International
Brazil ‘neutral’ in Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bolsonaro says
AFP
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Sunday that South America’s biggest country will remain “neutral” over Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
The far-right Bolsonaro, who undertook a controversial visit to Moscow on February 16 to meet with President Vladimir Putin just as Russian leaders were finalizing plans for their full-scale invasion, said his Russian counterpart confided some “secret” issues about Ukraine in their lengthy conversation.
Bolsonaro said he told Putin that Brazil will maintain a position of neutrality in the war, and that it remains “in favor of peace.”
“We are not going to take sides,” Bolsonaro told reporters. “We are going to continue our neutrality and help as much as possible in the search for a solution.”
Brazilians “want peace, but we cannot bring (the war’s) consequences here,” he added, recalling that Brazil is a major purchaser of Russian fertilizers.
Bolsonaro, who has expressed admiration for Putin, has largely avoided criticizing Russia over its aggression, even as Putin’s Ukraine operation has been broadly lambasted by the West.
Last Thursday he upbraided his own vice president, Hamilton Mourao, for saying Brazil did not agree with the invasion of Ukraine.
Bolsonaro on Sunday said Brazil actively worked to help water down a United Nations Security Council resolution that criticized Russia, referring to the change of the word “condemns” to “deplores” in the final version of the measure.
Brazil voted in favor of that resolution, which was vetoed by Russia. But Brazil did not sign a declaration by member countries of the Organization of American States in which they strongly condemned Russia’s invasion.
Bolsonaro’s trip to Moscow earned a firm rebuke by the White House, which described Brazil as being “on the other side of where the global community stands.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction