Tornado in Southern Brazil Kills Six, Injures Hundreds

This handout photo released by the Parana State Government shows the destruction after a tornado with winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour hit the city of Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Brazil's Parana State on November 7, 2025. A tornado killed at least five people and injured around 130 when it swept through parts of a town in southern Brazil on November 7, authorities said. (Photo by Handout / Parana State Government / AFP) /
This handout photo released by the Parana State Government shows the destruction after a tornado with winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour hit the city of Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Brazil's Parana State on November 7, 2025. A tornado killed at least five people and injured around 130 when it swept through parts of a town in southern Brazil on November 7, authorities said. (Photo by Handout / Parana State Government / AFP) /
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Tornado in Southern Brazil Kills Six, Injures Hundreds

This handout photo released by the Parana State Government shows the destruction after a tornado with winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour hit the city of Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Brazil's Parana State on November 7, 2025. A tornado killed at least five people and injured around 130 when it swept through parts of a town in southern Brazil on November 7, authorities said. (Photo by Handout / Parana State Government / AFP) /
This handout photo released by the Parana State Government shows the destruction after a tornado with winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour hit the city of Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Brazil's Parana State on November 7, 2025. A tornado killed at least five people and injured around 130 when it swept through parts of a town in southern Brazil on November 7, authorities said. (Photo by Handout / Parana State Government / AFP) /

A tornado accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain struck the southern Brazilian state of Parana, killing six people, the state government said on Saturday.

The town of Rio Bonito do Iguacu was hit hardest late Friday, with the state's civil defense agency reporting that over half of the urban area suffered roof collapses, along with multiple structural failures.

Roads were blocked and power lines damaged, Reuters reported.

Authorities said 437 people were treated for injuries and about 1,000 were displaced. The nearby city of Guarapuava was also affected.

According to the Parana Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring System, the tornado's winds reached speeds between 180 kph (111 mph) and 250 kph (155 mph).

Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann said she would travel to the area on Saturday with acting Health Minister Adriano Massuda and other federal officials to support relief efforts and reconstruction.

"We will continue to assist the people of Parana and provide all the help needed," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on X, expressing condolences to the victims' families.



NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.


Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."


US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.