SAO PAULO (Reuters) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was rushed to Sao Paulo overnight for emergency surgery to drain a bleed on his brain linked to a fall in October and he will remain in hospital for a couple more days, the government said on Tuesday. The 79-year-old Lula is “well” and being monitored in the intensive care unit after the successful operation, a medical note published by the government said.  Presidential spokesperson Paulo Pimenta said in a radio interview that Lula would likely remain in the ICU for another 48 hours, with contact limited to his medical team. There have been increasing health concerns about the aging president, a standard bearer of the Latin American left who is halfway through his third non-consecutive term. Weak results for his Workers Party in this year’s municipal elections underscored the lack of a clear leftist successor if he chooses not to run for re-election in 2026.

 

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk at the U.S. president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, the European leader announced on social media platform X. “USA today. The future has begun! An afternoon in Mar-a-Lago with @realDonaldTrump, @elonmusk and @michaelgwaltz,” Orban said, without sharing more details. Orban, a nationalist leader and long-time Trump supporter, has grown increasingly isolated within the European Union for his ties to Russia and opposition to military aid for Ukraine. He has praised Trump as a “man of peace” who would quickly end the Ukraine war and expects his close personal ties with the president-elect will elevate his standing in a politically fractious Europe and bolster support for his far-right allies, at a time when he faces serious headwinds at home.

 

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MAIDUGURI (Reuters) -- A gang of gunmen kidnapped more than 50 women and children in a raid on Kakin Dawa village in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara state, police and residents said. Kidnapping for ransom by gunmen, known by locals as bandits, is rife in northwest Nigeria due to high levels of poverty, unemployment and the proliferation of illegal firearms. Zamfara police said the incident took place on Sunday and that additional security forces were being deployed to the area. Residents said dozens of assailants riding on motorcycles arrived in the village at around 1230 GMT, armed with assault rifles, and went from house to house kidnapping residents. There is widespread insecurity in northwest Nigeria, while a 15-year takfiri insurgency has plagued the northeast of the country and gang and separatist violence affects the southeast.

 

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NAIROBI (Reuters) -- Kenyan police fired teargas and arrested at least three people on Tuesday as hundreds protested against a wave of femicides, a Reuters reporter and human rights activists said. Several hundred people - mostly women - marched in the capital Nairobi, where they blew whistles and chanted, “Stop killing women!” They were repeatedly dispersed by police officers firing teargas from moving vehicles before regrouping anew. Protests also took place in the cities of Mombasa and Lodwar, according to videos posted on social media. Between August and October, at least 97 women in Kenya were killed in femicides - intentional killings with a gender-related motivation, according to the National Police Service. Patriarchal views and insufficient legal protections are major factors behind Kenya’s high levels of gender-based violence, researchers say.

 

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -- Dutch police have arrested three people following an explosion that killed six people and injured four in an apartment building in The Hague, the police said on Tuesday. A criminal investigation has been launched into the cause of Saturday’s blast, which caused the apartment building to collapse and destroyed several neighboring buildings in the residential area in a suburb of The Hague. The police said the three people arrested late on Monday were possibly connected to the blast, but gave no further details. Several cars have been confiscated following the explosion. The police said it was unclear whether any of the vehicles was a car witnesses said they saw speeding away from the scene shortly before the explosion. 

 

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -- Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad denied allegations that he betrayed the country on Tuesday, after a royal inquiry called for a criminal probe against him over a 2018 government decision to drop claims on two disputed islets. In a report published last week, a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) recommended 99-year-old Mahathir face investigation for the decision, made while he was in office, to withdraw Malaysia’s bid to overturn a World Court ruling over the sovereignty of the Pedra Branca islet between Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia had also requested clarification from the court on the status of another disputed islet, according to the RCI report. Both applications, made in 2017, were withdrawn after the election of a coalition led by Mahathir the following year. Mahathir told reporters on Tuesday the decision to drop the claims had been made by the then cabinet on the advice of legal experts.