Latin America Rising > Argentina opens protected areas to mining; Peru floats billion dollar bond for updating Callao Naval port

Argentina approves Glacier Law reform, opens protected areas to mining

By Mar Puig

   

A demonstrator faces off with police officers during a protest against Glacier Law reform near Congress in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Photo by Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA

April 9 (UPI) -- Argentina's Chamber of Deputies approved Thursday a reform of the Glacier Law that loosens environmental protections and allows new mining and hydrocarbon activities in previously restricted areas, the Office of the President of Argentina said.

With 137 votes in favor, 111 against and 3 abstentions, the initiative received final approval after a debate marked by tensions between those promoting investment to boost the economy and those warning of environmental risks.

The reform previously passed the Senate.

Argentina had been among the countries with the most restrictive glacier protection frameworks in the region under the previous law, enacted in 2010 during the administration of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

That legislation established broad protection over glaciers and periglacial zones, considered strategic freshwater reserves, and prohibited extractive activities and any intervention that could affect their natural function.

The new policy was promoted by the ruling La Libertad Avanza party of President Javier Milei.

The reform introduces selective glacier protection, limited to those considered essential for water supply. It eliminates the automatic protection of periglacial zones, which will now depend on specific technical studies, and allows mining and hydrocarbon development in previously restricted areas, subject to environmental impact assessments.

It also grants greater authority to provincial governments, which will be able to define which areas to protect and which to open, and reduces the role of the scientific system, as the National Glacier Inventory will no longer be binding and oversight will rest primarily with provincial authorities.

"This modification seeks to clarify concepts and strengthen the balance between environmental protection and development," ruling party lawmaker Nicolás Mayoraz said during the debate.

Opposition sectors warn that the changes could weaken environmental standards and create uneven criteria across jurisdictions.

Opposition lawmaker Sabrina Selva described the reform as "regressive" and warned it will generate interjurisdictional conflicts.

"This law is unconstitutional and will bring disputes between provinces," she said.

Environmental organizations such as Greenpeace, the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation and the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers announced they will file a joint suit to halt implementation.

"This reform puts access to water and ecosystems that depend on glaciers at risk," they said in a statement.

The debate focused on the role of glaciers as freshwater reserves in a country where water distribution is uneven. According to data cited by fact-checking site Chequeado, about 70% of Argentina's territory has arid or semi-arid conditions.

In addition to environmental groups, opposition leaders also criticized the reform.

Opposition Sen. Eduardo "Wado" de Pedro warned that "more than 7 million Argentines depend on glaciers and Andean snow as their main source of drinking water" and said the change "puts strategic resources at risk without guaranteeing benefits for the country."

De Pedro said the debate "is not only environmental, but also about sovereignty," and he argued that water protection is linked to regional development and the stability of provinces.

Data from the National Glacier Inventory of the Argentine Institute of Nivology, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences indicate there are about 17,000 ice bodies covering less than 0.25% of the continental territory, while mining activity is allowed in most of the country outside those protected areas.

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Peru to issue sovereign bonds for naval base project backed by U.S.

By Macarena Hermosilla

   

The Spanish Navy training ship Juan Sebastian Elcano, carrying Spanish Crown Princess Leonor, arrives in the port of El Callao in Peru in April 2025. File Photo by John Reyes/EPA

April 9 (UPI) -- Peru's government approved issuing sovereign bonds worth up to about $1.2 billion to finance expansion and modernization of its main naval base in Callao, according to an official decree published Thursday.

The project, to be carried out by the Ministry of Defense, is seen as a key step to strengthen Peru's operational capacity and expand its maritime commercial activity in the Pacific.

The military infrastructure upgrade is supported by a recent approval from the U.S. Department of State for sale of equipment and services valued at $1.5 billion for this phase of the project.

Washington will provide design, equipment and construction services to ensure the infrastructure meets international interoperability standards.

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The U.S.-approved financing will be channeled through the Foreign Military Sales program, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers serving as the main contractor.

The U.S. Department of State notified Congress about the plan, noting that the initiative will strengthen a strategic ally in South America and support Washington's foreign policy objectives, CNN Chile reported.

The new base aims to modernize the operational capabilities of the Peruvian Navy amid growing trade in the Pacific. Plans include submarine berths and new command buildings for strategic control of the South Pacific.

The expansion will also include new docks and is expected to free up 198 acres for commercial development at the Port of Callao.

The proximity between the naval base and the Chancay megaport, developed with Chinese capital, has sparked debate, placing two global powers within less than 50 miles along Peru's central coast, according to Infobae.

Previously, the United States warned that Peru could be losing sovereignty after a court ruling that limits state oversight of the Chancay port, operated by COSCO Shipping, describing the situation as a "regional warning."

The infrastructure will remain under exclusive Peruvian ownership, though up to 20 U.S. experts are expected to be present for up to 10 years to oversee construction and technical cooperation.

According to the decree, the sovereign bonds will be issued in local currency, with semiannual interest payments and placement through market auctions. The securities will be freely tradable and may be issued in one or more tranches during the execution of the project.

Peru's Ministry of Economy and Finance is to execute the operation, while payments of principal, interest and related costs will be covered through national budget allocations for public debt servicing.

Islam in Europe > Germany turning away 95% of Syrian asylum seekers; Moroccan Muslim suddenly turns violent in Spain

 

Germany rejecting 95% of Syrian asylum claims – media

Approval rates for asylum have reportedly dropped from around 90% in previous years to 5%

Published 10 Apr, 2026 16:18 | Updated 10 Apr, 2026 17:20

©  Falk Heller/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Germany has rejected 95% of all new asylum applications from Syrian migrants following a policy reassessment of the Middle Eastern country, according to media reports, citing an official document.

The change represents a stark reversal from the peak of the influx in 2014-2015, when recognition rates for Syrians frequently exceeded 90%. Germany emerged as a primary destination for Syrians fleeing war, driven by the open-door policy of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The country has since become home to one of the largest Syrian diasporas in Europe, with estimates putting the population at close to 1 million.

The figures come from a German government reply to a parliamentary inquiry by Left party lawmaker Clara Bunger, reported by multiple media outlets on Thursday.

According to the document, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is now applying stricter case-by-case assessments. In October 2025, the BAMF ruled on 3,134 Syrian asylum applications, granting protection to just 26 applicants across all categories. Recognition rates reportedly remain higher for some minorities, including Yazidis, Christians, and Alawites.

READ MORE: Majority of Syrian migrants should return home – Merz

The policy shift came after former jihadist commander Ahmed al-Sharaa seized power in 2024, toppling Syria’s longtime leader, Bashar Assad. The German authorities argue that broad protection is no longer justified, with decisions increasingly based on individual risk rather than general insecurity.

After meeting al-Sharaa in Berlin in late March, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said up to 80% of Syrians living in Germany could return home over the next three years, describing it as part of a joint effort to support reconstruction.

Merz later backtracked, saying the figure was proposed by the Syrian side – a claim that al-Sharaa said was exaggerated and did not reflect his position.

The government’s shift in migration policy comes amid pressure from right-wing parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which portrays migrants, particularly from outside Europe, as a burden on public services and a driver of crime and social strife.

It also follows a series of violent crimes involving asylum seekers, including a 2024 knife attack in Solingen in which a Syrian national fatally stabbed three people and injured eight others.

Moroccan Muslim in Spain Says ‘All Christians Must Die,’ Attacks Three Roma With an Axe

Apr 10, 2026 2:00 pm By Hugh Fitzgerald10 Comments

In southern Spain, a Moroccan in the country as a seasonal worker attacked three people on the street with an axe. All three were Roma (Gypsies). The attacker thought they were Christians. As he later explained his motives to the police, he “felt the call of Allah” and that “all Christians must die.”

Devout Muslims are easily triggered into extreme violence and feel fully justified in doing so.

Moroccan Man Arrested After Axe Attack on Three Neighbors in Granada, Spain: ‘All Christians Must Die,'

 by Maria Herrera Mellado, Gateway Hispanic, April 7, 2026:

A shocking incident occurred on Monday, April 6, 2026, in the town of Montefrío (Granada, Andalusia), where a 45-year-old man of Moroccan origin attacked three local residents with an axe.

The Attack

The assault took place around 11:00 a.m. on Fuente y Prado street. The victims — two women and a 69-year-old man, all of Roma (gitano) ethnicity — were walking along the street when the attacker approached them without warning and assaulted them with an axe.

He first struck the elderly man, who tried to defend himself with his walking cane. He then attacked the two women. One suffered a head trauma, while the other sustained severe hand injuries, including the amputation of a finger. One of the female victims was seriously injured.

Emergency services, including a medical helicopter, attended to the wounded, who were transferred to hospital.

The Suspect and His Statements

The attacker, a Moroccan citizen working as a seasonal farm laborer (temporero) in the area, fled the scene. He hid among olive groves and caused a minor traffic accident with no injuries during his escape. The Guardia Civil arrested him around midday.

According to several media outlets, during his transfer to police custody, the detainee stated that he had “felt the call of Allah” and that “all Christians must die.”

The authorities are investigating the case as a crime of grievous bodily harm with possible radical motives. The investigation is ongoing….

The integration of this large community presents persistent difficulties. Although the majority of resident Moroccans contribute through work and live orderly lives, real problems are documented in various reports and incidents…

This Moroccan would-be murderer of Christians (“Christians must die”) did “contribute through work” and lived an “orderly life”… until he didn’t. Then he heard in his head what his religion taught him: that Christians were, like all non-Muslims, “the most vile of created beings,” and unless they accepted their status as dhimmis, should be killed. Voices in his head. Memories of Qur’anic verses and sermons against Christians at Friday Prayers, that he heard as a child and heard still in the makeshift mosques in Spain he attended, or in the mosques of Morocco, whenever he, a temporary worker, returned to his home country.

Muslim migrants in Spain commit crimes far more often than do the indigenous Christians. They are “over-represented” especially in crimes of violence — robberies accompanied by violence, random assaults on the indigenous Spanish “just to teach them who is boss,” sexual assaults including rape, and murder.

The indigenous Spanish resent the amounts spent on social services for the nearly one million Muslim migrants now in Spain, including subsidized housing and free medical care for many, leaving less for themselves. Those migrants are taught in their mosques what the authorities claim are “extremist” ideologies — really, it is simply orthodox Islam, and the name “radical” is given to those Muslim migrants who choose to act on what Islam teaches.

How are Spanish authorities, meanwhile, supposed to monitor their huge migrant population for “radicalization”? Do they have Arabic-speaking personnel who can monitor everything said by the imams in the mosques? Or who can monitor the social media posts of all these immigrants for signs of “radicalization”? And what makes the Spanish officials think that if they did have such personnel,, the Muslims would allow them into their mosques? Wouldn’t it make more sense to simply study the contents of the Qur’an, and the most authoritative hadith, those compiled by Bukhari and Muslim, which together are surely the surest guides to Muslim attitudes toward Christians?

Given how many problems the Muslims from North Africa are causing in Spain, why shouldn’t Madrid choose to keep the North Africans out, and to replace them with temporary workers from Central and South America who, both as Catholics and as native speakers of Spanish, would have little difficulty integrating into the Spanish milieu?

Big Pharma > More damning evidence against Covid vaccines

 

Norwegian, Czech, & Aussie evidence on COVID vaccine harm in youth

Raphael Lataster (BPharm, PhD)

Apr 09, 2026

A big study on Norway’s adolescents (Larsen et al) published in the prestigious Scientific Reports journal adds to the growing concerns about damage done to our youth by the - typically unnecessary - COVID-19 vaccines, violating that first principle of medical ethics, primum non nocere (first, do no harm), which all physicians are taught, and which I learned at pharmacy school. The Norwegians found: “Increased IRRs [adverse event incident rate ratios] of anaphylactic reaction, lymphadenopathy, appendicitis, and myocarditis and pericarditis were observed following second-dose vaccination.” The numbers tell an interesting story with myocarditis/pericarditis showing a 5x incidence, and a whopping 37x incidence in 12-15 year olds. Of course, ‘they’ will tell us this is fine, with even the authors constantly referring to how rare these events are and claiming that they “confirm the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine safety”. Source.

As ever, I’ll let you decide if that’s worth the risk. If you know what the risk even is… The main observation window was 28 days. So how you can conclude that we have good long-term safety is beyond me. Am I unreasonable here? Well, the authors themselves admit to finding events after the initial windows, further acknowledging: “The risk windows might be inappropriate, with some estimates increased post-risk window. This could indicate that risk windows were too brief, or a general IR increase over time.” You don’t say? Reminds me of the ‘how long is this shit in me’ issue, where we were told by our experts and leaders that it stays in the body body for just a couple of days, and then as we keep looking we keep finding longer timeframes, like years. You can’t find what you don’t look for. But hey, I maybe expect too much, apparently we should be cool that after billions were injected with the ‘safe and effectives’ we start to look into whether these things are safe long-term or not, and that includes Pfizer’s ongoing trial!

Okay then.

Oh, and there’s more evidence, which just keeps piling up. Of course, we already pretty much knew that the jabs cause HEAPS of serious adverse events, which you could hardly call rare, and that both the science and government policy changes indicate a growing realisation that the risks outweigh the benefits for at least the young and healthy. And that the net benefits aren’t even that clear in the elderly. But there is also the possibility for subclinical myocarditis (we already knew about the raised troponin) revealed via raised NT-proBNP, as found recently by a Czech research team (Dlouhý et al). Source. This could lead to cardiovascular issues including deaths months or even years later. But enjoy your 28-day counting window…

For completeness, we already knew that we had to take the ‘adverse events are transient’ claim with a grain of salt. But there’s also this Australian study I overlooked in 2024 (Shenton et al) revealing that for myocarditis cases following COVID-19 vaccination “around half of patients still experience symptoms at 6 months”. Source. Mild and transient, huh? It could take many more years before we learn the full cost of this ongoing experiment. Just makes you want to roll up your - and your child’s - sleeves for another booster shot, doesn’t it? Gotta save grandma…

Okay then.

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