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Ex-health ministry director in Brazil accused of perjury by Covid panel

AFP

A former director of Brazil’s health ministry was arrested Wednesday while testifying before a Senate commission investigating how the government of President Jair Bolsonaro has handled the Covid-19 pandemic.

Senator Omar Aziz, who chairs the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (ICC), ordered the arrest of the ministry’s former logistics director Roberto Dias on charges of perjury.

“He’s been lying since this morning, I gave him the opportunity (to tell the truth), I asked him several times,” Aziz said. 

“I do not accept that the ICC is becoming a farce. We have more than 527,000 dead from this pandemic and the guys are doing deals with vaccines,” he said, visibly annoyed. 

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It was the first time that a senator on the ICC commission has ordered an arrest since the investigation two months ago.

Dias was dismissed from his post at the end of June following allegations that he demanded a one dollar per dose bribe from the representative of a company negotiating the sale of 400 million AstraZeneca vaccines to Brazil.

Suspicions had arisen after statements by the company representative, Luiz Dominguetti, who testified last week before the ICC. 

Dias denied having asked for any bribe and claimed the meeting with Dominguetti had gone well, despite information the senators had contradicting his version of events, according to parliamentary sources.

Dias also denied pressuring a subordinate to sign a contract to purchase the Indian vaccine Covaxin, a scandal that could implicate Bolsonaro.

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The president is the subject of a preliminary investigation in this case, suspected of turning a blind eye to corruption allegations reported by a health ministry official. 

Testifying before the commission of inquiry, the official said he had been subjected to “atypical pressure” to approve the importation of Covaxin doses that he considered to be overpriced. 

The far-right president has long downplayed the severity of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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International

Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore

Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.

Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.

In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.

Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.

“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.

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He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.

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International

Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking

Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.

Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.

The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.

“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.

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International

Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing

Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.

“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.

He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.

A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.

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Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.

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