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This is the VOA News. I'm Alexis Strope.
The aircraft that crashed into a residential complex in the Brazilian town of Vinhedo killing 61 on board did not report any emergencies to officials, authority said on Friday. Air Brigadier Marcelo Moreno (Air Force Brigadier General Moreno), the chief of the Brazilian Center for Investigation and Prevention of aircraft accidents added that information was still premature, but that the body was committed to delivering a report on the incident as soon as possible. Regional carrier Voepass said the plane bound for São Paulo's international airport took off from Cascavel in the state of Parana, and crashed at around 1:30 p.m. in the town of Vinhedo, some 80 kilometers northwest of São Paulo. Russia has declared an emergency in its Kursk region after a surprise Ukrainian attack. AP correspondent ??? Kim reports. The Russian military is sending reinforcements to the western border town four days after the surprise Ukrainian operation, which appears to be Kyiv's biggest attack on Russian soil since the war began. Emergency shelters have been set up with food, diapers and other supplies being sent to Kursk. Meanwhile, Ukrainian emergency services are cleaning up a shopping mall which was hit by a Russian missile in the middle of the day. At least 12 people were killed. It's the second major strike on the town of Kostiantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region in almost a year. I'm ??? Kim. The U.S. ambassador to Mexico has confirmed that drug lord Ismael [ma...] "El Mayo" Zambada was brought [to] to the United States against his will when he arrived in July on a plane in Texas with fellow drug lord Joaquín Guzmán López. Zambada's attorney had earlier claimed the longtime chief of the [si...] Sinaloa cartel had been kidnapped. But officials had not confirmed that and Zambada's age and apparent ill-health had led some to speculate he turned himself in. But on Friday, U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar said, quote, "they had brought El Mayo Zambada against his will." For additional stories, visit our website, voanews.com. This is VOA News. Thailand's disbanded opposition Move Forward unveiled a new political party on Friday that will be the biggest in parliament, promising to advance reforms and a controversial plan to amend a law that protects the monarchy from criticism. Zachary Goelman from Reuters reports. Thailand's largest opposition party regrouped under a new name on Friday. The party that had been called Move Forward was dissolved on Wednesday by the Constitutional Court, which ruled its campaign to reform a law on royal insults risked undermining the constitutional monarchy. Move Forward's liberal agenda made it other powerful enemies. All 143 of its surviving lawmakers have joined the new grouping renamed as the People's Party. The People's Party vows to advance reforms and amend article 112, the controversial lèse-majesté law. The royal defamation law in Thailand is one of the world's strictest of its kind. It punishes acts deemed to insult Thai royals with up to 15 years imprisonment for each perceived crime. Zachary Goelman from Reuters. The U.S. is sending Ukraine an additional $125 million in weapons to assist in its military operations against Russia, including much needed air defense capabilities. The package announced Friday by the White House comes as Ukraine has launched its largest ground offensive on Russian soil since the war began in February 2022. The weapons will be drawn from existing U.S. stocks. It brings the total amount of U.S. aid to Ukraine since 2022 to $55.6 billion. Nigerians and business owners are counting their losses after days of protests over inflation and other economic hardships. ???from Reuters has the story. The situation has led many people to fear travelling, says interstate transporter Thankgod Iwunze, who is also the chairman of a drivers union association. "... people did not travel because so far they want to know the outcome of the protest." A Nigerian government minister said the unrest was costing the economy more than $320 million a day. Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has defended his economic reforms as necessary to reverse years of economic mismanagement. Tinubu has called for a dialogue and a suspension of the protests, but some who marched on Friday in memory of those who died during clashes with police say he has more to do. "... and that is why I'm out: to demand that the president meets all of our demands and to end bad governance in this country." ??? from Reuters. Peru's government has enacted a law that prevents the prosecution of crimes against humanity committed before 2002, a decision that favors former President [Alber...] Alberto Fujimori, as well as hundreds of military personnel investigated or prosecuted for massacres and murders during the country's internal armed conflict between 1980 and 2000. The law was promulgated Friday despite objections from rights organizations. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said in a statement Peru's new law, quote, "contravenes the country's obligations under international law and is a troubling development." I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News. |