Eight Brazilian farmers have sued Starbucks in the US, accusing the coffee giant of profiting from ‘slave-like’ working conditions on plantations. The lawsuit, supported by the International Rights Advocates, alleges that the company ignored warnings from Brazilian authorities about trafficking and forced labour. Starbucks has dismissed the claim as ‘without merit’.
Opposition figures in Panama are calling a new military agreement with Washington a ‘camouflaged invasion’. In April, Donald Trump confirmed US troops had been deployed along the Panama Canal in order to secure the strategic waterway against ‘Chinese influence’. The return of US forces 35 years after the bloody 1989 invasion has sparked widespread outrage among Panamanians.
