Excluded Headlines for 5-10 Nov 2022
Stay up to date on the global news stories the US- and Eurocentric media overlooks, with journalist and author, Tamara Pearson
This week’s ignored and under-reported news from the poor majority world includes: Colombia taxing oil companies, measures to halt the deforestation of the Amazon, and a worsening crisis in Sri Lanka.
Colombia: Government to tax the rich and oil companies – Last Thursday the two chambers of Colombia’s congress passed a tax reform that aims to eradicate hunger and reduce inequality. From 2023, the reform will bring in an extra US$4 billion for the state and social spending, in a country where multinational companies in particular previously paid little tax. Oil companies will now pay 35-60% in taxes, and coal companies 35-45%. There will be no tax on basic goods. Source.
Sri Lanka: Worst economic crisis since independence – The situation in Sri Lanka is getting worse, as the country continues to face debt, foreign currency shortages, a food crisis and poor harvests, and medicine shortages. Food price inflation was at 85.6% in October, and the crop forecast for next year is meagre. Climate change is the cause of the poor harvest, and as the poverty rate has doubled in just a year, households’ purchasing power has decreased. Many are turning to urban agriculture to survive, and for a while the government gave public sector workers Fridays off to tend to their gardens. Source, source, source
Amazon: Indigenous people and governments fight to halt deforestation – President elect in Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has vowed to support zero deforestation in the Amazon. That means, among other things, restoring cooperation on the Amazon Fund, which includes over US$3 billion for forest protection. The governments of Venezuela, Suriname, and Colombia have also vowed to actively recover the Amazon, with Colombia allocating US$200 million a year to saving it. Indigenous Peruvians, in an assembly of original peoples, spoke out against the expansion of oil extraction in the Amazon. Source, source, source.
Honduras: Oldest Garifuna community violently evicted from their land – On Monday, Honduran security forces removed Garifuna (African-Indigenous people) from their territory on Roatán Island. They had lived there since 1797, well before Honduras became an independent country. Six people were arrested and two seriously injured by police. In Roatán there are territorial disputes over land ownership and the island was being used as a corporate city (ZEDE) until the law facilitating them was withdrawn earlier this year. Source, source,
Somalia: 55,000 refugees flee drought to Kenya – In the last two months, 55,000 refugees from Somalia, fleeing conflict and extreme drought, have arrived in just one refugee camp, in Dadaab, Kenya. Source.
Somalia: Military retake town controlled by Al Shabaab for 15 years – Somalia’s military has captured an important town that was controlled by the terrorist group for over 15 years. As part of a new offensive, the army captured 250 square kilometres of territory in the centre of the country, including the villages of Warhole and Elbore. Source.
Argentina: Hundreds of thousands stand up for sexual diversity - On Saturday, hundreds of thousands participated in the annual pride march in Buenos Aires. Demands included a law to protect trans people, a national anti-discrimination law, and support for inclusive language. Source, source, photo.
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