Iranian President Ahmadinejad Visits Latin America Seeking to Reinforce Alliances

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad embarks on a four-nation tour with visits to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador, seeking to reinforce ties with the few allies Iran has left.

Global Political Cartoons: March 12 – 18, 2011

The Land of the Rising Sun has become for some The Land of Rising Radiation Levels. The aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami has cartoonists morphing the red disc in Japan’s flag into everything from a radiation hazard symbol to a skull.
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Bushmeat market in Ecuador rainforest

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Daniel Grossman reports on how illegal commercial hunting is threatening the animal diversity and rainforest ecosystem of the Yasuni National Park in Ecuador. Download MP3

Slideshow: The Pompeya bushmeat market

Chevron’s legal battles in Ecuador

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Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the BBC’s Irene Caselli about the latest turn in a long legal battle over the environmental legacy of oil drilling in the Ecuadorean Amazon. A court yesterday ordered the US company Chevron to pay damages of roughly $9 billion in the case. Download MP3

Music of the Achuar people

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The Achuar live in a piece of the Amazon rainforest in South America. Their ancestral territory of roughly 2 million acres is just south of the equator. It straddles the two countries we’d like you to name. Reporter Andy Isaacson recently traveled to a remote Achuar village to find out more about their way of life. He shares his reflections and sound recordings of the Achuar. Download MP3

Ecuador locks up oil reserves

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Host David Baron reports on the signing Wednesday of a deal to protect a rich swath of Ecuadoran rainforest by locking up oil reserves beneath it. The deal will also fight global warming by preventing the release of 400 million tons of CO2.

• In Ecuador, striking it rich by keeping oil in the ground
• More of The World’s Environment coverage

Ecuadorians share lessons for battling oil companies with Louisiana tribes

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For the last 17 years, five indigenous tribes from the Ecuadorian Amazon have been involved in one of the largest environmental lawsuits in history, against an oil company which dumped more than 15 billion gallons of toxic waste into the Ecuadorean rainforest over three decades. When the Ecuadorians heard about the BP oil surge in the Gulf, they initiated a meeting with the indigenous communities in Louisiana to share what they had learned from their experience fighting an oil company. Reporter David Weinberg travelled with the delegation and brings us this story. (Photo: David Weinberg) Download MP3

Promise of long life in lush Ecuador valley

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In today’s Geo Quiz, we are looking for a town legendary for its long-lived residents. About one in ten of its inhabitants live to see the ripe old age of 100. The town is in the province of Loja and our Host Katy Clark will speak with Bella English, a reporter from the Boston Globe who just returned from a the town to see what it’s all about. (Photo courtesy of Bella English for The Boston Globe) Download MP3

• See Bella English’s Ecuador photos

Promise of long life in lush Ecuador valley

In today’s Geo Quiz, we are looking for a town legendary for its long-lived residents. About one in ten live of its inhabitants live to see the ripe old age of 100…

Obama’s new words, Avatar in the Amazon and a Chinese satire

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As Obama enters the second year of his presidency, he’s dropped some expressions — “war on terror”, “Af-Pak”, even “Middle East”. His administration has invented a few too: “remotedly piloted aircraft” (drones) and “overseas contingency operations” (wars). Also, a special screening of Avatar in Ecuador for indigenous groups. What did these Shuar and Achuar speakers think of Avatar’s invented language, Na’vi? Finally, a new online satirical movie is all the rage in China. It features a Chinese double-entendre phrase aimed at avoiding government censorship. The movie also includes a fantastic “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” rant.
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Avatar in the Amazon

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If there were ever a place that came close to the magical world of Pandora in James Cameron’s new film Avatar, it would probably be the Amazon. There may not be butterflies that look like flying squid, but in the Amazon can you eat giant worms and lemon flavored ants for dinner in a forest that is home to both the jaguar and the pink dolphin. Reporter Melaina Spitzer joined a group of indigenous leaders from the Amazon in Ecuador’s capital Quito, to see Avatar on the big screen in 3D. Download MP3

• Watch a video of the indigenous leaders going to see Avatar
• Official Avatar website

Ecuadorian chocolate

For today’s Geo Quiz we make our way to a city in the heart of Ecuador. The city were looking for is a good launch pad for an excursion into the Amazon rainforest.

Lonesome George

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We’re tracking a rare creature named George for today’s Geo Quiz. Lonesome George is not your average tortoise. He’s a giant saddleback tortoise of the Galapagos Islands and he’s getting up in his years. We’re looking for the name of the Ecuadorian island where George comes from.

Over the Andes: A new trade route for South America?

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Melaina Spitzer reports from Ecuador on an ambitious scheme to create an overland trade route in South America that rivals the Panama Canal. The plan involves moving goods from Pacific to Atlantic through a combination ports, highways and riverways. Not everyone thinks the scheme could work.

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Over the Andes: A new trade route for South America?

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In South America, politicians and corporate leaders have devised a grand plan for an overland trade route to compete with the Panama Canal. The idea is to move goods from the Pacific to the Atlantic along a chain of ports, highways, and riverways. Reporter Melaina Spitzer followed the route from the Ecuadorian port city of Manta.