Maranhao, Brazil (CNN)- Paulo Paulino Guajajara, an indigenous leader in Brazil, was killed by loggers who allegedly ambushed him and another man in the Northeastern state of Maranhao.
The two “Forest Guardians”, as they are called, left their village in search of water. A group of armed loggers approached them and immediately began shooting. Guajajara was shot in the neck and was instantly killed. The second man, Laércio Guajajara, was shot in the back but managed to escape.
Brazilian Minister of Justice and Public Security, Sergio Moro, called the incident a “terrible” crime.
“We will spare no effort to bring those responsible for this serious crime to justice,” Moro said in a tweet.
In prior months, members of the Guajajara pleaded to officials of the capital Brasilia for protection from the illegal loggers. The State Head of Human Rights wrote to federal police that the loggers were threatening Araribóia lands.
Bengal, India (CNN)- Two million people were evacuated from Bangladesh and India in the wake of Cyclone Bulbul. Ten people have been killed during the storm caused by the aftermath of severe flooding and falling debris.
Enamur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Minister for Disaster Management, said a total of 2.16 million people have been evacuated from their homes across the country. About 30,000 houses were damaged by the cyclone, Rahman said, adding that most of the affected homes were “simple huts made of bamboo and other materials.”
Bulbul is not the first powerful storm to hit the region this year. In May, seven people died following Cyclone Fani, the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in India in 20 years.
India’s meteorological authorities classified Bulbul as a severe storm, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 75 miles per hour.
St. Petersburg, Russia (BBC)- History Professor, Oleg Sokolov, 63, just admitted to the murder of his ex student and lover, Anastasia Yeshchenko.
Yeshchenko, 24, was found dismembered in the Moika River after Sokolov tried to dispose of the body parts before drunkenly falling into the river himself. A bag was found on Professor Sokolov which contained the woman’s arms.
“He has admitted his guilt,” his lawyer, Alexander Pochuyev, told the AFP news agency, adding that the historian regretted what he had done and was now co-operating. Prof Sokolov was treated in the hospital for hypothermia, after rescuers hauled him out of the icy water early on Saturday, and is now in police custody.
He has admitted to having killed Yeshchenko with a sawed-off shotgun before dismembering the body. Sokolov’s plan was to kill Yeshchenko then publicly committ suicide.