital 1,200 km away to Kalimantan Island. Unfortunately, that involves converting a rainforest into a “green city.”. Ironically, Jakarta began sinking when Dutch invaders/colonisers cleared its forest for plantations. Source, source.

Useful reads:

• Sudan food emergency: local researcher unpacks scale of the disaster and what action is needed

• Efforts to save Cambodia’s coast tread water as fish stocks plummet

• Senegal’s remote Bassari people talk about climate change, and how their local knowledge is key to coping strategies

• Amid Cease-Fire Talk, Israel's Siege Still Causing Child Starvation in Gaza

• Half of Gaza Cropland Damaged as WHO Warns of “Catastrophic Hunger”

• Protests in African Nations Have More Than Doubled in the Past Five Years

• Despair as refugee food rations in Kenya slashed by 60%

• Cameroon’s push for agricultural expansion devastates Indigenous communities and wildlife