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Euronews
3 days ago
- Euronews
Friends complete book of environmental journalist killed in the Amazon
After British journalist Dom Phillips was killed while researching an ambitious book on how to protect the world's largest rainforest, friends vowed to finish the project. Three years later, their task is complete. 'How to Save the Amazon' published yesterday (28 May) in Brazil and the UK ahead of its US release on 10 June. It was pieced together by fellow journalists who immersed themselves in Phillips' notes, outlines and the handful of chapters he'd already written. The resulting book pairs Phillips' own writing with others' contributions in a powerful examination of the cause for which he gave his life. In addition to the core group who led the work on finishing the book, other colleagues and friends helped to edit chapters, including AP journalists Fabiano Maisonnave and David Biller. Phillips, who had been a regular contributor to The Guardian newspaper, was taking one of the final reporting trips planned for his book when he was gunned down by fishermen on 5 June 2022, in western Amazon's Javari Valley. Also killed was Bruno Pereira, a Brazilian expert on Indigenous tribes who had made enemies in the region for defending the local communities from intruding fishermen, poachers and illegal gold miners. Their deaths made headlines around the world. Nine people have been indicted in the killings. 'It was just a horrifying, really sad moment. Everybody was trying to think: How can you deal with something like this? And the book was there,' said Jonathan Watts, an Amazon-based environmental writer for The Guardian who co-authored the foreword and one of the chapters. With the blessing of Phillips' widow, Alessandra Sampaio, a group of five friends agreed to carry the project forward. The group led by Watts also included Andrew Fishman, the Rio-based president of The Intercept Brasil; Phillips' agent, Rebecca Carter; David Davies, a colleague from his days in London as a music journalist; and Tom Hennigan, Latin America correspondent for The Irish Times. 'It was a way to not just feel awful about what had happened, but to get on with something. Especially because so many of Dom's friends are journalists,' Watts said. 'And what you fall back on is what you know best, which is journalism.' By the time of his death, Phillips had travelled extensively across the Amazon and had completed an introduction and nearly four of the 10 planned chapters. He also left behind an outline of the remaining chapters, with different degrees of detail, and many pages of handwritten notes, some of them barely legible. 'I think it's fair to say even Dom didn't yet know what he would do exactly in those chapters,' Watts said. Phillips was searching for hope. He promised his editors a character-driven travel book in which readers would get to know a wide-ranging cast of people living in the area, 'all of whom know and understand the Amazon intimately and have innovative solutions for the millions of people who live there.' The group led by Watts selected writers for the remaining chapters, with subjects ranging from a bioeconomy initiative in Brazil's Acre state to global funding for rainforest preservation. Indigenous leader Beto Marubo of the Javari Valley was recruited to co-write an afterword. The team also launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to pay for more reporting trips. Among the group's challenges was ensuring that the book reflected a political shift in Brazil's approach to the Amazon in the years since Phillips' death. Most of Phillips' research was done during the term of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, as Brazil's Amazon deforestation reached a 15-year high in 2021. The pace of destruction slowed after Bolsonaro's 2022 defeat by leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Throughout the finished book's more than 300 pages, fragments of hope mix with grim realities. In Chapter 2, 'Cattle Chaos,' Phillips notes that 16 per cent of Brazil's Amazon has already been converted to pasture. Even a farmer who has become a model for successfully increasing productivity without clearing most of his land is criticised for his widespread use of fertilisers. In his chapter on bioeconomy, journalist Jon Lee Anderson visits a reforestation initiative where Benki Piyãko, an Ashaninka leader, promotes environmental restoration coupled with ayahuasca treatment and a fish farm. But the veteran reporter doesn't see how it can be scalable and reproducible given man-made threats and climate change. Later in the chapter, he quotes Marek Hanusch, a German economist for the World Bank, as saying: 'At the end of the day, deforestation is a macroeconomic choice, and so long as Brazil's growth model is based on agriculture, you're going to see expansion into the Amazon.' In the foreword, the group of five organizers state that 'Like Dom, none of us was under any illusion that our writing would save the Amazon, but we could certainly follow his lead in asking the people who might know.' But in this book stained by blood and dim hope, there is another message, according to Watts: 'The most important thing is that this is all about solidarity with our friend and with journalism in general.' The European Union and six of its member states formally ratified the United Nations treaty to protect the high seas on Wednesday in New York. This international agreement is seen as a critical opportunity to safeguard parts of the ocean that lie beyond national maritime borders. The latest wave of ratifications comes ahead of the landmark UN Ocean Conference, scheduled to take place in Nice, France, in early June. EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, described the move as a 'historic step towards protecting the world's oceans and preserving the delicate balance of our planet's ecosystem.' Ratification means that the EU and the six individual member states have formally agreed to the treaty becoming binding international law. This often involves aligning national legislation with what the treaty outlines. In April, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive that would transpose the High Seas Treaty into European law. The High Seas Treaty has the potential to bring about a significant shift in global ocean conservation efforts. Areas beyond national jurisdiction -including the high seas and seabed -cover nearly two-thirds of the world's oceans. These regions face increasing threats from pollution, overexploitation, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Currently, only about 1 per cent of the high seas is protected. Following years of negotiations, a global consensus on the need to protect the high seas was reached in March 2023. The text of the treaty was formally adopted in June 2023 at the UN headquarters in New York. The agreement paves the way for protecting marine life in areas outside of national maritime boundaries. It allows for the creation of marine protected areas and supports the global goal of safeguarding at least 30 per cent of the world's oceans by 2030. Classified as a 'mixed agreement,' the treaty needs to be ratified by both the EU and its individual member states separately. On Wednesday, Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, and Slovenia joined the EU in submitting their ratification. France and Spain had already ratified the treaty earlier this year. To come into force, the treaty requires ratification by 60 parties. With these latest additions, the number of ratifications has reached 28. A total of 115 countries have signed the treaty, indicating their potential commitment to ratification. The EU is urging all remaining parties to ratify the agreement without delay, in the hope of securing the 60 ratifications required for it to enter into force by the time of the UN Ocean Conference in Nice. Nathalie Rey, European Regional Coordinator for the High Seas Alliance, described the EU's action as a 'powerful acceleration' toward meeting the ratification threshold just days before the summit. 'EU leadership is essential in confronting the biodiversity and climate crises. This bold move sends a clear message that ocean protection is not optional - it's a global priority,' she said.
4 days ago
A journalist was killed while writing a book on the Amazon. Here's how friends completed his work
BRASILIA, Brazil -- After British journalist Dom Phillips was shot and killed while researching an ambitious book on how to protect the world's largest rainforest, friends vowed to finish the project. Three years later, their task is complete. 'How to Save the Amazon,' published Tuesday in Brazil and England ahead of its U.S. release, was pieced together by fellow journalists who immersed themselves in Phillips' notes, outlines and the handful of chapters he'd already written. The resulting book, scheduled to be published in the U.S. on June 10, pairs Phillips' own writing with others' contributions in a powerful examination of the cause for which he gave his life. In addition to the core group who led the work on finishing the book, other colleagues and friends helped to edit chapters, including The Associated Press journalists Fabiano Maisonnave and David Biller. Phillips, who had been a regular contributor to The Guardian newspaper, was taking one of the final reporting trips planned for his book when he was gunned down by fishermen on June 5, 2022, in western Amazon's Javari Valley. Also killed was Bruno Pereira, a Brazilian expert on Indigenous tribes who had made enemies in the region for defending the local communities from intruding fishermen, poachers and illegal gold miners. Their deaths made headlines around the world. Nine people have been indicted in the killings. 'It was just a horrifying, really sad moment. Everybody was trying to think: How can you deal with something like this? And the book was there,' said Jonathan Watts, an Amazon-based environmental writer for The Guardian who coauthored the foreword and one of the chapters. Under the leadership of Phillips' widow, Alessandra Sampaio, a group of five friends agreed to carry the project forward. Along with Watts, the core group also included Andrew Fishman, the Rio-based president of The Intercept Brasil; Phillips' agent, Rebecca Carter; David Davies, a colleague from his days in London as a music journalist; and Tom Hennigan, Latin America correspondent for The Irish Times. 'It was a way to not just feel awful about what had happened, but to get on with something. Especially because so many of Dom's friends are journalists,' Watts said. 'And what you fall back on is what you know best, which is journalism.' By the time of his death, Phillips had traveled extensively across the Amazon and had completed an introduction and nearly four of the 10 planned chapters. He also left behind an outline of the remaining chapters, with different degrees of detail, and many pages of handwritten notes, some of them barely legible. 'I think it's fair to say even Dom didn't yet know what he would do exactly in those chapters,' Watts said. Phillips was searching for hope. He promised his editors a character-driven travel book in which readers would get to know a wide-ranging cast of people living in the area, 'all of whom know and understand the Amazon intimately and have innovative solutions for the millions of people who live there.' The group led by Sampaio selected writers for the remaining chapters, with subjects ranging from a bioeconomy initiative in Brazil's Acre state to global funding for rainforest preservation. Indigenous leader Beto Marubo of the Javari Valley was recruited to co-write an afterword. The team also launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to pay for more reporting trips. Among the group's challenges was ensuring that the book reflected a political shift in Brazil's approach to the Amazon in the years since Phillips' death. Most of Phillips' research was done during the term of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, as Brazil's Amazon deforestation reached a 15-year high in 2021. The pace of destruction slowed after Bolsonaro's 2022 defeat by leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Throughout the finished book's more than 300 pages, fragments of hope mix with grim realities. In Chapter 2, 'Cattle Chaos,' Phillips notes that 16% of Brazil's Amazon has already been converted to pasture. Even a farmer who has become a model for successfully increasing productivity without clearing most of his land is criticized for his widespread use of fertilizers. In his chapter on bioeconomy, journalist Jon Lee Anderson visits a reforestation initiative where Benki Piyãko, an Ashaninka leader, promotes environmental restoration coupled with ayahuasca treatment and a fish farm. But the veteran reporter doesn't see how it can be scalable and reproducible given man-made threats and climate change. Later in the chapter, he quotes Marek Hanusch, a German economist for the World Bank, as saying: 'At the end of the day, deforestation is a macroeconomic choice, and so long as Brazil's growth model is based on agriculture, you're going to see expansion into the Amazon.' In the foreword, the group of five organizers state that 'Like Dom, none of us was under any illusion that our writing would save the Amazon, but we could certainly follow his lead in asking the people who might know.' But in this book stained by blood and dim hope, there is another message, according to Watts: 'The most important thing is that this is all about solidarity with our friend and with journalism in general.'
Fox Sports
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox Sports
Brazil soccer to pick new president shortly before introducing Ancelotti
Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — The Brazilian Football Confederation will pick a new president shortly before it introduces Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti as the new national coach. CBF vice president Fernando Sarney, who was named by a judge as the caretaker president after Ednaldo Rodrigues was removed from office, announced on Friday that the vote will take place on May 25, the same day as the last round of the Spanish league. When Rodrigues was in charge, Ancelotti was expected to arrive the next day at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro to announce his squad for two World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June. The coach has confirmed his move to Brazil at the end of La Liga but has not mentioned when he arrives. The CBF election will also include eight vice president positions. 'The management of the electoral process will be under the responsibility of an independent electoral commission,' Sarney said in a statement. Rio-based judge Gabriel de Oliveira Zefiro removed Rodrigues from the presidency on Thursday and ordered new elections 'as soon as possible.' The embattled soccer executive is appealing to the country's Supreme Court to keep his position. Rodrigues announced the signing of Ancelotti as Brazil coach on Monday. He won re-election in March to remain on the job until March 2030. Zefiro put Sarney, who asked the court to unseat Rodrigues, in charge of organizing new elections. The judge ruled the agreement that validated Rodrigues' first term was null and void, and that without it Rodrigues should not have been eligible for his second term. Sarney told TV Globo on Thursday he will not touch Brazil's deal with Ancelotti. It is the second time Rodrigues has been removed from office by a court decision. A similar move took place in December 2023 but the removal was reversed by Brazil's Supreme Court. Because of that earlier legal dispute, the confederation vice presidents reached an agreement in January to validate Rodrigues' first term and clear the way for him to run again. But Zefiro sided with Sarney, who claimed one of the signatories of the deal, the 86-year-old Antonio Carlos Nunes, was not mentally fit to sign the agreement. The court scheduled to hear Nunes on Monday to evaluate his mental state, but the hearing was suspended only hours after Ancelotti was signed. Rodrigues has made no comment. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Brazil soccer to pick new president shortly before introducing Ancelotti
SAO PAULO (AP) — The Brazilian Football Confederation will pick a new president shortly before it introduces Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti as the new national coach. CBF vice president Fernando Sarney, who was named by a judge as the caretaker president after Ednaldo Rodrigues was removed from office, announced on Friday that the vote will take place on May 25, the same day as the last round of the Spanish league. When Rodrigues was in charge, Ancelotti was expected to arrive the next day at the CBF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro to announce his squad for two World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June. The coach has confirmed his move to Brazil at the end of La Liga but has not mentioned when he arrives. The CBF election will also include eight vice president positions. 'The management of the electoral process will be under the responsibility of an independent electoral commission,' Sarney said in a statement. Rio-based judge Gabriel de Oliveira Zefiro removed Rodrigues from the presidency on Thursday and ordered new elections 'as soon as possible.' The embattled soccer executive is appealing to the country's Supreme Court to keep his position. Rodrigues announced the signing of Ancelotti as Brazil coach on Monday. He won re-election in March to remain on the job until March 2030. Zefiro put Sarney, who asked the court to unseat Rodrigues, in charge of organizing new elections. The judge ruled the agreement that validated Rodrigues' first term was null and void, and that without it Rodrigues should not have been eligible for his second term. Sarney told TV Globo on Thursday he will not touch Brazil's deal with Ancelotti. It is the second time Rodrigues has been removed from office by a court decision. A similar move took place in December 2023 but the removal was reversed by Brazil's Supreme Court. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Because of that earlier legal dispute, the confederation vice presidents reached an agreement in January to validate Rodrigues' first term and clear the way for him to run again. But Zefiro sided with Sarney, who claimed one of the signatories of the deal, the 86-year-old Antonio Carlos Nunes, was not mentally fit to sign the agreement. The court scheduled to hear Nunes on Monday to evaluate his mental state, but the hearing was suspended only hours after Ancelotti was signed. Rodrigues has made no comment. ___ AP soccer:
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Bruno Lage vs Eagle Football: The £6m lawsuit for the ‘job offer' that never came
It was Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano who first noticed the similarities between the business of football and what Walt Disney started a century ago. 'Disney uses its characters, such as Mickey Mouse, to produce audiovisual content, sell T-shirts and instigate theme parks,' he wrote in Goal: The Ball Doesn't Go In By Chance in 2012. 'Manchester United might not have had Mickey Mouse, but it did have David Beckham, who used to sell a whole lot of television programmes (football matches), T-shirts, and to turn Old Trafford into a lucrative theme park.' Advertisement This 'Disneyfication' of football is the theory underpinning the multi-club ownership model that Soriano has implemented at City Football Group, the holding company that owns stakes in 13 clubs, most notably Manchester City. But a £6million ($8m) legal case filed at London's Commercial Court in March has revealed that John Textor, the man behind the Eagle Football group of clubs, has spotted another potential multi-club benefit: managerial recruitment. Textor's pitch to former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Bruno Lage in July 2023 appears to have been words to the effect of 'join our Brazilian subsidiary Botafogo for six months and, if all goes well, we will move you to one of our sexier posts at Crystal Palace or Lyon'. This is not an offer any owner of a single club could put forward, but owners of multi-club groups can, in theory, make such promises. However, the dispute between Lage and Textor, a first of its kind, will hinge on whether such promises are enforceable. Lage didn't get his move to the Premier League or Ligue 1 — and now he wants around £6m for the 'job offer' that never came. In July 2023, Eagle's Rio-based club, Botafogo, were top of the Serie A table in Brazil but without a head coach, as Portuguese manager Luis Castro had just joined compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi side Al Nassr. Having been sacked by Wolves in October 2022, Lage was available and looked like a decent fit at Botafogo. He is also Portuguese, so speaks the language, and won a title with Benfica in 2019. He is also represented by Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes. For Lage, this was a way to get back on the horse, and not just any horse, as Botafogo had made their best ever start to the season and were seven points clear at the top of Brazil's Serie A. But, on the flip side, Botafogo were a very surprising league-leader and there was still a lot of football to be played. Advertisement Furthermore, Brazil is a long way from the bright lights of European football's biggest stages and that was where Lage really wanted to be. So, he needed some assurances from Eagle that this move away from Europe was not permanent. Eagle gave him a six-month contract to see out the rest of the Brazilian season and a side deal, or 'retainment agreement', that detailed a potential promotion to Crystal Palace or Lyon. And this is where the legal row starts. The particulars of the claim were filed in London by Lage's lawyer, Liz Ellen, on March 19. Quoting from the contract's recital, which is a statement of facts that precedes all the legalese, it says Eagle Football Holdings Ltd, a UK-registered company, is the ultimate owner of Botafogo, Crystal Palace and OL (Olympique Lyonnais or, more commonly in English, Lyon) — although in Palace's case, this is only partially true, as Eagle owns 43 per cent of the Premier League club. It then says that Lage is to be employed by Botafogo from July 15 to December 31 but, at the termination of that contract, 'Eagle Holdings is desirous of engaging (Lage) as head coach of either Crystal Palace or OL' and Lage 'is desirous of being engaged as head coach of Crystal Palace or OL'. We then get to the key passage. 'The parties have agreed that during the period January 1, 2024, to April 15, 2024 (the 'restricted period'), Eagle Holdings must use its powers as beneficial owner of Crystal Palace and OL to offer the head coach a new position as head coach of the men's professional football first team at either Crystal Palace or OL,' it says. This offer, the contract says, includes letting Lage appoint his own assistants, with a combined salary pot, which Lage can divide as he sees fit, of $3.6million 'per annum, net of tax and social security contributions'. Or 'netto', as football agents have often put it to English clubs. Advertisement However, there was a reciprocal agreement by Lage that he would pay Eagle Football the same sum 'in compensation' if he took a job in the restricted period. So, Lage was committing to making 'himself available' to Eagle during this period, and the parties 'intend this retainment agreement to be legally binding'. So what happened? After Roy Hodgson fell ill in February 2024, Crystal Palace replaced him with Oliver Glasner, the Austrian coach who was in demand after successful stints at LASK, Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. Getting Glasner looked like a coup at the time for Palace and that is how it has panned out. Lage's name was never linked with the role in any media report that The Athletic can remember. Lyon, meanwhile, had Pierre Sage in the dugout. He had initially taken the role on an interim basis in November 2023, following the sacking of Fabio Grosso, but, in January, Textor officially gave him the job until the end of the season. Sage was then given a new two-year contract that summer as a reward for getting Lyon into the Europa League. Lage was linked with this job in the media, but Sage was the man in possession and nobody thought it was odd that he ended up keeping it. Lage, however, was very much available by this point, as he and Botafogo had parted company on October 3, 2024, less than three months after taking the job. In a post-match press conference on September 3 after Botafogo had lost 2-1 at home to local rivals Flamengo, Lage said: 'Regarding this thing of only looking at my career at Botafogo, it puts a lot of pressure on the players, and I don't accept that. 'There is only one way to free them from this pressure. And that is why I am here before you. I have not spoken to anyone, I have thought a lot and I am putting my position at the disposal of the director, at the disposal of the president. Advertisement 'I have a contract with Botafogo until December, it's a lot of money in salaries, I have prizes that are practically guaranteed for going to the Libertadores. There's the champion's prize, but I have no problem giving that up because I'm not greedy for money. 'What I cannot allow is for the pressure that is being exerted on me to be exerted on my players. That is all I have to say. My place is at the disposal of whoever is in charge, without anything else to say. Good night, thank you.' Eagle's interpretation can be found in the statement it released when news of Lage's legal action emerged last month. It says Eagle is 'aware' of his claim, which it says 'relates to a dispute over the proper interpretation of a historical agreement' between the parties. It continues by saying that Eagle does not believe Lage has a case and it will 'vigorously defend the claim'. It will also go after Lage for its costs. We then get this withering assessment of Lage's exit. 'Eagle Football notes that Bruno Lage's claim relates to an alleged failure to offer him a role at one of its clubs, if he were terminated by one of Eagle Football's clubs, Botafogo,' it says. 'Eagle Football finds it curious that Bruno Lage feels aggrieved at not having been made such offer, given that, as was widely reported, he effectively walked away from one of Eagle Football's clubs, Botafogo, at a time when he was highly supported by ownership. 'As is well known to the Brazil press, Mr Lage announced that he should be terminated, while walking out of a live press conference after Botafogo's game against its biggest rival, in a crucial match. His abdication of his leadership position was a clear breach of his agreement and Eagle Football remains surprised that he would characterise his departure as a unilateral termination.' Advertisement It adds Eagle is 'happy' to see Lage back in management with Benfica, second in the Portuguese league, and 'remains open to an honest and constructive discussion with him to resolve this dispute'. Neither Lage, his agent, nor his lawyer has responded to requests for comment, but his demands are very clearly spelt out in the legal documents. 'If Eagle Holdings fails to secure that Crystal Palace or OL makes a job offer during the restricted period, then Eagle Holdings shall pay to (Lage) the sum of $3.6million net of tax and social security contributions,' the claim says, quoting from the retainment agreement. It concludes by noting that this payment was due on April 29, 2024, and the sum now owed, after factoring in Portugal's tax rates, is $7,659,574 plus interest, costs and whatever damages the court sees fit to award. So, what are his chances? 'It's an interesting and unusual case, but I think as we see more multi-club ownership models, things like this will become more prevalent,' Jamie Singer, a founding partner of sports specialist Onside Law, tells The Athletic. 'But the way they have gone about it, with this 'retainment agreement' concept, is odd. 'A fundamental principle of English contract law is that an agreement to agree is unenforceable. On the face of it, this retainment agreement looks very like an agreement to agree. 'It's also difficult to see what consideration Lage is providing, other than, I suppose, forgoing other employment opportunities after Botafogo.' Gregory Ioannidis, an international sports lawyer and an associate professor at Sheffield Hallam University, is another who thinks Lage's legal team have their work cut out and might want to exhaust football's usual disciplinary procedures — via the English Football Association or FIFA — before going to court. Advertisement 'Football parties are subject to regulatory restrictions in that they must follow arbitration and avoid recourse to national courts,' Ioannidis says. 'This is a strict rule that national associations tend to enforce. 'So, this is going to be tricky because we are looking at allegations of a breach of contract for a promise made regarding an employment opportunity in the future. 'There may also be jurisdictional issues — say he is successful in his claim, he will need to execute the court's order. But if the defendant is based abroad, he may find it difficult to recover monies. The claim may be dismissed before it even starts. 'That's why I advise clients to go through the usual disciplinary process — FIFA has more power to enforce decisions at a global level with harsher punishments.'
