Brazil’s Porto Alegre — Meteorologist Estael Sias knew the water would eventually drain into the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the state capital of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, and that she would need to locate a safe place as significant floods overtook entire communities in the northern portion of the state last week.

Thus, she abandoned everything with her spouse, their two dogs, and their three kids. Her neighborhood in Canoas, which is currently among the worst devastated cities in the state, began to fill with water less than a day later.

“My home was submerged,” Sias remembered, her voice quivering. “And forcing my family to leave my house was incredibly difficult.” She stated she could defend those close to her, but not those who insisted on remaining where they were. It has been and continues to be quite upsetting. I’m not sure what will happen when I get back home.

AP – VOR News Image

Southern Brazil Is Still Reeling From Massive Flooding As It Faces Risk From New Storms

While rescuers in southern Brazil raced on Wednesday to bring survivors of the catastrophic flooding that has claimed the lives of at least 100 people, some locals refused to part with their possessions, and others went back to their evacuated houses despite the possibility of more storms.

Since last week, 130 individuals have gone missing in Rio Grande do Sul due to heavy rainfall and flooding, according to authorities. The floodwaters have cut off a large portion of the area, and more than 230,000 people have been forced to flee.

Seem storms were predicted for the state on Wednesday evening, with gusts of wind up to 60 km/h (37 mph) and hail likely, according to the afternoon advisory from the National Meteorological Institute. Additionally, the institute predicts that this weekend will bring more rain due to a cold front that will be especially strong in the state’s east and north.

About 300 people were taking refuge at the neighborhood club Gremio Nautico Uniao in Porto Alegre, located in the affluent, minimally damaged area of Moinhos de Vento. As volunteers brought boxes full of feijoada, a traditional Brazilian stew made with beans and meat, dozens of people lay on mats.

AP – VOR News Image

Southern Brazil Is Still Reeling From Massive Flooding As It Faces Risk From New Storms

Heitor da Silva was one of them, having followed the advice of the authorities. He is still concerned about the future.

“I simply brought my paperwork, my flip-flops, two pairs of underwear, and three clothes. “Everything else is gone,” remarked da Silva, 68. “Even though I didn’t have much, it remained there. There won’t be anything when I get home. What happens next?

One of the hardest-hit cities by the floods, Eldorado do Sul, has people that officials from the state’s civil defense agency told The Associated Press have been difficult to convince to leave their houses. It is situated close to the middle of the state’s coastline, next to Porto Alegre. Four people at least said no to leaving.

A military helicopter flying above Eldorado do Sul observed hundreds of dwellings flooded, with just their roofs showing. Locals get around on small boards, surfboards, and personal watercraft. Mayor Ernani de Freitas informed local media that the city “will be totally evacuated.”

“Recovery will take at least a year,” he declared.

Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul held a press conference late Tuesday to urge people to avoid the area because the predicted downpour could result in more severe floods throughout the state.

“Now is not the moment to go back home,” he declared.

The potential of disease transmission was also emphasized in the civil defense agency’s urgent warning to displaced residents not to return to flooded areas.

One of the rescue coordinators, Army Gen. Marcelo Zucco, told the AP that his team is operating at maximum capacity ahead of the torrential downpours expected to reach the Porto Alegre region this weekend. The city was seeing moderate rain on Wednesday afternoon.

“There’s no way to be sure there won’t be trouble ahead of us, but we hope the next rains are not like those we saw,” Zucco remarked.

Our current priorities are completing the rescue efforts and providing the populace with logistical support. That entails delivering food, drink, medicine, and medical transportation for the ill,” the general continued.

He said that his soldiers had now reached several regions by land thanks to some improvement in the day’s weather.

In portions of Uruguay, unusually strong rains have also flooded areas, causing rivers to overflow in the east of the nation and forcing almost 1,000 people to flee, according to authorities. Rescuers said they had evacuated 200 stranded individuals with the army’s assistance. Although the emergency agency said that flash floods had destroyed over a dozen roads and left thousands of residents without power, there were no immediate reports of injuries.

AP – VOR News Image

Southern Brazil Is Still Reeling From Massive Flooding As It Faces Risk From New Storms

Sias, the Rio Grande do Sul meteorologist who works for a forecasting service based there, said that rain in the northern part of the state over the weekend could cause rivers that are already causing widespread flooding around the Patos lagoon, where the Porto Alegre municipal region is located, to swell again.

“We’re going to stay on this alert level until the end of the month,” she declared.

A survey by the National Confederation of Municipalities estimates that damages in over 80% of Rio Grande do Sul’s municipalities are worth 4.6 billion reais ($930 million).

According to Governor Leite, the massive damage will necessitate a rehabilitation plan similar to that of Europe after World War II. The state has already requested that the federal government halt debt payments and establish a fund specifically for the southern region.

Congress overrode a spending cap on Tuesday by enacting an order that declared a state of calamity in Rio Grande do Sul till the end of the year. This allowed the federal government to immediately begin allocating funds to lessen the damage and restore areas damaged by the floods. Both government opponents and supporters of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came together over the vote.

“Public spending to address the crisis that is currently destroying the state of Rio Grande do Sul has no boundaries,” Planning and Budget Minister Simone Tebet stated in an interview with Radio Gaucha.

SOURCE – (AP)

Afghanistan’s KABUL —On Thursday, the Taliban warned academics and journalists not to collaborate with Afghanistan International TV, claiming that doing so would be illegal. They have never before advised people not to work with a certain channel.

Afghanistan International TV can be accessed via social media, cable, and satellite. Its headquarters are located in London.

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The Taliban Warn Journalists And Experts Against Cooperating With Afghanistan International TV

A representative for the Ministry of Information and Culture, which is under the control of the Taliban, claimed that the station was going beyond the law and moral and professional standards.

Ministry spokesman Habib Ghofran stated that the Media Violations Commission requested that all journalists and experts in Afghanistan stop working with the station.

“It was decided at the commission meeting yesterday (Wednesday) that it is not permitted to participate in discussions or facilitate the broadcast of this media outlet in public places,” Ghofran continued.

Zia ul Haq Haqmal, the deputy minister of broadcasting, claimed cooperating with the station would be criminal activity.

He listed ten reasons—the purported information manipulation, falsification, and opposition to the government—why one should not collaborate with Afghanistan International TV.

According to Haqmal, it is the responsibility of the court to punish someone who refuses to comply for any of the ten reasons listed above.

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The Taliban Warn Journalists And Experts Against Cooperating With Afghanistan International TV

Harun Najafizada, the director of Afghanistan International TV, stated that the channel had no employees or independent contractors in the nation, so the commission’s ruling would not impact it.

Najafizada stated, “We rely on the reporting of Afghan citizens and don’t have anyone on the ground.” That is a greater challenge, but our verification is rigorous. It puts pressure on us to compromise our professional standards and poses a threat to other media outlets and free media. It is not going to succeed.

Afghanistan performs appallingly in terms of journalistic freedom. In Reporters Without Borders’ most recent index, the nation was ranked 178 out of 180. Last year, it was rated 152.

According to the group, three radio journalists were detained in April for playing music during shows and answering calls from female listeners. Local authorities could not confirm the arrests.

The Taliban suspended two TV stations earlier this month for failing to “consider national and Islamic values.”

The director of Barya TV, one of the stations shut down, refuted the Taliban’s claims. The radio station remains down.

According to Latif Sadiq, the station was not notified of the suspension. On Thursday, Sadiq declared, “The reports that they repeatedly warned (Barya) are absolute lies.” “They said the case will go to court and decided on their own that (Barya) television is off, broadcasting is off.”

AP – VOR News Image

The Taliban Warn Journalists And Experts Against Cooperating With Afghanistan International TV

Following the Taliban takeover in 2021, several journalists lost their employment as media institutions closed due to financial difficulties or employee departure. Travel limitations and prohibitions on work present extra challenges for women journalists.

The majority of radio, television, and newspapers were outlawed by the Taliban in the late 1990s when they were in power.

SOURCE – (AP)

Rex Murphy, the Newfoundland-born pundit and wordsmith whose writing and often-blistering observations dominated a decades-long career in Canadian media, died at the age of 77, according to the National Post.

According to a post on the Post’s website on Thursday, Murphy died after a fight with cancer.

Murphy had a long career in the media, including many years at CBC, and was a columnist for the National Post at the time of his death.

For almost two decades, he hosted Cross Country Checkup on CBC Radio and was a familiar face to long-time viewers of CBC’s The National. His appearances on CBC-TV extend back to the 1970s.

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid tribute to Rex Murphy on X, describing him as “one of the most intelligent and fiercely free-thinking journalists this country has ever known.”

Countless National Post readers throughout Canada will mourn his death, as they turned to him to make sense of the world and an increasingly weird national politics.

He was motivated not by party, but by the fact that he no longer recognized his own country. Some of this is undoubtedly what happens to all of us as we age, but the culture battles of the last decade, whether over green attacks on the oil and gas industry or the more identity-obsessed left, have bewildered people of all ages and backgrounds across Canada. Not only men and women from Rex’s generation, but all of us.

His critics condemned him as an out-of-date curmudgeon, but this was a mistake, a handy falsehood perpetuated by people with opposing political views.

Rex Murphy’s relevance only grown as time went on.

He spoke for a Canada that existed beyond the confines of downtown, a Canada unconcerned with the latest, useless tantrum on Twitter. He called for a Canada that values who you are as an individual above all.

Because of his exceptional use of words, Rex contributed to the survival of conservatism in Canadian politics. He was often aggressive, but always with a reason.

His approach, which relied on colorful language, was more like to British pundits at the Times or the Telegraph than anything you’d see in a North American newspaper. In fact, his style was frequently more British than the British.

He was unique, and not only in his writing. In person, Rex was as charming, gracious, and kind as he portrayed in his columns. He was a true gentleman.

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