Brazil

11 August 2019; AFP: A Brazilian judge ordered the release of ex-billionaire Eike Batista late Saturday after he was detained for violating the terms of his house arrest, local media reported.

Appeals Court judge Simone Schreiber ruled that the detention of the magnate once considered Brazil's richest man "violated the Constitution... and the principle of presumption of innocence."

A Batista attorney cited by the G1 news site said that his client will be released on Sunday morning.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a judge's decision to transfer former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from the headquarter of the Federal Police in Curitiba to a common prison in Sao Paulo state.

Lula has been serving his sentence in Curitiba for over a year. The ruling on his transfer was issued Wednesday morning, based on a request from the Federal Police in Curitiba, which alleged difficulties in maintaining Lula at the headquarters, as the site is not appropriate for keeping prisoners for long periods.

RIO DE JANEIRO, August 3. /TASS/: Caracas wants to address the UN Security Council to draw their attention to US threats to impose a blockade on Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday.

"All of Venezuela, in a civic-military union, repudiates and rejects the statements of Donald Trump about a supposed quarantine, a supposed blockade," Maduro said adding that Venezuelan seas would remain "free and independent." The Venezuelan president said he had asked the country's ambassador to the United Naitons Samuel Moncada to denounce the US threats to the UN Security Council.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Four inmates allegedly involved in deadly clash between prison gangs have died of asphyxiation while being transferred to a safer lockup, authorities said Wednesday, as families of victims began to bury their relatives.

The Para state public security office said the four were discovered dead when the prison vehicle arrived in the town of Maraba.

They said vehicle had four compartments and was carrying 30 handcuffed inmates who were suspected of involvement in Monday’s clash gangs at the Altamira prison.

31 July 2019; AFP: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday questioned the credibility of a truth commission that investigated human rights abuses under the country's brutal military dictatorship, suggesting it was politically influenced by the left.

Bolsonaro's comments come a day after he taunted the head of the Brazilian Bar Association over his father, who disappeared during the 1964-85 military regime, saying he had information on what had happened to him.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — At least 57 prisoners were killed by other inmates during clashes between organized crime groups in the Altamira prison in northern Brazil Monday with 16 of the victims being decapitated, according to prison officials.

Para state prison authorities said a fight erupted around 7 a.m. between the Rio de Janeiro-based Comando Vermelho and a local criminal group known as Comando Classe A.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 26. /TASS/: The next BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit due to be held in the Brazilian capital city on November 13-14 will be another step towards strengthening this multilateral format, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday ahead of a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Ernesto Araujo.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 26. /TASS/: The implementation of US plans to deploy missile defense systems in space will lead to another stage in an arms race, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday at the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries.

26 July 2019; DW: On January 25, a dam operated by mining company Vale burst in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, killing 270 people. To this day, emergency services are still searching for human remains.

At Bravo commando post, investigators wait for the arrival of newly discovered human remains. It is here that the search for victims of the Brumadinho dam collapse, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, is being coordinated.

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 23. /TASS/: A total of 900 tonnes of humanitarian cargoes was delivered to Venezuela and distributed across the country, representative of opposition leader Juan Guaido and coordinator for international humanitarian aid Lester Toledo said on Monday.