Brazil

Brazil school shooting leaves 10 dead

SAO PAULO, March 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and many more injured in a school shooting in Brazil's largest city Sao Paulo on Wednesday.

Among the dead are seven students, a woman and the two shooters, who killed themselves at the scene, authorities said.

The shocking attack took place at 9:30 a.m. local time (1230 GMT) at the Raul Brasil Public School in the Jardim Emperador neighborhood of Suzano, a community located within the greater metropolitan area of Sao Paulo.

Lima Group does not support military intervention in Venezuela — Brazil's vice president

BOGOTA, February 25. /TASS/. The Lima Group countries do not support a military intervention in Venezuela, Brazilian Vice President Antonio Hamilton Mourao said on Monday.

"No one [in the Lima Group] supports a military solution to the situation [in Venezuela]," Mourao said.

The Brazilian vice president noted that "it is necessary to look for other ways to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela."

Brazil has no intention of allowing the United States to use its territory for a military operation against the Venezuelan government, Mourao stressed.

Death toll from Brazil dam collapse climbs to 150

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the collapse of a tailings dam in Brumadinho in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais climbed to 150 on Wednesday, the national civil defense agency said.

Another 182 people have been reportedly missing since the tailings dam owned by mining giant Vale collapsed on Jan. 25, burying entire neighborhoods in the town under meters of toxic mud.

A total of 192 people were rescued alive, said Flavio Godinho, spokesman for the Minas Gerais state civil defense agency.

Brazil's ex-president Lula gets nearly 13-year extra sentence

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sentenced to nearly 13 more years in prison on Wednesday on corruption and money laundering charges, judicial sources said.

Lula, who served as Brazil's president from 2003 to 2010, is currently serving a sentence of 12 years and one month on charges of accepting a luxury beachfront apartment from a construction firm in exchange for government building contracts.

Brazil education overhaul aims at ousting ‘Marxist ideology’

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — President Jair Bolsonaro is taking his anti-leftist ideological war to Brazil’s classrooms and universities, causing angst among teachers and education officials who say the government wants to fight an enemy that doesn’t exist.

Bolsonaro and top officials have announced plans to revise textbooks to excise references to feminism, homosexuality and violence against women, say the military will take over some public schools and frequently bash Paulo Freire, one of Brazil’s most famous educators, whose ideas had worldwide influence.

Death toll in Brazil dam disaster rises to 134

04 Feb 2019; AFP: The toll from a dam collapse at a mine in southeast Brazil has risen to 134 deaths after more than a week of searches, with 199 missing, authorities said Monday.

The count showed the gradual recovery operation of bodies more than a week after the January 25 disaster at the dam, owned by Brazilian mining giant Vale, near the town of Brumadinho.

Brazil's Bolsonaro declares war on organized crime

BRASILIA, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's government on Monday announced it will submit an anti-crime bill to congress that stiffens penalties for serious crimes.

"The Brazilian government is declaring war on organized crime," president Jair Bolsonaro, who is recovering from surgery in hospital, said in a written message to lawmakers.

Crime in Brazil has "set records" due to the "weakening" of security forces and "too permissive" laws, said Bolsonaro.

Brazil dam collapse death toll rises to 121

BUENOS AIRES; 03 Feb 2019; AA: The death toll rose to 121 after a dam burst in southeastern Brazil on Jan. 25, according to the local media.

At least 226 people have been missing near the town of Brumadinho after the dam broke at an iron ore mining complex operated by the Brazilian mining giant Vale S.A.

Search-and-rescue efforts remain ongoing in the area.

So far, a total of five people were arrested over the incident.

Vale seeks out-of-court settlement for Brazil dam disaster

BRASILIA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mining giant Vale, owner of the iron-ore tailings dam that collapsed in Brazil's southeast Minas Gerais state, said Thursday that it was seeking an out-of-court settlement with the regional government.

Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman met with Brazil's General Prosecutor Raquel Dodge in the capital Brasilia to discuss compensating the hundreds of families affected by the disaster in the rural town of Brumadinho.

Brazil miner Vale loses $18bn in market cap after dam disaster

28 Jan 2019; AFP: Brazilian mining giant Vale lost more than $18 billion of its value Monday in a dramatic share plunge on the Sao Paulo stock exchange as investors reacted to the collapse of one of its dams that killed scores and left hundreds missing.

The 24.5 percent drop followed an eight percent dive on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, the day the disaster occurred. The Brazilian bourse was closed that day for a public holiday.

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