The construction of an access road for a potash mining project in Autazes, in Brazil’s Amazonas state, has caused at least two sacred springs to dry up, according to the Indigenous Mura people. It is the latest in a series of controversies spanning a decade that has plagued the Potássio Autazes project. “There is a profound sense of loss,” Filipe Mura, chief of the affected Lago do Soares village, told Mongabay via WhatsApp. “We realize we may be losing what belongs to us — our territory, our culture, and, above all, the very life that exists in this place.” In Mura traditional cosmology, all springs, rivers, lakes and forests have a guardian, or owner, who must be treated with respect, residents tell Mongabay. “If a spring dries up, it means its keeper has departed — and when the keeper leaves, they take with them the animals, the fertility of the soil, and all the blessings of that region,” Willian Rodrigues Filgueira, a professor from the Mura Baixo Madeira Indigenous territory, which neighbors the affected Lago do Soares/Urucurituba territory, and member of the Organization of Mura Indigenous Leaders of Careiro da Várzea (OLIMCV), told Mongabay via WhatsApp. The loss of a spring, therefore, disrupts the spiritual balance that sustains life in the territory. Residents also said that the company behind the project has begun to clear-cut the area — the process of cutting down all trees in a section of forest at the same time — where it intends to build…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Multilateralism has had a miserable few years. International institutions are under strain, geopolitical rivalries are intensifying and governments struggle to agree on even the most elementary rules. Governments struggle to agree on even elementary rules. Yet last week in Vienna, there was an unexpected breakthrough. Countries agreed to begin negotiating a global treaty to tackle environmental crime. It is a modest but important victory for international cooperation, and one that could help turn the tables on some of the world’s most destructive criminal enterprises. The breakthrough came at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC). By 83 votes to 12, governments backed a resolution establishing a committee to design a new protocol targeting illegal trade in wildlife and timber, illicit mining and trafficking in minerals, and waste trafficking. The outcome was hardly assured. The United States, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Iran sought to dilute the initiative. They failed. The vote showed that international rules can still advance despite determined opposition. Illegal logging in Indonesian Borneo. Photo by Rhett Ayers Butler Brazil deserves considerable credit. Working with a coalition spanning Latin America and Africa, its diplomats turned years of technical discussions into political momentum. Civil society organizations, including the Igarapé Institute, helped build the evidence and sustain pressure for stronger international action. The breakthrough also signals a wider shift in global diplomacy. Countries across the Global South are increasingly becoming norm-makers rather than simply norm-takers. On issues ranging from climate and biodiversity…This article was originally published on Mongabay
MANAUS, Brazil — Midway through the conversation with Mongabay, Otacílio Farias, a 75-year-old farmer, stops to read a message on his phone: “Right now, there’s a fire near a friend’s house.” Farias has lived his entire life near the Autaz Mirim River, near Manaus, Brazil’s largest city in the Amazon. Forest fires have affected the area for more than 30 days. “Nearby, Lake Miriti was shrouded in haze at dawn, but it wasn’t morning mist: It was smoke,” he said. Farias says the nearby municipalities of Autazes and Careiro da Várzea are experiencing the worst fire crisis of his lifetime. “My throat and nose are in terrible shape,” he said. Farias’ community WhatsApp groups are packed with pleas to save crops and reports of elderly residents rescued as flames approached. Farias was at home on Oct. 1 when friends of his 18-year-old son, Fabrício, arrived on motorcycles, calling for help against fires approaching homes. Around 100 community members joined the effort. It wasn’t until Oct. 10, however, that the Amazonas state government declared an emergency in 36 municipalities, paving the way for federal assistance. Between Oct. 1 and 19, Brazil’s space agency, INPE, recorded 1,921 fire hotspots in Amazonas, up 202% from the same period in 2025. The daily average also rose 51.5% compared with late September 2026. Of these, 584 (30.4%) were in the Manaus metropolitan area: 197 in Autazes, 134 in Itacoatiara and seven in Manaus. Hotspots also spiked after the first round of Brazil’s presidential election: INPE…This article was originally published on Mongabay
On Monday, two high-ranking officers from the Spanish security forces testified before the judge investigating the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta, stating that Moroccan agents stood idly by during the events of July 30 and 31, and that some actively facilitated the passage of people into the Spanish city. According to legal sources cited by EFE, more than 72,000 people entered from Morocco over those two days.
A lieutenant colonel of the Guardia Civil—who serves as head of operations for the Ceuta Command—and a chief inspector of the National Police in the autonomous city provided testimony to the magistrate overseeing the case regarding the migration crisis. Both linked the actions of the Moroccan authorities to the mass influx of migrants.
The National Police chief inspector asserted that Moroccan agents facilitated the crossing into Ceuta. He described uniformed personnel—dressed in gray and khaki—as well as individuals in plainclothes, gesturing for the migrants to move forward. He also claimed to have seen people directing a very long line from Morocco toward Spain.
For his part, the Guardia Civil lieutenant colonel maintained that Moroccan military personnel stood by with their arms at their sides during the influx. He noted that while they took an active stance toward sub-Saharan migrants attempting to cross, they remained passive when it came to their own compatriots.
The Guardia Civil officer recounted that other agents allegedly directed people from the beach toward the breakwater that separates Ceuta from Morocco. He indicated that the Moroccan military steered migrants into the water, forcing Spanish security personnel to pull individuals from the sea to save their lives.
MASS MIGRATION: Insane footage shows thousands of migrants entering Spain from Morocco pic.twitter.com/WHDbDEmPML
Furthermore, he claimed to have seen Moroccan vessels picking up people during the influx and subsequently dropping them off on the beach. He explained that these were small craft, as larger vessels could not approach the coast.
On the night before the mass entry, the lieutenant colonel stated that he had spotted six Moroccan vessels: two patrol boats, two interceptors, and two smaller craft. The officer noted that it was striking that, on a day with fog, there were six Moroccan Navy vessels in the area.
He also stated that he had received no warning regarding a mass entry planned for July 30. He pointed out that prior coordination meetings were not held for that purpose, and that it was never communicated to him that there was a planned influx for Throne Day—a national holiday in Morocco.
A National Police inspector explained that, overall, the arrival of migrants had increased three- to fourfold compared to previous years. However, he noted that in the days leading up to the events, the increase had been exponential.
The investigation seeks to clarify the circumstances surrounding the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta—one of the most significant border crises between Spain and Morocco in recent years.
GAYE TOWN, Liberia – Deep in the Liberian bush, there’s a dispute about what to do with a big swath of rainforest. The conservation group Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF) and Liberia’s Forestry Development Authority (FDA), backed by the EU, are looking to establish a new 172,000-hectare (425,000-acre) national park. However, advocacy NGOs say they’re bypassing the land rights of nearby communities. It’s an argument with potentially serious repercussions for biodiversity in Liberia. The proposed Kwa National Park would be one of just a handful of strictly protected habitats for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) and pygmy hippos (Choeropsis liberiensis). The land it would protect is under real threat — commercial cocoa farming is destroying forests in the region at an accelerating pace. Some people from the surrounding villages have sent migrant workers inside Kwa’s proposed boundaries to build new cocoa farms. They now want the Liberian government to excise these areas from the park. “We want the [Forestry Development Authority] to push the boundary line back small,” said Tommy Yarkpawolo, an elder from the tree-ringed village of Gaye Town. He has a 600-hectare (1,482-acre) farm with 30 workers inside Kwa that just earned him more than $400 — enough to start building a new mud-brick house, he said. Cacao saplings underneath burned trees in the proposed Kwa National Park. Photo by Ashoka Mukpo / Mongabay. Many of his neighbors oppose the idea of moving the boundary back. They told Mongabay the negotiations with WCF and the FDA were…This article was originally published on Mongabay
In Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions, where a civil war has dragged on for 10 years, abundant sunshine has become a source of hope and opportunity for hundreds of young internally displaced people, and a lifeline for the next generation. The fighting has choked off job opportunities for youth and worsened the collapse of basic public services. Rural communities here face acute electricity shortages and have very limited access to quality health care. Mothers often give birth in the dark, and their children risk missing vital vaccines because clinics lack reliable power to provide lighting or appropriate cold storage for vaccines. To address these threats to newborn survival across local health centers, Cameroonian clean-energy company Solar Bright Future, a subsidiary of local NGO, Community Action for Advancing Sustainable Development (CAASDEV), set out to equip maternity wards with solar power in crisis-affected facilities through a program that trains young people displaced by the conflict. The company installs solar power systems for maternity lighting and solar-powered vaccine cold-chain systems for safe vaccine preservation, with temperature monitoring. Their systems can also support equipment such as echography or ultrasound machines and sterilization devices, depending on system capacity. Equipment that runs on solar power at the Tugi integrated health centre in the Northwest region of Cameroon. Image courtesy of Ndze Noel Lifogha/Solar Bright Future. The tragedy of the twins Ndze Noel Lifogha, chief executive of Solar Bright Future, said in an interview with Mongabay that the initiative grew out of a tragedy at a clinic…This article was originally published on Mongabay
When ecologist Jean Semeki installed camera traps along a forest trail in the Luki Biosphere Reserve in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo to survey its mammals, he and his colleagues weren’t prepared for what they’d find when they downloaded the images. Alongside video footage of inquisitive apes — members of the reserve’s remnant population of endangered central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) — were videos of a strange, long-legged bird, hopping across the leaf litter. It was a grey-necked picathartes (Picathartes oreas). “When I first saw the video, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” said Semeki’s co-author, Hugues Dethier, when he analyzed the camera trap data. “I asked my colleague Guillaume Baltus to take a look, and he confirmed the identification.” Picathartes are large slender grey and white birds with vivid blue and red patches on their bald heads. They’re known to lead secretive lives in the understory of rainforests in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo — the DRC’s northern neighbor, building their cup-shaped nests from mud on the walls of caves and rocky overhangs. But until now, they weren’t known to live this far south. Camera trap image of a grey-necked picathartes in the Luki Biosphere Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo. Image courtesy of Hugues Dethier et al. The discovery, reported recently in the journal Ostrich, extends their previous range by nearly 400 kilometers (249 miles). For a species already considered by the IUCN to be near threatened with extinction due to its small…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Hornbills are being targeted during their breeding season in Bangladesh, with rescue records over the last several years showing a concentration of cases between May and August, when the forest dwellers are nesting, breeding and raising chicks. Analyzing rescue data from the Forest Department and Bangladesh Police, Mongabay found at least 26 birds, including 14 great hornbills (Buceros bicornis) and 12 oriental pied hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris), were rescued in 12 separate cases between May and August from 2023 to 2026. (The reporter collected the data manually; hence we have no links) Eight of these cases were recorded in the southeastern part of the country, where hornbill habitats are located. A 2018 Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Bangladesh report also found that hornbills were collected in the Chattogram Hill Tracts during the nesting season. According to a 2021 study published in Scientific Reports, this species’ breeding season runs from March to mid-August. “The risk to hornbills during this period is closely tied to their unique breeding behavior. The female seals herself inside a tree cavity with mud or vegetation and cannot leave the nest during the breeding period. The male stays outside and repeatedly brings food to the female, and later to the chicks, inside the cavity. This makes the nest easier for hunters to trace, while reaching the cavity gives them access to both the female and the chicks,” said hornbill researcher Humayra Mahmud, an assistant professor of zoology at Noakhali Science and Technology University. A male oriental pied hornbill at…This article was originally published on Mongabay
MEISHAN TOWNSHIP, Taiwan — Lin Kuang-li’s tea plants blend in among the dozens of others that blanket this tea-producing village in Alishan, a mountain range in Taiwan. Yet the leaves he produces are slightly different from those of his neighbors. The 60-year-old is the sixth generation of his family to grow tea, primarily high-mountain Ch’ing-hsin (Qing Xin) oolong, in Longyanlin village, in Meishan township, Chiayi county. In 1976, his late father, Lin Yun-fa, started the business to boost the village’s struggling economy. Today, it has been half a century since the hills of Longyanlin began to be intensively cultivated. The plantations are aging, and the soil is becoming depleted. It seems fortunate that 30 years ago, Lin Kuang-li decided to switch to natural farming and stopped using pesticides. It was a risky bet, but he is proud of the results. The farmer takes a handful of soil and squeezes it in his hands. “My soil is now in excellent health,” he tells Mongabay. Alishan, in the central part of the island, is famous for producing Taiwan’s highly prized high-mountain tea, known as kao-shan cha in Mandarin. These oolong tea varieties, grown at elevations higher than 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) in Alishan and other misty alpine regions, are famous for their fragrant aroma, smooth texture and low bitterness. Lin Kuang-li stands among his Ch’ing-hsin oolong tea plants in Longyanlin village, Meishan township, Chiayi county, in Taiwan’s Alishan tea-growing region, on Sept. 24, 2026. Image by Aylin Ho for Mongabay. However, tea…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Maui, an island in the isolated Hawaiian archipelago, isn’t in one of the world’s most heavily developed or polluted coral-reef regions. Yet even there, human activity leaves an imprint in the very tissue of corals, altering their biochemistry, a recent study shows. The study, published in July in the journal Nature Communications, found 25 contaminants from cosmetic products, medicines and agricultural runoff, among other forms of pollution, in coral tissues at many Maui reef sites. Contaminant levels were higher at the sites subject to greater human influence. The research was done by analyzing corals’ metabolomes — the collection of small molecules in their tissues, such as sugars, lipids and amino acids, that does not include larger molecules like DNA or proteins. The study is among the first to use coral-tissue metabolomics to monitor chronic human-caused stress on corals in the wild. Whereas a water sample of a coral reef site provides a snapshot of what contaminants are present, coral tissue can reveal those that have accumulated over time. “We propose that this may be a way that you can actually evaluate how much impact humans are having on different sites,” Zachary Quinlan, research biologist at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and lead author of the study, told Mongabay in a video interview. A coral reef in 2020. Image courtesy of Tiara Stark/TNC. Under threat globally, corals are particularly vulnerable to local stressors because of their immobility. “If there’s a site that has a lot of contamination, they can’t move…This article was originally published on Mongabay
UYO, Nigeria — Before dawn, Happiness Emmanuel is already at the fire. She crouches beside a three-legged metal stand outside her home in Uyo city, southeastern Nigeria, splashing kerosene over damp firewood before striking a match. By sunrise, she is selling akara, a popular bean fritter, to commuters and schoolchildren stopping at her roadside stall. Emmanuel’s wood-fired setup is a familiar sight across this oil-rich region and Nigeria at large. The West African nation has spent more than a decade trying to shift households away from traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, charcoal and kerosene and by one measure it is succeeding. Between 2020 and 2024, an average of 5.4 million Nigerians a year gained access to clean cooking, more than in any other African country, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The share of the population with access rose by 2.3 percentage points a year, the third-fastest improvement on the continent after Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya. Those gains have only just kept pace with the population growth. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, added about 4.8 million people a year between 2022 and 2025, according to Worldometer estimates. In 2024, about 168 million Nigerians, nearly three in four people in the country, still cooked with polluting fuels, making Nigeria home to the world’s second-largest biomass-dependent population after India, according to the latest joint U.N. and World Bank tracking report on global energy access. What’s more, the trend in actual fuelwood consumption is moving in the opposite direction. U.N. energy…This article was originally published on Mongabay
When you boil down the essence of the alleged Russian military threat to America’s homeland security it amounts to just plain barking idiocy; it’s so out to lunch as to be offensive to even a modicum of human intelligence. As we have seen in Parts 1 & 2, any conceivable threat of a Russian nuclear […]
Reprinted from Andy Worthington’s website. It’s worse than we thought. In research that I have undertaken over the last few weeks based on information compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) about Palestinian journalists killed by Israel since October 2023, I’ve discovered that, of the 68 Palestinian journalists killed by Israel in the first […]
The peaceful departure of Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić could open a positive new chapter in Western Balkans history, even as France drifts in the opposite direction.
Vučić acknowledged defeat shortly after 9.30PM on Sunday (25 October), when exit polls put his SNS party on 105 seats in parliament out of 250, behind the reformist Student List movement, led by cardiologist Ilija Srdanović, on 135 to 140, even though the final results were far from clear.
“Serbia is free! People, BRAVO!,” the Student List posted on X.
It had been a tense night in Belgrade, with a heavy police presence in front of government buildings, scuffles at polling stations, and with student and other citizens’ patrol groups monitoring voting, as well as over 300 formal international observers.
MEPs and US senators had also warned Vučić (who had once worked at the top levels of the brutal dictatorship of Slobodan Milošević) on X not to resort to violence to try to steal the vote.
But it seems that the landslide was so huge and the turnout so massive (over 69 percent) that there was nothing to be done.
Serbian nationalism, Western Balkan corruption, and Russian interference will not disappear from the region overnight, but with the nationalist-populist Vučić gone there is more chance of normalisation of Kosovo relations and less risk of a Bosnia break up.
And there is every chance that a positive reform momentum, rewarded by the EU, could spread from Serbia into neighbouring states and help bring more Western Balkan countries into Europe, after Montenegro is due to join in 2027.
It is the fourth defeat in national elections for pro-Russian and/or far-right parties in Europe this year, after Hungary, but also Sweden and Latvia.
And that is a good trend for progressives, in the run-up to the election super-cycle of late 2026/2027, which will see similar battles unfold in Spain, France, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Slovakia, Poland, and Italy in the next 12 months.
“If we have peace, whatever the outcome, it will be beneficial and blessed. If we have unrest, anger, and hatred, whatever the outcome, it will be disastrous for everyone,” said Serb Orthodox Church patriarch Porfirije earlier on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the spectacle of a peaceful, democratic transition of power in Serbia will not be welcomed by Moscow’s authoritarian rulers.
But if it is an example to Russian people, then it is also a powerful, alternative model for any students, leftwing activists, or ethnic minorities in France, Italy, or further afield in Europe, who spent a second weekend rioting in multiple towns in protest at social inequality.
If the far-right was to take power in France in April, spurred on by racial tension and civil unrest, it would quickly wipe out any gains made on Sunday in Serbia, in terms of EU stability, Western Balkans’ enlargement prospects, and Russian influence in Europe.
But if young people in the EU want fairer societies, then the students of Serbia, who began today’s tectonic shift in small protests two years ago in the provincial town of Novi Sad, have shown them that the path to victory lies in non-violent resistance and patience.
Pope Leo XIV demanded an immediate end to Yemen hostilities during his Angelus address on Sunday, October 25, warning that civilians are paying the highest price in the conflict. Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace before thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
He paid particular attention to the city of Taiz, where residents are suffering from severe shortages of food, drinking water and medical care.
“I make a heartfelt appeal for hostilities to cease and for the Yemeni people and all the peoples of the region to be guaranteed the right to live in peace,” Pope Leo said.
The pope’s message came as fighting and road closures have cut off vital supplies in Taiz, leaving civilians increasingly isolated. The Vatican said the pope’s appeal was directed at all parties involved in the conflict and at the international community.
Pope Leo also condemned the broader spiral of violence affecting West Asia, calling for urgent guarantees for regional peace. He denounced the devastating consequences of armed confrontations across the region and urged leaders to choose dialogue over war.
The pontiff said wars not only cause death and destruction but also impoverish and damage the world. His appeal placed the humanitarian suffering of Yemeni civilians at the center of the Vatican’s message.
Pope Leo XIV draws attention to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, remembers victims of an attack on Christians in Jordan, and looks ahead to the Assisi gathering marking 40 years since the first World Day of Prayer for Peace.https://t.co/UZ47Hb6oMw
The pope’s warning focused on Taiz, a city that has become one of the most visible symbols of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
Residents face severe shortages of food, clean water, fuel and basic medical services as fighting and road closures restrict the movement of supplies.
Humanitarian organizations have warned that the blockade of supply routes has worsened conditions for hundreds of thousands of people.
The United Nations has repeatedly called for unimpeded humanitarian access to affected communities across Yemen.
Yemen has been devastated by years of war, economic collapse and the destruction of essential infrastructure.
The conflict has left millions of people dependent on humanitarian assistance and has created one of the world’s most severe food-security emergencies.
The pope said the Yemeni people, like all peoples of the region, have the right to live in peace.
His message also called for an end to the cycle of violence that has spread across West Asia.
Pope Leo condemned the human cost of armed conflict and urged the international community to prioritize negotiation and diplomacy.
The Vatican has repeatedly emphasized that military solutions cannot resolve political crises or address the needs of civilians.
The pope’s appeal comes amid heightened tensions across the Middle East, where conflicts have displaced communities, damaged infrastructure and deepened humanitarian needs.
The Vatican’s message called for a regional approach to peace that protects civilians and guarantees access to humanitarian aid.
🚨 Saná denunció que Arabia Saudita incumplió pactos previos a 2023 al bombardear el aeropuerto de la capital y poner fin a la tregua. Mohammed Abdul-Salam afirmó que la vía diplomática se agotó tras la falta de respuestas claras de Riad. #Yemen#ArabiaSaudita#teleSUR#19Octpic.twitter.com/ONZhAvdkCG
Pope Leo XIV also addressed the deadly attack on worshippers at Saint George’s Orthodox Church in Hamoud, in Jordan’s Karak governorate.
The attack occurred on Friday, October 23, during a funeral service at the church.
Jordanian authorities said gunmen opened fire on worshippers, killing nine people and wounding around 40 others.
The pope prayed for those killed and injured in the attack and expressed his closeness to the affected community.
He also expressed solidarity with Jordan, a country he praised for its history of peaceful coexistence and respect among different religions.
Jordan declared three days of national mourning following the attack.
Jordanian authorities launched an investigation to identify those responsible. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack as of Sunday.
Christian leaders across the region condemned the attack as a crime against humanity and an assault on religious coexistence.
Patriarchs and heads of Churches in Jerusalem called on churches across the region to ring their bells in solidarity and pray for the victims.
The pope’s response highlighted the vulnerability of religious communities in a region marked by political instability and sectarian tensions.
His message emphasized that attacks on places of worship are attacks on human dignity and the right to religious freedom.
The Vatican has repeatedly called for the protection of Christian communities and all religious minorities in the Middle East.
119 ataques aéreos de la coalición saudita en 24 horas contra Yemen. En Taiz, un bombardeo a una escuela y un puesto sanitario dejó 3 muertos y 12 heridos, entre ellos mujeres y niños. La escalada supera 2.177 agresiones. #teleSUR#13octpic.twitter.com/SLJn8j89uW
Pope Leo XIV called on the faithful to join spiritually in the peace gathering taking place in Assisi, Italy, on October 27.
The meeting, titled “Unarmed and Disarming Peace,” marks the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by Saint John Paul II in 1986.
The event is organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio and brings together religious leaders, representatives of Christian Churches and figures from other faiths.
The 2026 gathering includes 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries.
Participants will take part in 24 thematic forums addressing conflict, disarmament, migration, poverty, young people and the role of religions in building peace.
The pope had planned to attend the closing ceremony in person but canceled the trip on medical advice after undergoing thoracic surgery.
The Vatican said Pope Leo would send a message expressing his closeness to organizers and participants.
The pope urged believers around the world to join the Assisi gathering in prayer.
“Never has it been more evident that wars, in addition to sowing death and destruction, impoverish and harm the world,” he said.
The pope called on the international community to abandon weapons and commit decisively to understanding and harmony among peoples.
The Assisi meeting recalls the historic 1986 gathering, when Pope John Paul II brought together representatives of different religions to pray for peace.
That event became a landmark in interreligious dialogue and remains a reference point for Vatican diplomacy.
The 2026 meeting seeks to renew that tradition at a time of multiple conflicts and growing humanitarian crises.
Geopolitical Context
The pope’s appeal on Yemen hostilities reflects the Vatican’s broader diplomatic effort to promote dialogue in a region marked by war and humanitarian emergencies.
Yemen’s conflict has become one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with millions of people facing hunger, displacement and limited access to healthcare.
The war has drawn in regional and international powers, making a political solution increasingly difficult.
The crisis in Taiz illustrates how blockades, fighting and the collapse of public services can trap civilians between military objectives and humanitarian needs.
Pope Leo’s message also comes amid rising tensions across West Asia, where conflicts in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen have deepened regional instability.
The Vatican has positioned itself as a voice for civilian protection, humanitarian access and negotiated settlements.
The pope’s call for peace in Yemen and his solidarity with Jordan highlight the connection between armed conflict, religious violence and the erosion of social cohesion.
The Assisi gathering offers a platform for religious leaders to promote dialogue at a time when political institutions face growing difficulty in resolving conflicts.
The Vatican argues that interreligious cooperation can help reduce hatred, protect minorities and build conditions for peace.
The pope’s message is a reminder that wars have consequences beyond battlefields: they destroy economies, displace communities and damage the future of entire generations.
COLOMBO – The death of Kavantissa, one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic wild tuskers (Elephas maximus maximus), following a gunshot injury triggered an extraordinary wave of public grief, political attention and criticism of wildlife authorities.The elephant’s final days brought together politicians, Buddhist monks, wildlife enthusiasts and veterinarians in a collective effort to save a giant that had captured the hearts of many Sri Lankans. A photograph of Sri Lanka’s opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, an ardent elephant enthusiast kissing the elephant’s head went viral on social media as did the environment minister Dhammika Patabendi visiting the elephant amidst heavy rain. Buddhist monks chanted Pirith (traditional Buddhist verses to invoke blessings), while a prominent businessman Dudley Sirisena offered to fund treatment, including a foreign veterinary team being flown in. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was among those who paid tribute to the magnificent tusker as well. Kavantissa’s death sparked widespread public attention as shown in this Google Trends results, showing heightened interest among Sri Lankans searching the term ‘Kavantissa’ since the day the elephant’s critical condition became public knowledge. Graph via Google Trends. Despite the intensive efforts of wildlife veterinarians, Kavantissa suffered cardiac arrest on the evening of Oct. 16. Senior wildlife veterinary surgeons were present, and one reportedly climbed onto his chest in an attempt to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Their efforts failed, and the tusker died at around 6:18 p.m. His death was followed by an outpouring of grief and anger, with many demanding accountability from the Department of Wildlife Conservation…This article was originally published on Mongabay
CANBERRA — World Kangaroo Day, on Oct. 24, celebrates one of Australia’s national symbols and the macropod’s special place in the country’s environment and First Nations cultures. In 2026, as “super El Niño” wreaks havoc across the globe, it is an opportune time to reflect on how climate change has affected the country’s iconic animals. There are dozens of species — 59 to be exact — belonging to the macropodoidea (meaning large-footed) superfamily living in Australia. The four main species are the red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), which is the largest in size; the western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus); the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus); the antilopine kangaroo (Osphranter antilopinus). These kangaroo species are abundant in Australia, with a total population estimated to range between 30 million and 50 million, depending on drought and rainfall cycles. Their numbers have been considered so high that state-level governments have introduced controversial cull programs to reduce populations. Lesser-known varieties include the smallest macropod species in the world: the musky rat-kangaroo (Hypsiprymnodon moschatus), typically weighing around just 500 grams (1.1 pounds); the critically endangered Gilbert’s poteroo (Potorous gilbertii); and Australia’s only two species of tree-kangaroo, the Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) and the Bennett’s tree-kangaroo (D. bennettianus), which live in the forests of Far North Queensland. For the smaller species of kangaroo and wallaby, quokka, bettong and potoroo, which also belong to the macropod superfamily, the situation is dire. Six species of kangaroo have already gone extinct since the colonization of Australia, and 11 of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
In 2024, disasters displaced 2.4 million people within Bangladesh even as the International Monetary Fund predicts that rising seas could eliminate more than one-seventh of Bangladesh’s land area and nearly one-third of its food production by 2050. As environmental pressures drive people from their homes, researchers are examining the risks migrants face in the secondary cities where they relocate and whether these cities are equipped to accommodate growing numbers of climate-displaced people. To cope with increasing climate-related pressures, migration is often viewed as an adaptive strategy because moving away from areas exposed to hazards such as flooding, cyclones, river erosion and sea-level rise can help people reduce their exposure to climate risks and seek safer housing and more stable livelihoods. In these circumstances, urban informal settlements are often among the first destinations for displaced people. Yet, in Bangladesh, these settlements are risky in nature because of the structural formation, and the residents are exposed to various hazards. This raises a broader question: Are the cities receiving climate migrants equipped to support a safer, more stable future or leaving them more exposed? A new study published in Climate and Development on climate migrants living in informal settlements in southwestern Bangladesh examines what happens to migrants after relocation to secondary settlements. The study findings suggest that moving away from regions affected by climate hazards does not necessarily mean moving toward safety, particularly when urban planning and social protection systems fail to account for their needs. In Shariatpur district, Billal Hossain breaks his…This article was originally published on Mongabay
Federal civil servants in environmental and Indigenous affairs fear a resurgence of the intimidation and institutional harassment they faced under the administration of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) if his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, wins the presidency in Brazil. The candidate has announced that he will eliminate “environmental hurdles” so rural landowners can do “whatever they want on their land.” “We literally have a target in the middle of our forehead,” Tânia Maria de Souza, president of the federal environmental civil servants’ association, Ascema, told Mongabay. “It’s déjà vu.” The Bolsonaro administration brought a relentless series of actions against the environment and Indigenous rights. Bolsonaro refused to demarcate any Indigenous territories, fulfilling his 2018 campaign pledge, while deforestation and violence against Indigenous groups and public servants escalated alongside measures to open Indigenous lands to mining and agribusiness in clear violation of the Federal Constitution. “It was traumatic,”Alexandre Bahia Gontijo, former director of Ascema and former president of Asibama-DF, which represents IBAMA civil servants in the Federal District, said of the Bolsonaro administration. “Everyone is extremely apprehensive.” Activists call Flávio’s agenda “the return of the cattle herd,” referencing a 2020 statement by then-Environment Minister Ricardo Salles that the COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity to “let the cattle herd run through” by changing environmental rules and regulations without drawing scrutiny from the National Congress and the press. Former Environment Minister Ricardo Salles left, with former President Jair Bolsonaro (right). Image courtesy of Marcos Corrêa/PR. Flávio finished first in the opening round…This article was originally published on Mongabay
MEXICO CITY — In early October, Mexico’s environment ministry published a statement about minimizing infrastructure development inside the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, a protected area on the Caribbean coast. But environmental groups say road construction continues to move forward there, threatening mangroves, cenote sinkholes, and dunes. The courts should address a lawsuit filed by local communities to halt the road construction and repair ecological damage, they said. They added that while the statement by the ministry, formally the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), is hopeful, it doesn’t provide the same legal guarantees as a court ruling. “We want certainty for the communities that, first, the project is canceled, and second, that they repair the damage already done,” Viridiana Maldonado, co-coordinator with Territorios Diversos para la Vida, an environmental NGO that supports Indigenous peoples defending the environment, told Mongabay. “Because a good part of the project is already built, the damage is done. They cut down mangroves, they cut down forest, they interrupted hydrological flows.” The Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve covers more than 528,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) of mangroves, rainforests, and dunes in the southern state of Quintana Roo. It received UNESCO World Heritage status in 1987 and provides extensive habitat to jaguars (Panthera onca), Central American tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), and hundreds of migratory birds, among other species. The reserve also has 47 community-based tourism initiatives and 140 permits for tourism and recreational activities, according to Semarnat. The Puerta al Mar (“Door to the Sea”) project underway in…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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