BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Federal Police searched former President Jair Bolsonaro’s home and seized his phone Wednesday in what they said was an investigation into alleged falsification of COVID-19 vaccine cards. Several other locations also were searched and a half-dozen people faced arrest, police said. The president confirmed the search on his residence while speaking with reporters, as did his wife Michelle on her Instagram account. She said her phone wasn’t seized, contrary to media reports. A federal police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said that Bolsonaro will be deposed at Federal Police headquarters and confirmed that one of his closest allies, Mauro Cid, was arrested.

 

***

WARSAW (Reuters) - Russia said it had summoned Poland’s chargé d’affaires to protest against what it called the “seizure” of its embassy school building in Warsaw last week. Poland took over the building on Saturday, arguing that Russia was illegally occupying Polish state property. Russia called the move an “illegal seizure”. “These steps by Warsaw will certainly not go without a proper response from us, which will not take long,” Moscow’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Already hostile relations between Russia and Poland have worsened since the start of the war in Ukraine; Warsaw has positioned itself as one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies. Russia’s ambassador to Poland said last week that Polish prosecutors had seized significant amounts of money from the frozen bank accounts of the Russian embassy and trade mission.

 

***

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German and Italian police arrested more than 100 people on Wednesday in a crackdown on the Italian ‘Ndrangheta organized crime group, German public prosecutors and police in the two countries said. The suspects are accused of money laundering, criminal tax evasion, fraud and the smuggling of drugs, mafia-type criminal association, and the possession and trafficking of weapons. The arrests were part of a coordinated investigation by Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, German authorities said. The ‘Ndrangheta, which has its roots in the southern region of Calabria, the toe of Italy’s boot, has surpassed Cosa Nostra as the most powerful mafia group in the country, and one of the largest criminal networks in the world.

 

*** 

 ANKARA (AFP)  — The deputy defense ministers of Russia, Ukraine and Türkiye will meet in Istanbul on Friday to discuss a deal that allows the exports of Ukrainian grains on the Black Sea, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar was quoted as saying on Wednesday. “During the meeting, some issues starting with the grain initiative will be discussed,” state-owned Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying about the meeting scheduled to take place in Istanbul. “In this regard, we can say that the sides are looking warmly at the extension of the duration. Our wish is that this initiative is extended without any trouble,” he said.

 

*** 

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Heavy rain that triggered flooding and landslides in western and northern Rwanda has killed at least 109 people, the state-run broadcaster said on Wednesday, as authorities searched for survivors trapped in their homes. Muddy water flowed swiftly down an inundated road and destroyed houses in a video clip posted by the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency. “Our main priority now is to reach every house that has been damaged to ensure we can rescue any person who may be trapped,” François Habitegeko, governor of Rwanda’s Western Province, told Reuters. The death toll stood at 95 in the province, he said. The state broadcaster’s toll of 109 included deaths from a second region, the Northern Province.