Spanish tourist on tour of Brazilian slum was killed by military police in Rio

Police officers patrol in the Rocinha slum, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo / AP

Brazil: A Spanish tourist who was on an organised tour of one of Brazil's largest slums was shot and killed by military police in Rio de Janeiro when the vehicle she was travelling in failed to stop at a police checkpoint, officials said. The incident followed a firefight between police officers and suspected drug traffickers in the Rocinha slum. The Spanish woman, identified as 67-year-old Maria Esperanza Jimenez Ruiz, was taken to a local hospital but died from her injuries.

Indonesia: Jakarta has made urgent requests for an explanation why Indonesia's military chief was barred from travelling to the US. Armed forces commander General Gatot Nurmantyo was stopped on Saturday from boarding an Emirates flight to the US, despite having a visa and an official invitation to a conference from his counterpart, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, General Joseph Dunford. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she had accepted an official apology from the deputy US ambassador in Jakarta but awaited a detailed explanation. US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis apologised for the incident to his Indonesian counterpart, Ryamizard Ryacudu, in the Philippines.

Australia: The mother of two of the victims killed in the Dreamworld accident has opened up about her grief saying getting out of bed is a major achievement one year on from the tragedy. Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi, and Sydney woman Cindy Low, died on October 25 last year when the Thunder River Rapids Ride flipped at the Gold Coast theme park. "Our year has been filled with tears, laughter and disbelief. At times, it has been difficult to face this tragedy and getting out of bed can be a major achievement," Kim Dorsett, mother of Goodchild and Dorsett, wrote in the Courier-Mail. "Their deaths have certainly left a hole in hundreds of lives, but none so much as mine, Kate's girls and her loving partner." An inquest into the disaster is yet to be held, while a Workplace report has been completed but not publicly released.

Britain: The UK announced it will give Canada the shipwrecks of British explorer John Franklin, who perished with his crew while trying to chart the Northwest Passage through the Arctic in the 1840s. The HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were found in 2014 and 2016 about 48km apart near King William Island in the Canadian Arctic. Under an agreement between the two countries, the wrecks were the property of Britain although Canada had custody and control of them. The Ministry of Defence said it would transfer ownership to Parks Canada, but retain a small sample of artifacts.

The grave of Able Seaman John Hartnell, a crew member of the Arctic expedition led by Captain Sir John Franklin in 1845, at Beechey Island, Nunavut, Canada. Photo / AP file

United States: New York state's top prosecutor has launched a civil rights investigation into the Weinstein Co following sexual assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The office of Attorney-General Eric Schneiderman issued a subpoena seeking all company records. The Democrat said his office wants to know whether any New York employees were subjected to pervasive harassment or discrimination at the company, which has an office in New York.

Australia: More than 118,000 would-be Australian citizens are waiting for their applications to be processed by immigration department officials. In the past six months there have been two spikes in application numbers, which coincided with attempts by the government to impose tougher rules and last week's Senate rejection of the changes.

United States: The Senate is pushing ahead on a US$36.5 billion hurricane relief package that would give Puerto Rico a much-needed infusion of cash. The measure also would provide US$16 billion to permit the financially troubled federal flood insurance programme to pay an influx of Harvey-related claims. But it rejects requests for additional money to rebuild after hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Debris scatters a destroyed community in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico. Photo / AP file

Mexico: Train robberies in central Mexico are growing more violent and attracting criminals who used to steal fuel from government pipelines. Puebla state police said they have been asking railways for months to take steps to combat robberies, but they have failed to do so. Police say the railways don't report incidents until an average of six hours after they happen, then don't file criminal complaints and give incorrect information about freight shipments. Police said some engineers simply stop their trains on the tracks when their shifts end, making them vulnerable to attacks. An official of Ferromex, one of the nation's leading railways, told an industry journal last week that a significant percentage of the 35 trains per day the company operates in Puebla and Veracruz are attacked. Bandits are now using assault rifles to threaten train employees. Thieves usually just stopped trains by piling logs or rocks on the tracks, and then sent throngs of unarmed people to overwhelm guards and steal grain, cement, electronics and other cargo.

- agencies