Latest News
-
Russian drone strikes nuclear fuel storage facility near Chornobyl in Ukraine
Ukrainian officials said that a 'Russian drone' had struck a storage area for spent nuclear fuel near Ukraine’s now-disused Chornobyl plant. They added that the radiation levels remained stable. Separately, the Kyiv General Staff and state atomic agency stated that a container-receiving facility?had partially been destroyed, but no spent fuel had been stored at the time of?attack. The fire that resulted was put out and there were no reported injuries. Russia has not publicly commented on the alleged attack?on the facility which is located?around 15 km (9miles) away from the Chornobyl Plant, the site where the world's biggest nuclear disaster occurred. Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister, wrote on X: "This isn't the first time Russian forces have put Ukrainian nuclear facilities in danger." "Russia's nuclear blackmail and threats against nuclear safety are systematic, deliberate, and inacceptable." A Russian drone attacked a containment 'arch that was over the Chornobyl reactor in February 2025. The 'arch had been destroyed by the explosion and meltdown of April 1986. ?Russia denied responsibility. Kyiv has also accused Moscow of attempting to attack the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant located in southeast Ukraine. (Reporting and editing by Tomaszjanowski).
-
Embraer observes that airlines are delaying their decisions about plane purchases due to the Iran war
Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto said 'on Saturday that some airlines are delaying their decisions on whether or not to exercise their aircraft purchase options due to a lack of certainty over the war in Iran. This uncertainty has led to a rise in 'jet fuel prices. Gomes Neto, the Brazilian planemaker, noted that while there have been no requests to delay deliveries or slowdowns in active sales campaigns he was noticing a growing caution around incremental commitments. He said that some companies who could exercise previously signed options were delaying that to better understand the?evolution of the situation. Embraer has a commercial backlog of nearly five years worth of deliveries. The company is pursuing multiple sales campaigns to sell its E2 family and hopes to close some deals next month at the Farnborough airshow in the United Kingdom. Embraer wants to capitalize on recent agreements, including those with Finnair and Azorra. It believes that the E2 family's fuel-efficiency can increase demand. Gomes Neto stated that several campaigns are currently underway, and the timing of any potential deals is heavily dependent on the customers. "I'm not sure if the commercial aviation sector will have a strong year like last year, but I think it should be good." Embraer is aiming to increase its output. The company has set an internal goal of delivering between 95 and100 commercial aircraft by 2027. This year, the?outlook is between 80 and85 planes. Gomes Neto said that the goal is more dependent on smoother supply chains than it is on geopolitical tensions such as the Iran war being resolved. He said that the bottlenecks in the industry, which have been present since the pandemic, are slowly improving. He added, "It is about getting the?cadence correct." Embraer is also looking to improve margins within its commercial aviation division. Gomes Neto stated that the company has renegotiated older contracts with lower profitability, and is expecting a stronger demand for new agreements to support better pricing.
-
Israeli forces kill a Palestinian child and injure his parents on the West Bank
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that Israeli forces killed and injured a 7-month-old Palestinian child in the Tel Rumeida area south of Hebron, West Bank on Friday evening. The ministry identified the infant as Sam Fahd Abu Haikal, and stated that he died on the scene. His parents were moderately injured by gunshots. The grandmother of the baby said that the family stopped the car when they saw Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in the distance. She claimed that shots were fired at them which they first thought were warning shots. She said that "one bullet hit my grandson and lodged in his mother's cheek, after traversing his face, crossing his head and striking his mother's cheek." The bullet also grazed her father's finger and the mother is currently hospitalized. Israeli military claimed that during Friday's operational activity, soldiers in the Hebron region perceived a vehicle speeding toward them. One soldier fired a single shot at the vehicle. It said that three Palestinians had been injured and taken to hospital for treatment. The military stated that an initial investigation found that those injured were "uninvolved civilians" and that the incident is 'under review'. Tel Rumeida is an area in Hebron where Israeli settlers are under heavy military protection among Palestinian residents. It has been a hotbed of violence for many years, especially when it comes to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. According to a report by the European Union in 2024, more than 3 million Palestinians live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, including over 700,000.
-
Five killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine's Kherson region
The Kherson Governor said that three separate incidents occurred on Friday in which five people were killed by Russians in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine. Oleksandr Prokudin wrote in the 'Telegram' that a strike in a district in the main city of the region, also known as Kherson, had killed three elderly people. Their bodies were discovered in homes damaged by a bomb. Prokudin reported that an attack on a petrol station, north of the city, killed one person and injured seven others. A drone strike in the evening?killed an individual in a village, north of Kherson. Kherson was one of four regions annexed to Russia by Russia six months after the Russian invasion in 2022. Russian forces seized much of the area in the early stages of invasion. However, Ukrainian forces recaptured large stretches of territory including the city of Kherson. Russians are a frequent threat to Ukrainian-held territories. Local officials said that a Ukrainian drone, which is a common target for the Ukrainians, struck a car in the Belgorod region of western Russia, killing its driver. Could not independently verify the reports. Both Russia and Ukraine deny that they deliberately target civilians. (Reporting and editing by Ron Popeski)
-
Trump promises to end the Iran war quickly while campaigning in Wisconsin for Republicans
U.S. president Donald 'Trump' on Friday pledged to end the Iran War quickly and remove an alleged source of high prices while campaigning in rural central Wisconsin. He was doing so in a bid for Republicans to keep control of Congress in midterm elections. The visit to Chippewa Falls highlighted the Republican strategy to retain control of the U.S.?House of Representatives. He said that progress could be made in the negotiations with Iran, but a deal to end this conflict is still elusive. He encouraged Wisconsin voters to be energized in preparation for the election. Trump stated at a roundtable in Chippewa Falls that "we're going out of Iran very soon and it's gonna be strong one way, or another." "Your fertilizer costs will go down dramatically, just as they did four months ago." Rain poured down on a line of people waiting outside to enter a smoky?farmbuilding. Some attendees were Trump fans while others viewed Trump's recent policy on Iran with more skepticism. Tom Paff, who is a data analyst from Boyd in Wisconsin, said he was "definitely a Trump fan" but added that he wasn't happy with the high gas prices. He said, "I don't believe we belong in the Middle East." Derrick Van Orden is the district's representative and closely aligns himself with President Trump. He touts the "Trump administration"s focus on rural America, as a "benefit". His narrow victory in the 2024 reelection has made him one of the top targets for national Democrats hoping to overturn the 217-212 Republican House Majority. Van Orden told the crowd at the rally, while standing in front of farm equipment, that Trump cares for farmers in America. If anyone disagrees with him, "you can look them in the eyes and tell them this is a pile manure." Rebecca Cooke, Van Orden’s Democratic opponent, said at the farm of her family in Eau Claire, Wisconsin that she believed?Republicans had brought Trump to her District because they saw her race as being tight. She also noted that Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was in the district last week. Cooke says that Trump's policies hurt farmers. She said: "I believe that if you look at the farmers who Republicans see as an important part of their base, then they are being squeezed by tariffs. They're also getting squeezed because they have to pay for healthcare and inputs due to the war in Iran." Trump promised to reduce inflation during his presidential campaign in 2024, but the prices have increased since Trump's tariffs were implemented last year. Energy prices have risen since the Iran War began. According to the American Automobile Association, Wisconsin's average gasoline price this week of $4.04 is $1.08 higher than it was a year earlier. Trump said that the political implications of rising energy prices do not increase pressure on Iran to reach a deal. Many of Trump's Republican allies, however, are eager to focus on other issues than Iran. They want to prevent a Democratic takeover of Congress which would likely stymie Trump. Trump's Wisconsin visit is the fourth top-level administration official to have visited this district in the past year. The others were Vice President JDVance's visits in August and in February and Kennedy's most recent stop. Steve Holland, Renee Hickman and Nandita Bose; Steve Holland, Cynthia Osterman, David Gregorio and Sergio Non edited the article.
-
The US IPO of Sinda by billionaire Kaplan is a way to mine the market recovery
The mining firm Sinda filed for a U.S. IPO on Friday, marking billionaire Thomas Kaplan's'second attempt' to enter the public markets, following Sunshine Silver's listing a 'day earlier', as 'interest in IPOs' rebounded. The filing did not reveal the terms of?the?offering. The U.S. IPO Market exploded in 2026. A variety of sectors were eager to list and take advantage of the excitement among investors for new listings. Elon Musk’s SpaceX will?start trading in New York in what is expected to be the largest IPO ever. Anthropic, a leading AI company, also filed a confidential application to go public last week. CopperTech Metals, a mining company, filed for a New?York?listing on Tuesday. Sunshine Silver Mining listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday. The Electrum Group is a natural resource-focused investment company. Thomas Kaplan is the founder and chairman of the company. He is a prominent investor who specializes in precious metals, natural resources and other assets. Sinda has exploration and exploitation rights over?five adjacent mining concessions located in Mexico's historic Guanajuato Silver Belt, according to its filing. The project is described by the company as a large-scale, high-grade silver-gold discovery that has the potential to be of global significance. The IPO proceeds will be used for underground exploration, for?other project costs and for ongoing exploration. As exploration costs increased, the mining company's net loss was $11.6 million for the three-month period ended March 31. This is compared to a $2.6 million loss in 2013. Morgan Stanley, Scotiabank, and BMO Capital Markets are joint book-running managers for Sinda's offering. The company plans to list its shares under the ticker "SIND" on the NYSE. Reporting by Pritam Biwas in Bengaluru
-
Texas ranchers are on alert after a screwworm parasite is detected in a calf
La Pryor, a quiet Texas cattle town, has become the center of the screwworm battle after the first U.S. instance in decades was discovered there. This prompted a?quarantine on livestock and put ranchers and pet-owners on edge. On Wednesday, a calf in a ranch was found to have?the meat-eating?parasite. It had a large hole around its umbilical chord. Since more than a decade, ranchers in South Texas are preparing for the arrival screwworm. The flies have moved from Colombia, through Central America and closer to the U.S. Border. The parasite can decimate local wildlife and cattle herds. U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said that only one confirmed case had been reported, and the agency was working to prevent a spread of the parasite that threatens Texas' multi-billion dollar cattle industry. Rollins said that she would be traveling to Texas 'next week. She gave a speech at a rally on Friday with President Donald Trump, in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District. This is an agricultural district where a race for the November midterm elections has become competitive. Rollins did not mention screwworm. USDA WORKERS LEADER CONTROL EFFORTS The USDA sent 28 workers to Zavala County in Mexico, near the border with Coahuila, on Friday. They set fly traps and released sterile flies?to stop their reproduction, as well as talking to ranchers. Rear Admiral Michael Schmoyer said that four more workers would be arriving soon. The major roads leading out of La Pryor are marked with?blinking-orange signs that urge vehicles with livestock to pull up to a checkpoint with state and sheriff's personnel who will inspect the animals to look for signs of screwworm. Marcel?Valdez is a retired educator and Texas A&M University extension agent. He recalled when screwworm was last seen in South Texas in the 1960s, as a young boy. He recalled the screwworm infested calves kicking and licking at their open wounds. The smell of rotting meat as hundreds of larvae devoured the animals alive. And the sharp smell from the black, tarlike medicine he had used to treat them. He is now most concerned about the younger cattle ranchers, who do not have experience in treating this pest. Also, he is worried about the large number of wild animals which could be vectors of the disease and the limited production of sterile flys. He said that the screwworm can quickly get out of control. TEXAS DECLARES A STATE OF DISASTER Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, declared Friday a disaster and asked that the federal government speed up completion of an sterile flies production facility. The plant was supposed to be operational by November 2027, after breaking ground in April. Abbott proposed that Texas pay for additional costs to speed up construction. Abbott stated at a recent press conference that "we need to get the large volume of sterile fly as soon as possible." It's crucial that the new facility, which is currently being built in Texas, be completed even quicker. The sterile male flies mate wild female screwworms in order to produce unfertile eggs. Abbott stated that the facility must be finished before summer 2027, because pests are more likely to spread in summer than winter. He said, "We can't make it through another summer." Some Texas politicians and ranchers, including some in Trump's Republican Party of Texas, have lambasted USDA efforts. Brent Smith, an attorney from Kinney County (near Zavala County) wrote in X: "The USDA had plenty of time to prepare, but they failed." Rollins stated on Thursday that it was predicted that screwworm would cross the border into the U.S. last year. The Trump administration's actions prevented this, giving time for the USDA to launch a rapid response. Fears of more infestations continued on Friday to shake markets, and extended a rally in U.S. Cattle Futures.
-
Prices of oil fall amid rising hopes for a de-escalation of the US-Iran War
Oil prices dropped on Friday, as traders grew more confident that a renewed conflict between the U.S.A. and Iran is less likely. Brent crude futures fell $2.08 or 2.18% to $92.95 per barrel at 11:37 CST . Brent closed the previous session 2.84% down. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was $89.93 per barrel, down $3.11 or 3.34% after a loss of 3.1% on Thursday. Phil Flynn is a senior analyst with Price Futures Group. He said that the market does not see an escalation of tensions between the parties. Even though we haven't reached a deal, the market seems to be de-escalating. Petroleum Development Oman confirmed that operations at Mina al Fahal were not affected after three sources reported that oil loading was suspended due to an explosion near the port's mooring berths. Oman exports between 800,000 and 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day from its terminal. Brent was up 1.25 % and WTI by around 3.1%. Contracts rose earlier this week as fighting flared up in the Middle East, while U.S. and Iran war peace talks continued to drag on, while the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted, through which a fifth of world oil flows. Commerzbank analysts stated on Friday that "as hopes for a deal between the U.S.A. and Iran have been dashed yet again, the prices of Brent crude oil and European natural gases rose this week." Commerzbank said that Brent's gains were capped due to oil inventories remaining longer than expected, rerouted imports, and a falling demand. Hezbollah's leader Naim Qassem rejected a U.S. mediated agreement between Israel and Lebanon to stop the fighting on Thursday. Iran has demanded a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese government in Lebanon as a precondition for any deal with Washington. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that he thought progress was being made in the relationship between Israel and Lebanon. He also stated on Thursday that Lebanon deserved peace. Tony Sycamore, IG's market analyst, said in a?"note" that "any optimism is heavily clouded due to a tangled net of headlines and anti-headlines." Haitham al Ghais, the Secretary General of OPEC, said that despite the Middle East conflict, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the oil demand forecast for this year is 1.2 million barrels of oil per day. According to shipping data the U.S. naval blockade has largely been responsible for the decline in Iranian oil exports. However, weak demand from China has also contributed to the lower prices. Reporting by Erwin Seba, Robert Harvey, and Ahmad Ghaddar, in London; Florence Tan, and Sam Li, in Singapore. Editing by Sonali, Kim Coghill and Elaine Hardcastle.
Carbon credit projects in Brazil are a source of income for illegal loggers
Carbon credits have been issued to companies around the globe in exchange for their investments in conservation projects in Brazil. These projects aim to protect the Amazon Rainforest.
Many of these projects benefit people and companies fined by Brazilian authorities because they destroyed the rainforest.
Reporters examined 36 conservation projects in Brazil's Amazon that offered voluntary carbon offsets to the world's largest registries. The Brazilian environmental agency Ibama has punished landowners, developers, or forestry companies for their involvement in illegal deforestation.
Offenses included clear-cutting rainforests without authorization, transporting trees felled without valid permits, and inputting false information into a government tracking system for timber. These infractions, according to government officials and experts, reflect the wide range of roles played in the illegal timber trade that is destroying the rainforest.
Ibama fined 20 conservation projects for deforestation, before the carbon credits registry was created. In seven cases, fines were continued for deforestation committed by project backers after registration.
Raoni Rajao said, "The whole concept is a failure." She was the head of the Brazilian Environment Ministry program to combat deforestation from December until now. He said that by paying people who have a history of breaking environmental laws, the carbon markets may be funding illegal deforestation groups.
They might reduce deforestation one place but increase emissions in another with the same resources," said Rajao. He is now a professor of environmental policy at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
Brazil has fined people who violate laws that limit deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon is the largest rainforest on earth, and it's lost a fifth of the original tree cover within the last half-century. Scientists warn that further deforestation will release large quantities of carbon dioxide which accelerates climate change.
According to market watcher AlliedOffsets, the Amazon has become an important part the voluntary carbon markets, which was valued at $7.6 billion in the global market over the past five years.
Carbon credits are generated by projects that reduce greenhouse emissions, such as avoiding deforestation of rainforests. Each carbon credit is equal to one metric ton saved of carbon dioxide. Polluters may then buy carbon credits in order to offset their own emissions.
Referees who set standards on the global market accredit firms like Verra (a non-profit) and Cercarbono, its Colombian competitor. They have systems that verify whether a project reduces emissions in the way it was promised.
The documents relating to 36 conservation projects in Brazil's Amazon, which were certified by Verra and Cercarbono as of the beginning of the year, numbered thousands of pages. Both keep public records on the project's boundaries, designs and credits. The reporters identified the key players, and compared them with Ibama’s database of fines.
Ibama held the backers of five projects responsible for illegal logging within the boundaries of the conservation projects they were supporting, and not elsewhere.
The study did not find any evidence that individual carbon credit projects were failing to meet their commitments to reduce deforestation compared to a projected baseline.
A spokesperson for Verra confirmed that the registry would "take any allegations of illegal activity related to a registered project in one of our programmes seriously" and conduct a review on all projects flagged during the analysis.
Cercarbono announced that it has opened a formal inquiry into projects flagged as illegally deforested by anyone who is familiar with the issue.
A Cercarbono spokesperson stated that "there is no indication" that the integrity or the projects you mentioned has been compromised.
Multinationals like the U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Spanish telecom Telefonica, and Colombian oil producer Ecopetrol are among those who have purchased credits for projects. Accrediting companies are often relied upon by buyers to ensure quality.
Boeing announced that it has acquired carbon offsets which meet widely accepted science-based standards. Telefonica is a member of a corporate group that seeks to improve the integrity of voluntary carbon credits. Ecopetrol declined comment. Brazil's Environment Ministry overseeing Ibama said that the agency's database of enforcement offers a reliable record of environmental violations, which can and should be used to verify effectiveness of conservation projects sold as carbon credits.
A DOCTOR WHO TURNED INTO A LOGGER
Ricardo Stoppe Junior was one of the most prominent names on the Brazilian carbon credits market in the last five years. In June 2024 he was arrested as part of an investigation by the federal police called "Operation Greenwashing" and accused of being in charge of a massive illegal logging scheme.
Stoppe has been promoting himself as the world’s top carbon credit entrepreneur for many years. A Brazilian doctor, he claimed to have put his life on hold in order to save 10,000 square kilometers (40 sq mi) of Amazon rainforest. According to AlliedOffsets' public transaction data and price tracking, he sold $15 million in credits since 2020.
Stoppe's success in the carbon market came despite public records showing Ibama fines against him and his partners since 2014 for deforestation-related offenses.
A confidential 302-page report by the police, reviewed and analyzed by, documents how authorities determined that he used his Carbon Projects to fund a criminal plan to bribe public officials in order to forge land title and launder over a million cubic metres of illegally felled rainforest timber.
Last year, a federal judge ordered Stoppe's arrest and the freezing of $300 million in assets of Stoppe and his four associates for their alleged involvement in a criminal group responsible for illegal land grabs and logging.
All five lawyers disputed the accusations of federal police and denied that their clients had done anything wrong. Since then, they have been placed under house arrest while awaiting charges from prosecutors. The prosecutors declined to comment about the case.
Stoppe denied participating in criminal activity in his first interview following five months behind bars. He said his projects had brought environmental protection and legal rigor to a part the rainforest that was plagued by illegal land grabs.
There's no such thing as a state. No police. "Nothing," Stoppe replied. "It is like the Wild West."
He blamed the accusations against him on a lack of oversight by his business partners, and on investigators' bad faith. He denied participating in illegal deforestation.
History of Fines
Stoppe purchased a tract of land in the southern Amazonas State, which was named "Our Lady of the Ituxi Waterfalls" after cascades that were considered sacred by the neighboring Indigenous community.
Stoppe stated that his plan was to clear the land and raise cattle.
After a near-death encounter in the jungle when a branch knocked off his horse, he said that changed. He said that after nearly a week of being in a state of coma he realized he didn't want to destroy the rainforest.
Stoppe transformed the forest surrounding the ranch into "Fortress Ituxi," his first carbon-market conservation project, which he will register in 2020 with the global certification body Verra. Ibama fined him at the time twice for falsifying data in Brazil's Timber Tracking System, totaling over 125,000 reais (approximately $23,000).
Two years later he recruited ranchers from the surrounding area for a new project called "Unitor", which aimed to protect a large tract of rainforest that stretched between the Iquiri National Forest Territory and the Kaxarari Indigenous Territory. Stoppe, along with two other landowners, had already racked up Ibama penalties totaling over 8,6 million reais by the time they registered their second project. This included fines for clearing native forest and grazing cows on land that was deforested.
The Brazilian Environment Ministry has not commented on specific cases that involve Stoppe and landowners.
Stoppe's proposal for Unitor, which he submitted to Verra, highlighted its benefits. It warned against "criminal groups that invade federal public lands to deforest them and to commercialize wood illegally harvested."
Many of the carbon credit projects we reviewed were based on a similar sales pitch. According to common methods of generating credits through conservation, the more serious the threat is, the higher the value of the avoided deforestation.
Police claim that Stoppe sold the solution to a problem he created.
The federal police report describes the alleged scheme, using wiretaps, land titles and permits, satellite images, and bank records.
The police report alleges that Stoppe and his accomplices bribed officials to create land claims in national forests and other public lands, converting them into private estates which they then grouped together into carbon credit projects.
According to a police report, these conservation projects were also a way to easily cover up massive illegal logging. The group registered their "forestry management plans" under a program of the state that allows selective logging in order to thin out a forest.
Police say that Stoppe and his partner used state-issued logging permits for their project area to wash wood they had illegally extracted elsewhere. Lumber in the Amazon with legal permits is worth many times more than undocumented lumber.
Thiago scarpellini, the lead investigator at the police department, said in an interview that Stoppe was the leader of a scheme to facilitate illegal logging on nearby public lands like the Kaxarari Reservation. He stated that Stoppe is "the subject of this investigation but he is not the only person working in this manner." He didn't elaborate.
According to the report, Scarpellini’s team of investigators had compared the logging permits with satellite images of Stoppe’s projects. They found that they had created enough fraudulent permits to wash more than 1.1 millions cubic meters of illegal wood.
Stoppe claimed he would prove to the court all land claims made in his name, and denied any involvement in illegal logging.
Verra Registry put Stoppe's projects on hold after his arrest.
The President Luiz inacio Lula da silva is trying to position Brazil as the global leader for "green" development. This will be on display when Brazil hosts the United Nations Climate Summit in November.
Brazil, in an effort to meet its climate change commitments made under the Paris Agreement of 2016, passed a law in 2017 to create a carbon market regulated by the government, similar to those found in Europe, China, and California.
The law, when it comes into effect, will require Brazilian industries to reduce greenhouse emission or pay for them to be offset in a regulated marketplace, which includes conservation projects that sell carbon credits.
The government also encourages carbon credit projects which actively restore damaged biomes instead of paying landowners to avoid deforestation. The findings regarding Brazil's voluntary market are "very grave" and highlight challenges facing regulators in setting up a new market. Cristina Reis is the deputy secretary of sustainable economic development for Brazil's Finance Ministry.
"SOMETHING WRONG"
Ibama fined Stoppe and his partner 18 additional times for, among other things, razing 42 sq km of rainforest and falsifying 180,000 cubic meters in timber.
According to an analysis of Ibama’s fines that were independently levied from the police investigation, some of these offenses fell within the scope of Stoppe’s carbon credit project.
Edivan Kaxarari is a leader in the local Indigenous community. He said that some locals were hesitant about Stoppe's promise to protect the forest. They turned down the chance to work on a project to create carbon credits.
The documentation for Stoppe's Carbon Credit Projects filed with Verra shows that he and partners staked a claim on land along Bull Road, which is a local road that passes by other ranches as well as the Kaxarari Reservation.
Edivan, a reporter and Edivan drove down the dusty roads to Stoppe's Ituxi Ranch for two hours. He surveyed the disappearing forests of his ancestral lands. Edivan surveyed the vanishing forests on his people's ancestral lands as he drove with reporters down a dusty road to Stoppe's Ituxi ranch.
Ibama’s enforcement database revealed that the agency had penalized Stoppe and his partner at least six different times for illegally deforestation on Bull Road.
Edivan, who had been watching illegal logging for many years, said he was on his guard when "white men" came to the reservation two years ago and preached the environmental benefits Stoppe's projects of carbon credits. They also proposed a project in Kaxarari territory.
Stoppe confirmed that he has begun discussions with Kaxarari regarding a partnership on a project involving carbon credits.
Edivan, a participant in the meeting, said "They brought this carbon project proposal and mentioned what had already been done on the Ituxi Ranch with Dr. Ricardo." They didn't give much time for us to accept.
Edivan and other leaders of the community expressed concerns over the proposal.
Why is someone deforesting if they are working on a carbon project? He said. There's something wrong." (Reporting and editing by Claudia Parsons; Additional reporting by Marcela Parsons; Additional reporting by Brad Haynes; Jackie Botts, Ricardo Brito, and Jake Spring)
(source: Reuters)