Acapulco, Mexico
Developers blamed: As the national death toll from last week’s two hurricanes rose to 130, Mexican activists blamed poor flood planning and corrupt development for exacerbating the destruction. Landslides that buried entire villages in mud occurred, they said, because developers pay off politicians to get logging and building permits in unsafe areas. “We develop in unbuildable locations, we build with garbage, and we design without planning,” said law professor Jesús Silva-Herzog Márquez in Reforma.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
São Paulo
Nun killer sentenced: A wealthy Brazilian rancher has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for ordering the 2005 killing of American-born nun Dorothy Stang. It’s the fourth trial for Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, who appealed two earlier convictions and had an acquittal overturned, and his lawyer says he’ll appeal this verdict. Stang, 73 when she was killed, worked as an environmental and human rights activist in Brazil for decades, trying to preserve the Amazon rain forest and defend the rights of workers. One of the hit men convicted of shooting her was freed this year after serving six years of a 27-year sentence.
Rio de Janeiro
Where is Amarildo? The disappearance of a father of six has become a flash point for protests against alleged abuses by police in the slums of Rio. Amarildo Gomes da Silva, 43, was heading out to buy groceries when he was stopped by police officers at a checkpoint in Rio’s Rocinha favela in July, and he never returned. His wife, Elizabete, launched a nationwide campaign to demand that authorities account for her husband’s whereabouts, and the question “Where is Amarildo?” now appears on posters at every Brazilian protest and all over social media. So-called Pacification Police Units were created to take back the slums from drug lords ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s voidFeature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War DepartmentFeature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Supreme Court: Will it allow Trump’s tariffs?Feature Justices fast-track Trump’s appeal to see if his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
-
The news at a glance...Internationalfeature International
-
The bottom line
feature Youthful startup founders; High salaries for anesthesiologists; The myth of too much homework; More mothers stay a home; Audiences are down, but box office revenue rises
-
The week at a glance...Americas
feature Americas
-
The news at a glance...United States
feature United States
-
The news at a glance
feature Comcast defends planned TWC merger; Toyota recalls 6.39 million vehicles; Takeda faces $6 billion in damages; American updates loyalty program; Regulators hike leverage ratio
-
The bottom line
feature The rising cost of graduate degrees; NSA surveillance affects tech profits; A glass ceiling for female chefs?; Bonding to a brand name; Generous Wall Street bonuses
-
The news at a glance
feature GM chief faces Congress; FBI targets high-frequency trading; Yellen confirms continued low rates; BofA settles mortgage claims for $9.3B; Apple and Samsung duke it out
-
The week at a glance...International
feature International