Tropical storm “Agatha” has left nearly 200 dead across Central America, as a new study warns of a grave toll on local farmers from global climate change.
At its annual convention in Denver, the National Congress of American Indians spoke strongly against the Trump administration’s decision to halt the restoration of ancestral lands to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts, invoking a return to the disastrous policies of the “termination era.” At issue are 321 acres where the Wampanoag sought to build a casino. The US Interior Department issued a decision in 2015 to take the lands into trust for the trib, and ground was broken on the casino the following year. But opponents challenged the land transfer in the courts. In April 2016, a federal judge found the Interior decision had bypassed the Supreme Court’s 2009 ruling in Carcieri v Salazar, concerning a land recovery effort by the Narragansett Indian Nation of Rhode Island. In the Carcieri case, the high court ruled that the federal government had no power to grant land in trust for tribes recognized after passage of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. In September of this year, the Interior decision was reversed by Tara Sweeney, the new assistant secretary for Indian Affairs. Sweeney determined that the Mashpee Wampanoag-—whose ancestors welcomed some of the first settlers to the Americas more than 300 years ago—could not have their homelands restored because they were only federally recognized in 2007. (Photo: Indianz.com)
Up to 25 bodies, thought to be the victims of Mexico’s ongoing narco-violence, have been found in an abandoned silver mine at Taxco de Alarcón in the southern state of Guerrero.
Colombia’s ruling-party presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos has won the first round—amid complaints about vote-buying, fraud, violence and other irregularities.
Up to 16 people have been killed as Israeli naval commandos boarded aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip. The six-ship aid convoy led by a Turkish vessel has 600 people on board.
Reports in the London Times and Israeli press say Israel is to deploy three submarines armed with nuclear-equipped cruise missiles in the Persian Gulf.
Violence is rising in eastern Turkey since imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan decided to abandon peace efforts and leave local commanders in charge of the conflict.
A worst case scenario for the Gulf of Mexico disaster is a greater eruption—possibly due to a nuclear detonation to contain the leak—releasing trillions of barrels of oil, and killing the oceans.
The government of Bolivia announced a preliminary study for a program of uranium exploration in Potosí department, and broached the possibility of uranium exports to Venezuela.
Four lion cubs freed under Bolivia’s circus-animal ban arrived in San Francisco, heading to a new life in a northern California refuge run by the Performing Animal Welfare Society.
Bolivian President Evo Morales says he will negotiate with the “Ayllus Guerreros” that have declared a “red zone” in Potosí department after the killing of four national police officers.
The Senate approved a $60 billion spending bill to support a “surge” in troops in Afghanistan. The vote comes as the number of US casualties in Afghanistan surpassed 1,000.
