International
Brazil roadblocks dwindle as Bolsonaro starts handover
| By AFP |
Brazilian police said Friday they have nearly finished clearing hundreds of roadblocks by supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who have been protesting since his election loss to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Just 15 partial roadblocks remain nationwide, said federal highway police, adding they had broken up another 954 since Sunday’s divisive presidential runoff election.
Bolsonaro supporters reacted furiously to Lula’s narrow victory, blocking highways with cars, trucks, and tractors and camping out at army bases to demand a military intervention.
The blockades had threatened to cause havoc in Latin America’s biggest economy but have diminished since Bolsonaro urged supporters Wednesday to “unblock the roads.”
Ex-army captain Bolsonaro remained silent for nearly two days after the election, raising fears he would try to cling to power with the backing of hardline supporters.
But after a series of key allies acknowledged the result, the incumbent said Tuesday he would respect the constitution and authorized the start of the transition process for Lula’s inauguration on January 1.
However, Bolsonaro has still not explicitly recognized the result or congratulated Lula.
The outgoing president on Thursday met briefly with vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin, who is heading Lula’s transition team.
Alckmin said the meeting had been “positive,” and that Bolsonaro had promised “all information and assistance needed for a smooth transition.”
Pro-Bolsonaro protests had dwindled Friday morning outside military bases in various cities.
Around 100 people remained outside a barracks in Brasilia, an AFP photographer said. In Sao Paulo, a handful of protesters remained, calling for “divine and then military intervention.”
In Rio de Janeiro, demonstrators had dispersed.
The remaining roadblocks affect just five of Brazil’s 27 states, police said.
The National Confederation of Industry had warned Tuesday that there was an “imminent risk of shortages” if highways were not quickly cleared.
Although Bolsonaro urged supporters to lift their roadblocks, he also encouraged “legitimate demonstrations,” raising fears Brazil may still face turbulent times until Lula is sworn in, and beyond.
Ex-metalworker Lula, 77, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, won an unprecedented third term with 50.9 percent of the vote, to 49.1 percent for Bolsonaro — the closest presidential election in the country’s modern history.
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
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