International

The driver involved in the accident with 41 dead is handed over to the Brazilian police

The driver of the truck loaded with rocks that allegedly caused the multiple accident in which 41 people died in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais turned himself in to the regional police on Monday, the federal government news agency reported.

The man, who had been a fugitive since the accident that occurred in the early hours of Saturday, presented himself with a lawyer at the police station of the municipality of Teófilo Otoni, the rural area where the tragedy unfloded, in order to testify.

The regional police said on Sunday at a press conference that the suspect’s driver’s license was requisitioned in 2022 after not wanting to undergo a breathalyzer test.

In addition, he said that, based on a preliminary investigation, the truck had an “excess load”, so the driver could face criminal charges.

The main line of investigation on the accident is that one of the granite blocks transported by the truck came off and collided with the bus, which was traveling in the opposite direction with 45 people on board.

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The impact caused a large fire that took hours to extinguish, which is why the corpses are charred and difficult to identify.

After that first collision, another vehicle behind collided with the truck and its three occupants recorded serious injuries, according to the Fire Department.

The accident, which occurred in a curved section on the BR 116 federal highway, is one of the worst road tragedies in Brazil.

International

Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids

Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.

The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.

In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.

He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”

The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.

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The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.

International

Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win

Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.

“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.

In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”

International

Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains

Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.

The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.

“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”

Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.