Lead Story
Brazil's Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level ever recorded
Official Brazilian government data released October 16 showed about 3,335 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest were cleared between August 2025 and July 2026, a roughly 42% drop from the prior year and the lowest annual total in the satellite-monitoring series that stretches back to 1988, beating the previous record low of 4,571 square kilometers set in 2011-2012. Deforestation in the neighboring Cerrado savanna also fell about 24% over the same period. Some warning signs remain, including a rise in wildfires and a March uptick in clearing in certain states, but the headline figures mark a major reversal after years of rising forest loss.
Read more →Lead Story
Brazil's Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level ever recorded
Official Brazilian government data released October 16 showed about 3,335 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest were cleared between August 2025 and July 2026, a roughly 42% drop from the prior year and the lowest annual total in the satellite-monitoring series that stretches back to 1988, beating the previous record low of 4,571 square kilometers set in 2011-2012. Deforestation in the neighboring Cerrado savanna also fell about 24% over the same period. Some warning signs remain, including a rise in wildfires and a March uptick in clearing in certain states, but the headline figures mark a major reversal after years of rising forest loss.
A tigress returns to West Bengal's Buxa reserve after decades of local extinction
A three-year-old tigress, T138, was relocated from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released into West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve on October 2, marking the first step in the state's first tiger reintroduction programme, the product of conservation groundwork dating back to 2018. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took part in the release, and officials say three more tigers are planned for Buxa within two months. As of late October the tigress was still roaming a forest corridor linking Buxa, the Dooars and Assam, which forest officials describe as normal exploratory behavior before an animal settles into a home range.
Read more →A tigress returns to West Bengal's Buxa reserve after decades of local extinction
A three-year-old tigress, T138, was relocated from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released into West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve on October 2, marking the first step in the state's first tiger reintroduction programme, the product of conservation groundwork dating back to 2018. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took part in the release, and officials say three more tigers are planned for Buxa within two months. As of late October the tigress was still roaming a forest corridor linking Buxa, the Dooars and Assam, which forest officials describe as normal exploratory behavior before an animal settles into a home range.
FDA clears first immunotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer, built on a near-total response rate
The FDA granted accelerated approval on October 19 to dostarlimab (Jemperli), making it the first immunotherapy approved for previously untreated, locally advanced rectal cancer that is MSI-H or dMMR. The approval rests mainly on the single-arm AZUR-1 trial of 154 patients, with Healio reporting a 68% sustained clinical complete response at one year; a separate, smaller investigator-led trial of 50 patients reported a 93% sustained complete response rate and 100% objective response rate at 12 months, figures researchers say could allow some patients to avoid surgery and radiation entirely. The drug is dosed every three weeks for up to nine cycles, and regulators say longer follow-up is still needed to confirm how durable the responses are.
Read more →FDA clears first immunotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer, built on a near-total response rate
The FDA granted accelerated approval on October 19 to dostarlimab (Jemperli), making it the first immunotherapy approved for previously untreated, locally advanced rectal cancer that is MSI-H or dMMR. The approval rests mainly on the single-arm AZUR-1 trial of 154 patients, with Healio reporting a 68% sustained clinical complete response at one year; a separate, smaller investigator-led trial of 50 patients reported a 93% sustained complete response rate and 100% objective response rate at 12 months, figures researchers say could allow some patients to avoid surgery and radiation entirely. The drug is dosed every three weeks for up to nine cycles, and regulators say longer follow-up is still needed to confirm how durable the responses are.
New Zealand opens its largest grid battery, with a second phase already approved
Genesis Energy opened a 100MW/200MWh grid-scale battery storage system at Huntly Power Station, New Zealand's largest power station, on October 15, with the Waikato-region site chosen partly for its existing grid connection and proximity to Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga. The battery, built by Saft using 70 lithium-ion storage containers, can discharge at full output for two hours to help smooth demand peaks and support renewable generation. Genesis has already approved a second stage that will double the project's capacity to 200MW/400MWh, part of a broader build-out of grid-scale storage across New Zealand that includes a separate 100MW/200MWh battery that came online at Glenbrook in May.
Read more →New Zealand opens its largest grid battery, with a second phase already approved
Genesis Energy opened a 100MW/200MWh grid-scale battery storage system at Huntly Power Station, New Zealand's largest power station, on October 15, with the Waikato-region site chosen partly for its existing grid connection and proximity to Hamilton, Auckland and Tauranga. The battery, built by Saft using 70 lithium-ion storage containers, can discharge at full output for two hours to help smooth demand peaks and support renewable generation. Genesis has already approved a second stage that will double the project's capacity to 200MW/400MWh, part of a broader build-out of grid-scale storage across New Zealand that includes a separate 100MW/200MWh battery that came online at Glenbrook in May.
PAHO recognizes five countries and territories for wiping out diseases across the Americas
The Pan American Health Organization announced on September 29 that it had recognized five countries and territories for eliminating major diseases as public health problems, a batch of milestones that drew continued coverage into early October. The recognitions included Chile's validation as the first country in the Americas confirmed free of dog-transmitted rabies, El Salvador's validation as the first in Central America to eliminate trachoma, the Bahamas' certification for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and the Turks and Caicos Islands becoming the first territory in the Americas certified for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and hepatitis B. PAHO credited the results to sustained vaccination, screening and treatment programs built up over years.
Read more →PAHO recognizes five countries and territories for wiping out diseases across the Americas
The Pan American Health Organization announced on September 29 that it had recognized five countries and territories for eliminating major diseases as public health problems, a batch of milestones that drew continued coverage into early October. The recognitions included Chile's validation as the first country in the Americas confirmed free of dog-transmitted rabies, El Salvador's validation as the first in Central America to eliminate trachoma, the Bahamas' certification for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and the Turks and Caicos Islands becoming the first territory in the Americas certified for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and hepatitis B. PAHO credited the results to sustained vaccination, screening and treatment programs built up over years.