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Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

SAO PAULO — Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro began flooding Sao Paulo's main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government's blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution. A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil's flag, poured onto Avednia Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded. "Thank you for defending our freedom," read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur. Saturday's march is a test of Bolsonaro's capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections, even though Brazil's electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It's also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro's opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil's deep-seated political polarization. "A country without liberty can't celebrate anything this day," Bolsonaro wrote on his Instagram account September 4, urging Brazilians to stay away from official Independence Day parades and instead join him in Sao Paulo. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X's nationwide ban on Aug. 30 after months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on January 8, 2023, to overturn Bolsonaro's defeat in the presidential election. The ban is red meat to Bolsonaro's allies, who have accused the judiciary and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government of colluding to silence their movement. "Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech," staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. "The right is being oppressed, massacred, because the left doesn't want the right to exist." "Our liberties are in danger; we need to make our voices heard. De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it," said retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday, Musk, a self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist," has also urged Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else's post claiming that X's ban had awakened people "to the fact that freedom isn't free and needs to be fought for." He's also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful. But De Moraes' decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, is more easily censored under Brazil's laws than it is in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause celebre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech. Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil's democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro's party, according to court records. But when it refused to act on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative — as required to receive court notices — and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so. A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes' decision to block X days later, undermining Musk's efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech. The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X. "Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite onerous and abusive," said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel. In the lead-up to Saturday's protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes' ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests. The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil's anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength. Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes' rulings. He has since toned down the attacks — a reflection of his own delicate legal situation. Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it.

VENICE, ITALY — Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's first English-language movie "The Room Next Door," which tackles the hefty themes of euthanasia and climate change, won the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday. Starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, the film received an 18-minute standing ovation when it premiered at Venice earlier in the week — one of the longest in recent memory. Almodovar is a darling of the festival circuit and was awarded a lifetime achievement award at Venice in 2019 for his bold, irreverent and often funny Spanish-language features. He also won an Oscar in the best foreign language category for his 1999 film "All About My Mother." Now aged 74, he has decided to try his hand at English, focusing his lens on questions of life, death and friendship. Speaking after collecting his prize, he said euthanasia should not be blocked by politics or religion. "I believe that saying goodbye to this world cleanly and with dignity is a fundamental right of every human being," he said, speaking in Spanish. He also thanked his two female stars for their performances. "This award really belongs to them, it's a film about two women and the two women are Julianne and Tilda," he said. While "The Room Next Door" had been widely tipped to win, the runner-up Silver Lion award was a surprise, going to Italian director Maura Delpero for her slow-paced drama set in the Italian Alps during World War Two — "Vermiglio." Australia's Nicole Kidman won the best actress award for her risqué role in the erotic "Babygirl," where she plays a hard-nosed CEO, who jeopardizes both her career and her family by having a toxic affair with a young, manipulative intern. Kidman was in Venice on Saturday, but did not attend the awards ceremony after learning that her mother had died unexpectedly. France's Vincent Lindon was named best actor for "The Quiet Son," a topical, French-language drama about a family torn apart by extreme-right radicalism. Road to Oscars The best director award went to American Brady Corbet for his 3-1/2 hour-long movie "The Brutalist," which was shot on 70mm celluloid and recounts the epic tale of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor played by Adrien Brody, who seeks to rebuild his life in the United States. "We have the power to support each other and tell the Goliath corporations that try and push us around: 'No, it's three-and-a-half hours long and it's on 70mm," he told the auditorium Saturday. The festival marks the start of the awards season and regularly throws up big favorites for the Oscars, with eight of the past 12 best director awards at the Oscars going to films that debuted at Venice. The prize for best screenplay went to Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega for "I'm Still Here," a film about Brazil's military dictatorship, while the special jury award went to the abortion drama "April," by Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili. Among the movies that left Venice's Lido island empty-handed were Todd Phillips's "Joker: Folie à Deux," starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the sequel to his original "The Joker" which claimed the top prize here in 2019. Luca Guadagnino's "Queer," with Daniel Craig playing a gay drug addict, and Pablo Larrain's Maria Callas biopic "Maria," starring Angelina Jolie as the celebrated Greek soprano, also won plaudits from the critics but did not get any awards. The Venice jury this year was headed by French actress Isabelle Huppert.

UNITED NATIONS — The United States and Ecuador circulated a draft resolution Friday asking the United Nations to begin planning for a U.N. peacekeeping operation to replace the Kenya-led mission now in the Caribbean nation helping police to quell gang violence. The proposed Security Council resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, says U.N. peacekeepers are needed "in order to sustain the gains" made by the U.N.-backed multinational mission which has seen almost 400 Kenyan police deploy since June to help the Haitian National Police. The circulation of the short resolution to all 15 council members follows U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Haiti on Thursday where he reaffirmed the U.S. government's commitment to the multinational mission and pushed for long-awaited general elections. America's top diplomat also said a U.N. peacekeeping force was an option to address a funding crisis for the Kenya-led mission, which depends on voluntary contributions. The U.S. and Canada have provided the bulk of funds so far. Peacekeeping operations, by contrast, are funded from a special U.N. budget. The United Nations has been involved in Haiti on and off since 1990. A 2004 rebellion had the country on the brink of collapse, leading to deployment of a U.N. force. It helped stabilize the impoverished nation after successful elections and a devastating 2010 earthquake that killed as many as 300,000 people and ended in October 2017. But U.N. peacekeepers left under a cloud, with troops from Nepal widely blamed for introducing cholera that has killed about 10,000 people in Haiti since 2010 and other troops implicated in sexual abuse, including rape and the targeting of hungry children. Since 2017, the U.N. has had a series of small missions in Haiti. The latest, political mission, BINUH, has a mandate to advance a Haitian-led political process toward elections, the rule of law and human rights. Many Haitians have rejected the proposal of another peacekeeping operation, given the introduction of cholera and sexual abuse cases that occurred when U.N. troops were last in Haiti. Some Haitians also see U.N. peacekeepers as an occupying force. Haiti asked for an international force to combat gangs in 2022, and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for months for a country to lead the force before the Kenyans came forward and pledged 1,000 police. They are expected to be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica, bringing the multinational force to 2,500 personnel. They would be deployed in phases that would cost roughly $600 million a year. Currently, the U.N. has $85 million in pledges for the mission, out of which $68 million has been received. The gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups. In February, gangs launched coordinated attacks on police stations and the main international airport, which remained closed for nearly three months. They also stormed Haiti's two largest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. The violence subsided somewhat before the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived in late June, with Blinken noting that economic activity has restarted in some areas of Port-au-Prince, and that joint operations have led to successes including regaining control of Haiti's biggest public hospital. However, gangs continue to attack communities surrounding Port-au-Prince. The draft resolution would determine that "the situation in Haiti continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security and to stability in the region." Extending gratitude to Kenya, it would extend the mandate of the Multinational Security Support mission until Oct. 2, 2025, while the U.N. plans a transition to a peacekeeping operation. Security Council experts held their first meeting on the text of the resolution Friday afternoon and negotiations are expected to continue, a council diplomat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because discussions were private. No date has been set for a vote. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated Friday that any new peacekeeping force requires approval from the Security Council. U.N. member nations must then volunteer troops and needed equipment, and the force then needs to be deployed — all of which takes time, he said.

paris — A Paris court in May detained and charged a couple on accusations that they were involved in Iranian plots to kill Jews in Germany and France, police sources told Agence France-Presse. Authorities charged Abdelkrim S., 34, and his partner Sabrina B., 33, on May 4 with conspiring with a criminal terrorist organization and placed them in pretrial detention.  The case, known as "Marco Polo" and revealed Thursday by French news website Mediapart, signals a revival in Iranian state-sponsored terrorism in Europe, according to a report by France's General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) seen by AFP.  "Since 2015, the Iranian (secret) services have resumed a targeted killing policy," the French security agency wrote, adding that "the threat has worsened again in the context of the Israel-Hamas war."  The alleged objective for Iranian intelligence was to target civilians and sow fear in Europe among the country's political opposition as well as among Jews and Israelis.  Iran is accused of recruiting criminals, including drug lords, to conduct such operations.  Abdelkrim S. was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison in a killing in Marseille and released on probation in July 2023.  He is accused of being the main France-based operative for an Iran-sponsored terrorist cell that planned acts of violence in France and Germany.  A former fellow inmate is believed to have connected the suspect with the cell's coordinator, a major drug trafficker from the Lyon area who likely visited Iran in May, according to the DGSI.  The group intended to attack a Paris-based former employee at an Israeli security firm and three of his colleagues residing in the Paris suburbs.  Three Israeli-German citizens in Munich and Berlin were also among the targets.  Investigators believe that Abdelkrim S., despite his probation, made multiple trips to Germany for scouting purposes, including travels to Berlin with his wife.  He denied the accusations and said he simply had purchases to make.  French authorities are also crediting the cell with plots to set fire to four Israeli-owned companies in the south of France between late December 2023 and early January 2024, said a police source.  Abdelkrim S. rejected the claims, saying he had acted as a go-between on Telegram for the mastermind and other individuals involved in a planned insurance scam, the source added. 

cairo — Three Lebanese paramedics were killed and two others wounded, one critically, in an Israeli attack while they were extinguishing fires in the southern town of Faroun, Lebanon's health ministry said on Saturday.  "Israeli forces targeted a team from the Lebanese Civil Defense as they responded to fires sparked by recent Israeli airstrikes," a ministry statement said, specifying that the strike hit a fire truck.  The Israeli military said: "Earlier today, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) struck and eliminated terrorists from the Amal terrorist organization that operated within a Hezbollah military structure in the area of Froun in southern Lebanon."  Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack as a violation of international law and announced an emergency meeting on Monday with Western ambassadors and international organizations to address the ongoing hostilities.  "To date, because of Israel's aggression, 25 paramedics from various ambulance teams have been killed, along with two health workers, and 94 paramedics and health workers have been injured," the health ministry statement added.  The health ministry also condemned the attack as a "blatant strike" on an official Lebanese state apparatus, marking the second such attack on an emergency team in less than 12 hours.  Hezbollah issued a statement, saying it launched a "squadron of missiles" in response to the Faroun attack, targeting an Israeli military headquarters, causing casualties.   Around 140 civilians have been killed by Israeli bombardment of Lebanon since October 8, when hostilities broke out between the Israeli military and Hezbollah in parallel with the war in Gaza.  The intensity of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has ratcheted up steadily, displacing tens of thousands of people on either side of the Lebanese Israeli frontier.  According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, between October 8, 2023, and August 26, at least 133 civilians have been killed. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, the total number of casualties stands at 2,412, including 564 fatalities. 

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Islamabad — Border security forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan were engaged in intense clashes Saturday, reportedly resulting in several casualties on both sides.    The war zone is located between the southeastern Afghan border province of Khost and the adjoining Pakistani district of Kurram, as reported by security officials and residents on both sides.    The conflict reportedly broke out when Taliban forces attempted to construct a security outpost on the Afghan side, prompting Pakistani troops to open fire to force the other side to stop the activity.     Pakistani officials maintain neither side can construct new posts unilaterally under mutual agreements regarding the nearly 2,600-kilometer border between the two countries.     Multiple sources reported that ongoing heavy clashes had injured at least five Pakistani soldiers, including an officer, and more than four Afghan border guards.    Pakistan and Afghanistan authorities have not commented immediately on the fighting. This is the second time in as many days that the two countries have clashed over the construction of the disputed Afghan border outpost.    The military tensions come amid Pakistan's persistent allegations that militants linked to the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have taken shelter on Afghan soil and are being facilitated by the country's Taliban leaders in orchestrating cross-border terrorist attacks.     "We have, on numerous occasions, presented evidence of the activities of these terror groups, which have hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan," Mumtaz Baloch, the Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, reiterated Thursday.     "We urge the government of Afghanistan to take action against these terror groups and to ensure that these terror groups do not stage terror attacks against Pakistan," she told a weekly news conference in Islamabad.     Taliban authorities deny foreign militant groups, including TTP, are present in Afghanistan, saying no one is being allowed to threaten neighboring countries from their territory.     However, recent United Nations assessments disputed the Taliban claims and backed Pakistan's concerns that TTP operatives had intensified cross-border violence with the help of the de facto Afghan government in Kabul, which no country has officially recognized.    Since the Taliban regained power three years ago, bilateral ties have been strained due to increasing TTP attacks inside Pakistan and occasional border skirmishes, significantly undermining trade and transit ties between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. 

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BRASILIA, Brazil/CARACAS, venezuela — Venezuela revoked Brazil's authorization to represent Argentine interests in the country, including administering the embassy where six opposition figures are sheltering, the Venezuelan government said Saturday.  In a statement, Venezuela said the decision was effective "immediately" and was due to proof that the embassy was being used to plan assassination attempts against President Nicolas Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez Gomez.  Shortly afterward, the Brazil government said that it had received the communication "with surprise."  In a statement, it insisted that it would remain in custody and defense of Argentine interests until Argentina indicates another state acceptable to Venezuela to do so.  "The Brazilian government highlights in this context, under the terms of the Vienna Conventions, the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission," it said, adding that it housed six Venezuelan asylum-seekers, assets and archives.  Argentine government representatives did not immediately reply to a request for comment.  On Friday night, some opposition members in the Argentine residence reported on their X accounts, formerly Twitter, that the building was under surveillance and had no electricity. They posted videos showing men dressed in black and patrols from the government intelligence agency, SEBIN.  In March, six people sought asylum in the Argentine embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, after a prosecutor ordered their arrest on charges including conspiracy. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has denied the allegations against her collaborators.  On Friday, Argentina's Foreign Ministry asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against Nicolas Maduro and other senior government officials for events that occurred after the July elections.  Venezuela broke relations with Argentina following its disputed presidential election on July 28. Brazil, like Colombia and Mexico, has asked the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the vote.  The government has not done so, and the country's electoral authority proclaimed that President Nicolas Maduro won reelection for a third term, without showing any documented evidence to back their claim. 

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BELGRADE, Serbia — A pride march Saturday in Serbia's capital pressed for the demand that the populist government improve the rights of the LGBTQ+ community who often face harassment and discrimination in the conservative Balkan country.  The march in central Belgrade was held under police protection because of possible attacks from right-wing extremists. Organizers said assailants had assaulted a young gay man in Belgrade two days ago and took away his rainbow flag. Serbia is formally seeking entry into the European Union, but its democratic record is poor. Serbia's LGBTQ+ community is demanding that authorities pass a law allowing same-sex partnerships and boosting other rights.  "We can't even walk freely without heavy (police) cordons securing the gathering," said Ivana Ilic Sunderic, a resident of Belgrade.  The event Saturday was held under the slogan 'Pride are people.' It also included a concert and a party after the march.  Participants carried rainbow flags and banners as they danced to music played from a truck. The crowd passed the Serbian government headquarters and the National Assembly building.  Dozens of Russians who fled the war in Ukraine and the regime of President Vladimir Putin could be seen at the march. Mikhail Afanasev said it was good to be there despite the Belgrade Pride being cordoned off by police.  "I came from Russia where I am completely prohibited as person, as gay, (a) human being," he said, referring to the pressure on gay people in Russia. "We want to love, we want to live in a free society, and to have those rights like all other people have."  No incidents were reported. Regional N1 television said that a small group of opponents sang nationalist and religious songs at one point along the route, carrying a banner that read "Parade-Humiliation"  Western ambassadors in Serbia, opposition politicians and liberal ministers from the Serbian government joined the event. But the right-wing Belgrade mayor openly opposed the Pride gathering.  Pride marches in Belgrade had been marked in the past by tensions and sometimes skirmishes and clashes between extremist groups and police. The populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic in 2022 first banned a pan-European pride event in Belgrade but later backed down and allowed the march to take place. 

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NAIROBI, Kenya — The number of children who died in a fire in a school dormitory in central Kenya has risen to 21, the government spokesperson said Saturday.  Officials began removing the bodies of the children as they tried to account for the dozens of boys still missing.  Journalists were moved to wait outside the Hillside Endarasha Primary School compound as a team that included the government pathologist and morticians from the Nyeri provincial hospital set up tables outside the dormitory Saturday.  The Thursday night fire razed a dormitory that was housing 156 boys ages 10 to 14. More than 100 boys have been accounted for and the government is urging parents and people living near the privately owned school to help account for all the boys.  Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura called for patience from members of the public as government agencies comb through the scene to ascertain the numbers of those who died and what caused the fire. Police are still investigating.  Mwaura said that some of the children were burned beyond recognition and agencies would take longer to identify the victims.  "These figures are still preliminary because the process is ongoing. … It's a DNA process that will take a number of days," he said.  Kenya's president, William Ruto, declared three days of mourning Friday. Anxious parents, who had been waiting all day for news about their children, were allowed to see Friday evening what remained of the dormitory. Some parents broke down as they left the scene.  The government has urged school administrators to enforce boarding guidelines that require dormitories to be spacious, with three doors and no grills on the windows for easy escape in case of fire.  School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, often caused by arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding, according to a recent education ministry report. Many students board because parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes.  Some fires have been started by students during protests over the workload or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire in Nairobi started by a student.  Kenya's deadliest school fire in recent history was in 2001, when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos county. 

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