BRASILIA: Fourteen people including six hostages were killed early on Friday in a shootout between police and bank robbers attempting to blow up ATMs at two banks in a small town in northeastern Brazil, authorities said.
Most of the deaths occurred when police opened fire on the robbers at the bank branches on the main street in Milagres in the interior of Ceará state, a statement by the governor’s office said.
Five of the alleged gang members died in the night-time shootout shortly after 2 a.m local time, two died in hospital of bullet wounds and an eighth was gunned down in a police pursuit, it said.
Six people who had been taken hostage on a local highway that the gang blocked with a trailer truck also died in the shootout, the statement said. It said three suspects have been arrested by police.
Local media reported that five of the dead hostages were from the same family, including two children aged 14 and 13.
The attempted robbery was interrupted by a police unit that had been tracking a gang responsible for similar bank robberies in the area.
Bank robbery shootout in Brazil kills 14
Bank robbery shootout in Brazil kills 14
- A heavily armed group arrived in the town in the early hours and went to the center of town, where they tried to commit the crime
Uganda to shut down Internet ahead of Thursday election: communication authority
- There was no statement from the government on the shutdown
- The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision
KAMPALA: Uganda ordered an Internet blackout on Tuesday, two days ahead of elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his 40-year rule.
“This measure is necessary to mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks, as well as preventing of incitement to violence that could affect public confidence and national security during the election period,” the Uganda Communications Commission said in a letter to Internet providers, verified by government officials to AFP.
There was no statement from the government on the shutdown. The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision.
Uganda shut down the Internet during the last election in 2021 — a vote that was marred by widespread allegations of rigging and state violence against the opposition, led by singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who is running again for the presidency.
The government repeatedly promised that the Internet would not be shut down during the election, stating in a post on X on January 5 that “claims suggesting otherwise are false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension among the public.”
The suspension was due to take effect at 6:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) and remain in force “until a restoration notice is issued,” the UCC said.
Essential state services were to be exempted from the ban, it added.
