Hello and welcome to Ekō News. A generous donor has pledged to match the next 25 paid subscriptions to the newsletters with donations to Ekō. That’s enough to power the newsletter for two months. Would you consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help us continue our work? We’re almost at our goal! Just click the button below. Amazon defenseAna Laide Soares Barbosa’s Movimento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre is part of the Volta Grande do Xingu Alliance, a coalition aimed at protecting the Amazon region from development (Ekō is also a member). We wanted to hear from Ana about the work she did in 2025, and where the alliance is headed this year. Can you tell us about your work in 2025? Our work was carried out on two fronts, namely:
What is the status of the Belo Sun project? Are you working to block it? The Belo Sun project’s license has currently been shelved by the Pará State Environment Secretariat. The agreement between the Belo Sun company and the Institute of Agrarian Reform (INCRA), which ceded approximately 2,400 hectares of the PA Ressaca settlement, was annulled by the federal judge of the Altamira-PA court and ratified by the judge who took over the case when it was contested by the mining company. This case is awaiting an appeal decision. In the second week of December, Belo Sun was the target of a protest by Indigenous women from the Middle Xingu. This demonstration resulted in the submission of guidelines questioning the studies and consultations carried out with the communities surrounding the project. The results of the political and legal incidents were supported by the groundwork and research carried out through my work in the field, as well as the occupation of the agrarian reform plots granted by INCRA to Belo Sun. How can Ekō’s audience help?
In other newsEye on the next prize US President Donald Trump’s threats after the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are escalating. Invading Greenland, long a target of Trump’s, appears to be an option on the table for the White House. That’s led longstanding allies in Europe to make contingency plans and to brace themselves for the end of NATO. “We would like to add some nuance to the conversation,. The shouting match must be replaced by a more sensible dialogue. Now.”—Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (the New York Times) (the Guardian) Resurgence of danger Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is raising fears that violence in the region could escalate. Congolese authorities blamed Rwandan militants for the attacks near the city of Uvira, claiming the groups are responsible for at least 1,500 civilian deaths since the beginning of December. Locals just want an end to the violence, they told Al Jazeera last month. “We don’t know anything about the political process they are talking about. The only thing we need is peace. Anyone able to provide us with peace is welcome here. For the rest, we as citizens, we don’t care about it.”—Uvira resident Feza Mariam (Africa News) (DW) (Al Jazeera) Here’s your campaign of the dayTrump has invaded Venezuela, abducted its sitting president, and announced that it intends to take over its oil operations. But despite Trump’s claims that American fossil fuel giants will “fix” Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, none of the companies have spoken out in favour of Trump’s plan yet. That includes Chevron, the only US oil company currently operating in Venezuela. How Chevron responds could either spell the end of Venezuelan sovereignty, or stop Trump’s disastrous plan in its tracks. We can still end this invasion before it escalates further, but only if there’s overwhelming pressure on Chevron to reject the plan. Thanks for reading! Ekō News is a project from Ekō. Read more about our work here. You're currently a free subscriber to Ekō News. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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