RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled a trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after injuring his head, his office announced.
It did not say how the injury occurred but said he was taken to a hospital where doctors found he had suffered a cut to the back of his head and advised him against long-distance travel.
Local media said Lula had fallen in his bathroom on Saturday night, causing a cut that required stitches.
The 78-year-old Lula will, however, participate by videoconference in the BRICS meeting and will carry on his normal duties this week at the presidential palace in Brasilia, his office said.
The three-day summit of BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — as well as their partners, will bring some 20 world leaders to the city of Kazan beginning Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin convened the meeting in what some analysts say was a defiant gesture to show that Russia’s war in Ukraine has not left it isolated.
Lula had been scheduled to leave Brasilia early Sunday evening for Russia.
The BRICS summit would have been Lula’s first face-to-face meeting with Putin this year. In September, the two men spoke by phone to discuss a joint Brazilian-Chinese proposal to end the Ukraine war.
Putin skipped the last BRICS summit in South Africa after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest order for him over Kyiv’s complaint that invading troops had illegally deported Ukrainian children to Russia.
On Friday, Putin announced that he would not attend a G20 summit in Brazil in November because his arrival might “disrupt” the conference.
He insisted that the ICC warrant for his arrest was not a factor, saying “that rulings of this type can be got around very easily.”
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Brazil’s President Lula cancels trip to BRICS summit in Russia after injuring head
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Brazil’s President Lula cancels trip to BRICS summit in Russia after injuring head
- Lula will participate by videoconference in the BRICS meeting, his office said
- 3-day meet will bring some 20 world leaders to the city of Kazan beginning Tuesday
US strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat kills two in Pacific
- President Donald Trump’s administration began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September
- International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings
WASHINGTON: The US military said it killed two alleged drug traffickers in a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Friday, while the Coast Guard was searching for a third person who survived.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that included a clip of a multi-engined boat being smashed by an explosion.
Three people were visible in the footage prior to the strike, and SOUTHCOM said it “immediately” notified the US Coast Guard to look for the one who survived.
President Donald Trump’s administration began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September, insisting it is effectively at war with alleged “narco-terrorists” operating out of Venezuela.
But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations.
International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings as they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States.
The latest strike was the first carried out since late last year, and is also the first since US forces seized leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a lighting raid on Caracas in early January, bringing him and his wife to the United States to stand trial.
Also on Friday, the United States announced that its top officer General Dan Caine will host military leaders from 34 countries on February 11 in Washington “to build shared understanding of common security priorities and strengthen regional cooperation.”
“Participating defense leaders will explore the importance of strong partnerships, continued cooperation, and united efforts to counter criminal and terrorist organizations, as well as external actors undermining regional security and stability,” Caine’s office said in a statement.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that included a clip of a multi-engined boat being smashed by an explosion.
Three people were visible in the footage prior to the strike, and SOUTHCOM said it “immediately” notified the US Coast Guard to look for the one who survived.
President Donald Trump’s administration began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September, insisting it is effectively at war with alleged “narco-terrorists” operating out of Venezuela.
But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations.
International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings as they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States.
The latest strike was the first carried out since late last year, and is also the first since US forces seized leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a lighting raid on Caracas in early January, bringing him and his wife to the United States to stand trial.
Also on Friday, the United States announced that its top officer General Dan Caine will host military leaders from 34 countries on February 11 in Washington “to build shared understanding of common security priorities and strengthen regional cooperation.”
“Participating defense leaders will explore the importance of strong partnerships, continued cooperation, and united efforts to counter criminal and terrorist organizations, as well as external actors undermining regional security and stability,” Caine’s office said in a statement.
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