Brazil’s president asked God to halt the devastating rains that have killed at least 116 people in a southern state and offered new plans on Monday to help tens of thousands of people rebuild ruined homes and businesses.
Continuing rains have hindered rescuers’ attempts to find bodies of more victims claimed by the mudslides and floods in Santa Catarina state while making it tough for survivors to return home, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on his weekly radio show.
“We’re only asking God to stop the rains soon so that we can start to rebuild the state of Santa Catarina,” he said.
Thirty-one people are still missing, and some officials have estimated the death count could rise to as much as 150.
About 80,000 people were forced from their homes by storms that dumped more water on the region during the weekend of Nov. 22 to Nov. 23 than it normally gets in months. Another 8,000 people were displaced in neighboring Rio de Janeiro state.
Lula called for a study on the causes of the tragedy, saying that heavy rains alone should not have been able to cause such devastation.
Meanwhile, the country plans to boost spending and programs to significantly slow destruction of the Amazon rain forest by 2017, aiming to reduce global warming by slashing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted when trees are burned.
The plan would reduce deforestation to 5,000km² a year, an area the size of the US state of Delaware, Lula said on Monday — setting Brazil’s first ever concrete goal to slow rain forest destruction.
That represents a 59 percent decline over the 12,000km² of jungle that were destroyed between last August and July, the last yearly period for which data was available.
Environment Minister Carlos Minc said the plan would slow destruction by 72 percent when compared to the 19,000km² lost on average each year between 1996 and 2005.
The new proposal would boost federal patrols of forested areas, replant 5.5 million hectares of forest, and finance sustainable development projects to give locals alternative work in areas where illegal logging dominates the economy.
“We need to offer help them with one hand, but with the other we have to tell them there will be punishment if they don’t pay attention to environmental preservation,” Lula said, without describing those penalties.
He did not say how much the plan would cost.
Deforestation — both the burning and rotting of Amazon wood — releases an estimated 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, making Brazil at least the sixth biggest emitter of the gas in the world.
Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.” Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals. Despite the slow start —
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
MILITARY’S MAN: Myint Swe was diagnosed with neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, and had authorized another to perform his duties Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died yesterday, the military said. He was 74. He died at a military hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, in the morning, Myanmar’s military information office said in a statement. Myint Swe’s death came more than a year after he stopped carrying out his presidential duties after he was publicly reported to be ailing. His funeral is to be held at the state level, but the date had not been disclosed, a separate statement from the
RSS