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Death Toll from Floods in Brazil’s Southernmost State Reaches 31

The Taquari River water level is high due to a deadly cyclone in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
The Taquari River water level is high due to a deadly cyclone in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
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Death Toll from Floods in Brazil’s Southernmost State Reaches 31

The Taquari River water level is high due to a deadly cyclone in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
The Taquari River water level is high due to a deadly cyclone in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)

The death toll from heavy rains that devastated Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state rose to 31 on Wednesday, local authorities said, as an extratropical cyclone batters the region, flooding homes and swelling rivers.

Video obtained by Reuters showed houses in the small town of Mucum submerged by rising water, while streets and rivers were flooded. Nearby cities such as Lajeado and Roca Sales have also been severely affected.

The floods in Rio Grande do Sul were the latest in a series of such disasters to have recently struck Brazil, where more than 50 people were killed in Sao Paulo state earlier this year after massive downpours caused landslides and flooding.

The colonial-era city of Petropolis near Rio de Janeiro and Bahia state also suffered similar disasters recently, as well as Santa Catarina, a state neighboring Rio Grande do Sul where an additional victim was confirmed on Tuesday.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he had spoken to Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite to offer the federal government's full support for the state to "face this crisis."

Lula sent two ministers to the state to oversee search and rescue efforts and said Vice President Geraldo Alckmin would also be "on standby" to travel there.

Weather forecaster Climatempo said that even though showers had stopped on Tuesday, they were expected to return to Rio Grande do Sul on Wednesday and Thursday before dissipating by Sunday, with the state still on alert for floods.

"A combination of lower air pressure and the accumulation of warm humid air will again generate heavy clouds over Rio Grande do Sul, which will cause more heavy rain," Climatempo said in a statement.

Rio Grande do Sul is home to some 10.9 million people and hosts several industries, in addition to being among the top grain-producing states in the country. It borders Uruguay and Argentina.

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World

Israel Says to Boost Production of Arrow Missile Interceptors

Emergency personnel carry a body at the site of a projectile impact, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Haifa, Israel, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
Emergency personnel carry a body at the site of a projectile impact, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Haifa, Israel, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
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Israel Says to Boost Production of Arrow Missile Interceptors

Emergency personnel carry a body at the site of a projectile impact, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Haifa, Israel, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem
Emergency personnel carry a body at the site of a projectile impact, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Haifa, Israel, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Shir Torem

Israel's defense ministry on Monday said it plans to accelerate production of Arrow missile interceptors, as it fights a war with Iran.

The announcement came after questions emerged in the international media over how long Israel's interceptor stocks would last, with some analysts pointing to shortages of Arrow interceptors in particular.

Israel has a multi-layered air defense array, with a variety of systems intercepting threats at different altitudes.

The top tier consists of the anti-ballistic missile Arrow systems, with Arrow 2 operating both within the Earth's atmosphere and in space and Arrow 3 intercepting above the Earth's atmosphere.

"The Ministerial Committee for Procurement has approved the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) plan for a major additional acceleration of Arrow interceptor production," AFP quoted a defense ministry statement as saying.

It added that the plan would enable "a significant increase in both the production rate and stockpile of Arrow interceptors as part of preparations for the evolving campaign".

Defense Minister Israel Katz was quoted in the statement as saying that "Israel has sufficient interceptors to protect its citizens, and this initiative is designed to ensure continued freedom of action and the sustained operational endurance we require."

Each Arrow 2 interceptor costs an estimated $1.5 million, with Arrow 3s around $2 million.

World

Iran Says US Airman Rescue May Have Been Cover to ‘Steal Enriched Uranium’

A still image purporting to show smoke rising from the site of the US aircraft destroyed during the US mission to find a stranded airman in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards said according to Iranian media, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Isfahan, Iran, released on April 5, 2026. (Social Media/via Reuters)
A still image purporting to show smoke rising from the site of the US aircraft destroyed during the US mission to find a stranded airman in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards said according to Iranian media, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Isfahan, Iran, released on April 5, 2026. (Social Media/via Reuters)
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Iran Says US Airman Rescue May Have Been Cover to ‘Steal Enriched Uranium’

A still image purporting to show smoke rising from the site of the US aircraft destroyed during the US mission to find a stranded airman in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards said according to Iranian media, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Isfahan, Iran, released on April 5, 2026. (Social Media/via Reuters)
A still image purporting to show smoke rising from the site of the US aircraft destroyed during the US mission to find a stranded airman in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards said according to Iranian media, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Isfahan, Iran, released on April 5, 2026. (Social Media/via Reuters)

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that a US operation to rescue a downed airman may have been a cover to "steal enriched uranium" from the country.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump said the US recovered a second crew member of an F-15E that went down over Iran on Friday in what he called a "daring" search and rescue operation.

Iran's military has called it "a deception and escape mission", insisting it was "completely foiled".

On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said there were "many questions and uncertainties" about the operation.

"The area where the American pilot was claimed to be present in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a long way from the area where they attempted to land or wanted to land their forces in central Iran," Baqaei said.

"The possibility that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all."

He added that the operation was "a disaster" for the United States.

Iran's military said several US aircraft had to "make emergency landings" in southern Isfahan province after being hit during the mission, with the US "forced to heavily bombard the downed aircraft" as a result.

World

Iran Guards Say Preparing Plan for New Order in Strait of Hormuz

A woman holds Iran’s national flag while standing near a billboard with a sentence reading ‘The Strait of Hormuz remains closed’ at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman holds Iran’s national flag while standing near a billboard with a sentence reading ‘The Strait of Hormuz remains closed’ at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Iran Guards Say Preparing Plan for New Order in Strait of Hormuz

A woman holds Iran’s national flag while standing near a billboard with a sentence reading ‘The Strait of Hormuz remains closed’ at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A woman holds Iran’s national flag while standing near a billboard with a sentence reading ‘The Strait of Hormuz remains closed’ at the Enqelab Square in Tehran, on April 5, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they are completing preparations to enforce new operating conditions in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been all but shut since the war with the United States and Israel began.

The Guards naval forces said in a post on X Sunday that the IRGC naval force is completing operational preparations for the Iranian authorities' “declared_plan” for the new Arabian Gulf order.

They warned conditions in the strait "will never return to its former status, especially for the US and Israel."

Their statement came after US President Donald Trump renewed threats to strike Iran's power plants and bridges if the vital shipping route is not reopened.

Iran has allowed only limited traffic through the waterway since the war began on February 28, disrupting the flow of roughly 20 percent of global oil and gas.

Oman's state news agency said on Sunday that Iran and Oman had held talks on easing passage through the strait, which remains effectively closed due to the conflict.

Iranian lawmakers have in recent weeks proposed imposing tolls and taxes on vessels passing through the waterway.