International
Brazil opposition slams Bolsonaro over remarks on young Venezuelans
AFP
Brazil’s opposition slammed President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday as “depraved” for suggesting a group of Venezuelan girls that he visited in their home were prostitutes, as the country gears up for a presidential run-off.
Bolsonaro will face left-wing former president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in the second round of a presidential election on October 30, with the expectation of a close contest pushing both sides to intensify their attacks in the run-up.
Local media aired an interview with Bolsonaro about the situation in Venezuela in which he recalled a visit last year to a poor neighborhood in Brazil’s capital where he met a group of Venezuelan girls.
The president said he had asked a group of “three or four very pretty 14 or 15-year-olds” if he could “come in your house”, where he found “15 or 20 girls” getting ready “to earn a living.”
The leader of Lula’s opposition party, Gleisi Hoffmann, quickly slammed Bolsonaro’s comments as “depraved” and “criminal,” while Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, coordinator of Lula’s campaign, expressed “disgust.”
Bolsonaro has repeatedly said that Brazil would suffer the same fate as Venezuela if Lula wins the election.
According to polling organizations, Lula has a lead over the president.
In the interview, Bolsonaro said: “I parked my motorcycle on a street corner, took off my helmet and started looking at the girls, three or four very pretty 14 or 15-year-olds, dressed up as you might be on a Saturday in a neighborhood community.
“There were 15 or 20 girls (in the house), all Venezuelans aged 14, 15, getting ready on a Saturday. Why? To earn a living,” he said.
“That’s what you want for your daughter?”
Bolsonaro has responded to the criticism, saying he had entered the house with other people and in the presence of a film crew.
-
Brazilian President and presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro speaks to his supporters during a rally in Fortaleza, Ceara state, Brazil on October 15, 2022. - Leftist front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's lead over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro remains steady at six percentage points ahead of Brazil's October 30 presidential runoff election, according to a poll released on October 14. (Photo by JL ROSA / AFP)
International
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Six people, including a baby girl about two years old, were killed on Sunday in an armed attack near a tourist beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said. The shooting, carried out with rifles, also left three people wounded.
The incident took place in the coastal town of Puerto López, in the province of Manabí, a popular tourist destination known for whale watching. The attack occurred amid a surge of violence over the weekend that left at least nine people dead nationwide, according to local media reports.
“There are six fatalities and three injured,” Colonel William Acurio, the local police commander, told reporters on Sunday. He confirmed that one of the victims was a baby “approximately two years old.”
Authorities have not released further details about the motive behind the attack or whether arrests have been made.
International
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
The man who killed nine people, including five children, on Saturday night in Paramaribo died by suicide while in custody, Suriname police confirmed in a statement on Monday.
The suspect, identified by the initials D.A., 43, “hanged himself inside a holding cell at the Keizerstraat police station” in the capital, Paramaribo, according to the official report.
Police said the man sustained leg injuries during his arrest and was taken to a hospital before being transferred to the detention facility on Sunday night. Authorities did not provide further details on the circumstances surrounding his death.
International
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Airlines canceled around 1,500 flights across the United States during the peak Christmas travel season after warnings of a severe winter storm and forecasts of heavy snowfall in the Midwest and Northeast. An additional 5,900 flights were delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
More than 40 million Americans were under snowstorm warnings or weather advisories one day after Christmas. Meanwhile, another 30 million people faced flood or storm alerts in California, where an atmospheric river triggered intense rainfall.
New York City was bracing for up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of snow overnight, which would mark its heaviest snowfall in four years. Cold weather was expected to persist through the weekend in the nation’s largest city. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, airports in the New York area recorded about 850 flight cancellations.
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America3 days agoHonduras: Zelaya Calls for Mobilization Amid Dispute Over Tegucigalpa Mayoral Race
-
Central America4 days agoGuatemala arrests 92 salvadoran gang members in 2025
-
Central America4 days agoInternational leaders congratulate Honduras’ president-elect Asfura
-
International2 days agoWinter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
-
International23 hours agoMan accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
-
International23 hours agoSix killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador