• On Nov. 29, a Honduran court convicted seven people for the brutal murder of indigenous rights activist Berta Caceres, a winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. After years of harassment for opposing the $50 million Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam, Caceres was killed at her home in March 2016. Mexican activist Gustavo Castro was injured during the attack.
(“Honduran Activist’s Murder Trial Addresses Symptoms, Not Causes, of Violence,” Foreign Policy, Dec. 7, 2018; “Honduras Court Convicts 7 Men for Killing Indigenous Activist,” Reuters, Nov. 29, 2018)
• After eight years of severe budget austerity, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond pledged to restore funding for health, transportation and small business in the latest national budget from Prime Minister Theresa May’s Tory government. However, the budget restorations will have little impact on public services, argues the Resolution Foundation, which campaigns for improved living standards.
(“Britain’s Poor to See Little Change With the ‘End of Austerity’,” Associated Press, Oct. 30, 2018)
• Driverless trucks are going on test runs along Interstate 75 in southeast Florida. Cameras and radar sensors mounted on top of a truck cabs relay data to a computer center in Jacksonville over 300 miles away.
( “Look No Hands,” Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 12, 2018)
