The Take: Could a US-banned pesticide be behind mass sterilization?
Approximately 1,500 former banana workers in Costa Rica say a US-made pesticide has left them sterile. Though banned in the United States in the 1970s, the chemical DBCP was still used by US fruit companies in countries with lax regulations. Decades later, those affected are still fighting for justice.
In this episode:
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolome with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Remas Alhawari, Khaled Soltan, Sari el-Khalili, Noor Wazwaz, and our guest host, Manuel Rapalo. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad Al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
US-backed GHF says Gaza aid sites remain shut as Israeli attacks kill 22
At least 22 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, medical sources told Al Jazeera, as the US-backed group distributing aid in the Palestinian territory said all its centres were closed until further notice. In northern Gaza, at least 10 people were killed in Israeli tank fire in Jabalia, local health authorities said. At least five people were killed in Khan Younis in southern Gaza when Israeli drones struck tents housing displaced people, medical sources said. A journalist who was wounded in an Israeli strike on Ahli Hospital on Thursday succumbed to their injures, raising the number of journalists killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war to 226, Gaza's Government Media Office said on Friday. The office called on 'all journalistic bodies in all countries of the world to condemn these systematic crimes against Palestinian journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip'. 'We also call on them to exert serious and effective pressure to stop the crime of genocide, protect journalists and media professionals in the Gaza Strip, and halt their killing,' it added. The attacks come as the US-backed group tasked with distributing aid in Gaza said its hubs would remain closed until further notice, despite a growing hunger crisis in the territory. Aid agencies have warned that all residents in Gaza face the threat of famine after Israel imposed a severe blockade on the territory in March, blocking the entry of food, medicine and fuel. Amid international pressure, Israel allowed some aid to enter Gaza last month, but aid groups have warned the amounts are inadequate. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a previously unknown group that is overseeing the aid distribution effort, advised people to stay away from the aid distribution hubs 'for their safety'. GHF, which began distributing aid last week, said in a Facebook post on Friday that details about reopening would be announced later. Operations at the group's aid distribution hubs were halted earlier this week following several incidents of deadly violence near the sites, in which Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers. Only two sites distributed aid on Thursday. On Sunday, thousands of people headed towards the distribution site hours before dawn. As they approached, Israeli forces ordered them to disperse and come back later. When the crowds reached the Flag Roundabout, 1km (0.6 mile) away, at about 3am, Israeli forces opened fire, witnesses said. 'There was fire from all directions, from naval warships, from tanks and drones,' said Amr Abu Teiba, who was in the crowd. Goher Rahbour, a surgeon working in Gaza's Khan Younis, told Al Jazeera that the bullets extracted from victims of the shooting near the aid distribution centre on Sunday were from M16 assault guns, consistent with those used by the Israeli military. 'I operated on two patients and we removed M16 bullets from abdominal injuries,' Rahbour told Al Jazeera. 'When I spoke to these patients, they were very clear to say they came from Israeli forces.' The surgeon also said hospitals were operating with little or no resources. 'There is a lack of everything – antibiotics, swabs, surgical instruments,' he said. The GHF's approach has been fiercely criticised by humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations. The GHF says private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on crowds. Israel's military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions. Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 54,677 Palestinians and wounded 125,530, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Thursday. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive. On Thursday, mediators Qatar and Egypt announced renewed efforts to secure a ceasefire deal based on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce and the entry of humanitarian aid. Previous ceasefire efforts have, however, repeatedly broken down over Israel's rejection of key terms. In past rounds of negotiations, Israel has walked back commitments related to a permanent halt to the war and a full withdrawal of its troops from Gaza.
Qatar Tribune
19 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli strikes kill at least 52 across Gaza
Agencies Gaza At least 52 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Thursday, medical sources told Al Jazeera, as a US-backed group said it would reopen two aid distribution centres in the war-torn Strip. At least seven people, including four journalists, were killed in an Israeli drone attack on Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, medical sources said. Palestinian health authorities confirmed the deaths of four journalists. Gaza's Government Media Office said the deaths raised the total number of journalists killed in Israel's war on Gaza since October 2023 to 224. The attack comes as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – a shadowy organisation backed by the United States and Israel – said it would open two aid distribution centres in the war-torn territory on Thursday after a full-day closure on Wednesday. It said in a post on Facebook that it would reopen two centres in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. It did not say when aid distribution would resume. The GHF earlier said its sites in Gaza would not open at their usual time due to maintenance and repair work and strongly urged aid seekers travelling to its locations to 'follow the routes' set by the Israeli military to 'ensure safe passage'. The Israeli military warned Palestinians on Wednesday not to approach GHF aid distribution sites while 'reorganisation work' was under way, saying that access roads to those locations would be 'considered combat zones'. The suspension of GHF's distribution of food supplies in Gaza comes after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians seeking aid for a fourth time near a GHF distribution site in Rafah, southern Gaza, early on Tuesday. The Israeli attack killed at least 27 people and injured about 90 more, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed that it received a 'mass casualty influx of 179 cases' after Sunday's attack, including 21 patients who were 'declared dead upon arrival'. Women and children were among the casualties, the group said.
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
UNICEF spokesman ‘shocked' by extent of malnutrition in Gaza
UNICEF spokesman James Elder, currently in Gaza, has described the 'horrors' he witnessed within just 24 hours. Speaking from al-Mawasi, Elder told Al Jazeera that Gaza's hospitals and streets are filled with malnourished children. 'I'm seeing teenage boys in tears, showing me their ribs,' he said, noting that children were pleading for food. He described people so desperate that they walk kilometres to aid centres – despite knowing 'massacres' have recently taken place there. 'Imagine knowing there'd be a massacre, but being so desperate to feed your family that you still go,' he said, blaming the Israel-US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for enabling the violence and then shutting down operations without delivering enough aid. (Agencies)
