International
Lula reactivates the commission that investigates the crimes of the dictatorship in Brazil
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, decreed on Thursday the reactivation of the special commission on political dead and missing persons, which investigated the crimes of the military dictatorship (1964-1985) before its predecessor, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, eliminated it.
The measure reverses the decision taken by Bolsonaro (2019 – 2022), a former soldier and a nostalgic for the dictatorship, at the end of 2022, on his penultimate day of government, and appoints new members of the commission, including a university professor, a left-wing deputy and a civilian representative of the Ministry of Defense.
The Minister of Human Rights, Silvio Almeida, said in a statement that the decision is “an important step in the guarantee of memory, truth and justice.”
Almeida also pointed out that the work “illegally interrupted by the previous management” of the search for the dead and missing will now be continued and that a schedule will soon be set to resume those activities.
The return of this space was one of the main claims to the Lula Government by the victims of the military regime, who were disappointed by the lack of official support for the commemorations of last April for the 60th anniversary of the 1964 coup d’état, against the left-wing president João Goulart.
Lula vetoed the organization of official acts so as not to further tighten the rope with the Army, at a time when several senior commanders are being investigated by the Police for allegedly plotting a coup d’état against the current president, after his electoral victory against Bolsonaro.
The commission, created in 1995 during the administration of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, seeks to investigate the circumstances of the political murders; locate the bodies of the disappeared and compensate the victims of the military regime that ruled Brazil for more than two decades.
During those years it is estimated that there were 224 deaths and 210 missing, according to a report by the National Truth Commission presented in 2014.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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