Feature

The week at a glance...Americas

Americas

Arjona, Colombia
Killed at bullfight: Two spectators were gored to death and dozens injured at a bullfight in northern Colombia this week. One man was gored through the heart, while another was tossed on a bull’s horns and then dragged around the ring. Unlike Spanish bullfights, in which a single matador in the ring faces down a bull and kills it, Colombian bullfights allow spectators to run or ride horseback around the field. The bulls are not killed, but spectator participants often are. “It is a party that is open to the people, and the people have the right to enjoy it all,” said spectator José Miguel Gutiérrez. 

Brasília, Brazil
Maids are people too: Domestic workers in Brazil now have the same rights as other workers. A law passed unanimously this week gives the country’s estimated 7 million maids and cooks the right to be paid overtime if they work more than eight hours a day or 44 hours a week. Other provisions make it much more difficult for households to pay domestics under the table. “It’s the second abolition of slavery,” said union head Eliana Menezes. “We have housemaids who work 18 hours a day.” Middle-class Brazilian families have traditionally had a daily maid to do all the housework and laundry, but many have cut back in recent years as maids’ wages rose.

Rio de Janeiro
No rain forest beef: Hoping to prevent Amazon deforestation, Brazilian grocery stores say they will no longer sell beef from cattle raised on land clear-cut from the rain forests. Brazil is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of beef, and an area of the Amazon larger than France has been cleared to create pastureland for cattle ranching. The Brazilian Association of Supermarkets signed an agreement to certify suppliers and reject meat from deforested regions. Critics said that compliance would likely be spotty since there is no independent body to certify the origin of beef.

Recommended

ChatGPT taken offline in Italy over privacy concerns
A ChatGPT logo with an Italian flag.
Turning Off The Tech

ChatGPT taken offline in Italy over privacy concerns

10 things you need to know today: April 1, 2023
The aftermath of a tornado in Arkansas.
Daily briefing

10 things you need to know today: April 1, 2023

Is the U.S. culpable in Mexico's deadly migrant fire?
Memorial.
Today's big question

Is the U.S. culpable in Mexico's deadly migrant fire?

Finland clears final hurdle for NATO membership, will be admitted by July
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Done Deal

Finland clears final hurdle for NATO membership, will be admitted by July

Most Popular

Millions of Americans poised to lose Medicaid coverage on April 1
Doctor holding clipboard.
healthcare at risk

Millions of Americans poised to lose Medicaid coverage on April 1

A plant-filled home could help prevent infections, study finds
Person watering house plants
plant prevention

A plant-filled home could help prevent infections, study finds

Bachelor creator left after racial discrimination investigation
Mike Fleiss
final rose

Bachelor creator left after racial discrimination investigation