International
Bolsonaro changes energy minister amid fuel-price row
AFP
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro changed his energy minister Wednesday after repeatedly criticizing fuel-price hikes by state-run oil company Petrobras, blamed for driving inflation that is hurting his popularity five months from elections.
Bento Albuquerque, who had been Bolsonaro’s energy minister since the far-right president took office in 2019, will be replaced by economy ministry adviser Adolfo Sachsida, according to a note in the government gazette.
The energy ministry said Albuquerque had stepped down for “personal reasons” after a meeting with Bolsonaro, though speculation swirled in the Brazilian media that he had been sacked.
The shuffle comes after Bolsonaro said Thursday that Petrobras’s recent profits amounted to “rape,” and called on Albuquerque and the firm’s chief executive, Jose Mauro Coelho, to stop it from increasing fuel prices.
Albuquerque and the energy ministry however had no direct role in price decisions by Petrobras, whose pricing policy is based on the international oil market.
Disregarding the president, Petrobras went on to hike diesel prices by an additional 8.9 percent Monday.
Bolsonaro has also repeatedly changed the chief executive at Petrobras, replacing Roberto Castello Branco in February 2021, then Joaquim Silva e Luna last April — in each case, after attacking the firm’s price increases.
The company only stoked Bolsonaro’s fury further when it reported a first-quarter net profit of $8.6 billion Thursday, up 38 times from the first quarter of 2021.
Fuel prices in Brazil have increased more than 33 percent in the past year, according to official figures, driving annual inflation of more than 12 percent that is hurting Brazilians’ wallets.
Spiralling prices are a central issue as Bolsonaro seeks reelection in October, trailing leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) in the polls.
International
Singer seriously injured after knife attack in Tokyo’s Akasaka District
A woman in her forties was stabbed on Sunday by a man in Tokyo’s busy Akasaka district, leaving her with serious injuries, according to local media reports.
At around 10:25 a.m. (local time), police received an emergency call reporting that a woman was bleeding after being attacked with a knife by a man wearing a black hood in the basement of a building in Akasaka, police sources told Kyodo News.
The woman sustained severe injuries to her abdomen and hand but was conscious when she was transported to a hospital, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said, adding that the suspected assailant fled the scene with what appeared to be a knife.
The victim, believed to be a singer, was reportedly attacked while waiting alone outside a live music club where she was scheduled to perform.
Police stated that they are searching for the suspect and noted that the woman did not know him.
International
Ombudsman confirms deaths of six minors in bombing targeting FARC dissidents
Colombia’s Ombudsman’s Office reported on Saturday the deaths of six minors who had been recruited by guerrilla groups, killed during the deadliest airstrike ordered by President Gustavo Petro in an Amazonian region in the south of the country.
Amid pre-election criticism and pressure from the United States demanding stronger action against drug trafficking, Petro has intensified military operations against armed groups. Over the past week, a series of bombings have left 28 people dead.
The minors were killed in an airstrike announced on Tuesday against a camp belonging to dissident factions of the now-defunct FARC guerrilla in the department of Guaviare, resulting in 19 deaths—the largest operation of its kind under Petro’s administration.
“This is all deeply regrettable; it is war in its most painful and inhumane expression, harming the most vulnerable—minors recruited due to lack of protection and now turned into military targets,” said Ombudswoman Iris Marín in an audio message sent to the press, confirming the deaths of six minors without providing their ages.
Marín held the guerrilla group led by the country’s most-wanted man, alias Iván Mordisco, responsible for recruiting the children.
However, she also stressed that “the military forces must take every feasible precaution to protect children,” in accordance with international principles that require “careful evaluation of the means and methods of warfare to avoid disproportionate or unnecessary harm.”
International
Colombia reaches $4.5 billion deal to acquire 17 Gripen Fighter Jets from Saab
The Colombian government has finalized a negotiation agreement with the Swedish company Saab for the purchase of 17 SAP-39 Gripen fighter jets, valued at more than $4.5 billion, according to local media reports.
Colombian outlets indicated that payments are scheduled to begin in 2026, starting with an initial installment of 100 billion Colombian pesos. However, the aircraft will be delivered between 2027 and 2032, when the final jet is expected to arrive in Colombia.
This new contract represents the second-largest public purchase made by Colombia so far this century, surpassed only by the investment in the Bogotá metro system, local media noted.
The agreement is expected to be officially signed during the ceremony commemorating the 216th anniversary of the Colombian Aerospace Force, to be held in Cali on November 14 of this year.
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