International
The Legal Medical Institute identifies all 62 victims of the plane crash in Brazil
The Medical Forensic Institute (IML) of São Paulo reported on Thursday that it concluded the identification of all 62 victims of the Voepass airline plane crash that occurred last week in this state of Brazil.
The agency indicated that it has already delivered the respective mortal remains to the relatives of 42 of the victims and that it hopes to release the rest this Thursday.
Of the 62 victims, 40 were identified by typing examinations and the others by analysis of their dental arch or by other physical characteristics.
The IML collected genetic samples from the relatives of all the victims, but it was not necessary to use genetic comparison methods to identify them, explained the superintendent of Technical-Scientific Police of the IML, Claudinei Salomão.
“The identification processes dispensed with complementary DNA tests because the experience we have allowed us to compare the bodies with pre-existing data, such as fingerprints or radiological images of the victims,” he said.
Despite the difficulties due to the state in which some of the bodies were left after the explosion and the fire that occurred after the fall, which destroyed a large part of the aircraft, the forensic doctors said that none of the corpses were completely charred.
Those responsible for the investigation of the accident managed to recover all the information contained in the black boxes of the crashed plane and promise to deliver a preliminary report in 30 days.
The Brazilian Air Force clarified on Thursday in a statement that so far no media has had access to the contents of the black boxes, after Globo television published statements by the pilot allegedly taken from the transcript of the cabin recording.
According to that version, in the last minutes of the flight the co-pilot is heard saying that the plane was without power.
The crashed plane, a twin-engine ATR-72-500 model and French manufacture, covered the route between the city of Cascavel and São Paulo with 58 passengers and 4 crew members on board and crashed when it had about 80 kilometers left to reach its destination.
The device crashed in the backyards of a set of residences in the municipality of Vinhedo, without affecting any building or leaving any victims on the ground.
International
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
The United States has announced new limits on the legal length of stay for foreign students and journalists, marking the latest tightening of immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
The changes, outlined in an administrative rule published on Thursday, are expected to take effect in September, unless Congress blocks the measure.
Under the new policy, holders of student visas will be allowed to remain in the United States for no more than four years.
Foreign journalists will be limited to 240-day stays—approximately eight months—with the possibility of applying for extensions of the same duration.
The policy imposes even stricter rules on Chinese journalists, whose visas will be capped at 90 days.
More than 100 international news organizations and press freedom groups, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), criticized the measure in an open letter, arguing that it would reduce both the quantity and quality of international coverage of events in the United States.
The Republican Party, led by President Trump, currently holds a majority in Congress and has pledged to curb both illegal immigration and certain forms of legal immigration.
Previously, the United States generally issued student visas for the full duration of an academic program, while foreign journalists could receive visas valid for up to five years.
Central America
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
The Nicaraguan government announced on Thursday that it is severing diplomatic relations with Italy following criticism from the Italian government over Nicaragua’s long-standing decision to shelter Alessio Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades convicted in Italy for the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the administration of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on Wednesday for continuing to provide refuge to Casimirri, who was sentenced in Italy to six life terms for his role in Moro’s abduction and killing.
In a statement issued Thursday, Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said it was ending all diplomatic relations with Italy, describing Tajani’s remarks as “unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.”
Tajani made the comments during a gathering of conservative leaders from Europe and Latin America held in Madrid.
“We have absolutely nothing in common with the positions of extremist governments such as Nicaragua, a country that continues to harbor dangerous Red Brigades terrorists like Alessio Casimirri,” Tajani said, according to Italian media.
The diplomatic break marks a new escalation in tensions between the two countries over the decades-old case involving Casimirri, who has lived in Nicaragua for many years despite repeated calls from Italy for his extradition.
International
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
Several U.S. strikes targeted areas near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to Iranian state media citing local authorities, as hostilities between the United States and Iran intensified.
Officials in Iran’s Hormozgan Province said the island of Qeshm was struck multiple times by what they described as U.S. missiles during the evening. The reports were carried by the Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim.
Iranian state television also reported that the Bandar Abbas region, located on the Iranian coast overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, was the target of what authorities described as an “enemy U.S. air attack.”
According to local officials quoted by state television, no casualties have been reported following the strikes.
The reported attacks come amid renewed military tensions between Washington and Tehran, although U.S. authorities had not immediately commented on the reported operations.
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
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