At Least 16 Dead After Heavy Rains In Brazil's Rio De Janeiro
International: At least 16 people were killed and another eight to ten people went missing in heavy rains that hit the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, local authorities said on Sunday.
The heavy rainfall caused landslides on the road between the city of Rio de Janeiro and the city of Angra dos Reis, one of the hardest-hit areas. The Rio state government has blocked vehicles from entering the area.
Fernando Jordao, mayor of Angra dos Reis, said on social media on Sunday that the city has decided to shut down the Angra nuclear power plant because local rescue forces couldn't guarantee the safe operation of the plant anymore. He also asked the Brazilian Ministry of Infrastructure to take immediate actions to ensure the nuclear plant's safety.
Since March 31, heavy downpours have continued to batter the southern part of the Rio state. Angra dos Reis had received 655 milliliters of rainfall in the past 48 hours, the highest amount ever recorded in the city.
"The rain was quite heavy with the entire city almost submerged by floods and the whole valley filled by landslides. Power also went out last night. We were in total darkness," said a resident in Angra dos Reis.
"I've never seen such a heavy rain before in the place where I've lived for 30 years. Because of the rain, many houses collapsed one by one," said another resident in Angra dos Reis.
According to Brazil's national weather service, more rains are expected in the Rio de Janeiro area and other areas in the coming days, and authorities have issued alerts for floods and mudslides.
Pope Says He's Ready To Make Ukraine Trip But It's 'Up In The Air'
International: Pope Francis on Sunday April 3 repeated that he was ready to make a trip to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, but added that he had yet to decide if it would be feasible.
He was speaking to journalists on the plane returning from Malta.
In a speech on Saturday, Francis implicitly criticised Putin over the invasion, saying a "potentate" was fomenting conflict for nationalist interests. Read full story
Francis has strongly condemned what he has called an "unjustified aggression" and denounced "atrocities" but he has only referred to Russia directly in prayers, such as during a special global event for peace on March 25.
He said he would like to meet this year with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose support for the war has split the worldwide Orthodox community.
During the Malta trip the 85-year-old pope was suffering from a flare-up of knee pain due to an inflamed ligament that forced him to use lifts to board and disembark planes. He also had to sit for parts of a long Mass on Sunday.
"My health is a bit capricious," he said in response to a question.
Francis stood for about 20 minutes speaking to journalists while on the plane and did not appear to be in any discomfort
Pope Francis, On Whether He Is Planning A Trip To Kiev, Said:
“I am always available. There is not a 'no'. I am available. What do we think about the trip? The question was made to me like this? ‘We heard you were thinking about a trip to Ukraine.’ I said, ‘It is on the table.’ It is there among the proposals, but I don’t know if it will be possible, it is useful to do it. If doing it would be bring any improvement, if it is useful to do it and if I must do it. All this is up in the air. For a while we have been thinking of a meeting with Patriarch Kirill. We are working on this. We thinking about doing it in the Middle East.”
Live Music Lifts Spirits In Streets Of War-Torn Odesa
International: Although the war is still raging in Ukraine, in the southern port city of Odesa musicians are responding to the miseries of war with their most powerful weapons: songs and dance.
A microphone, a guitar, a piano, and a balcony are all the artists needed to fill the city's streets with their tunes as dozens of people gathered to listen on Saturday (April 2).
Accompanied by his guitar, singer Roman Kapitonov entertained his audience with Ukrainian songs, his passion obvious from his smile.
“I am very happy that I can do this here and really happy that there are people for who I can sing because, you know, it is not a really simple situation now", he said.
"Here in Odesa we have to be strong enough to protect ourselves here because we are the owners of the city.”
'Perron number 7' jazz club is open for activists and musicians helping the community and willing to share their art.
Yaroslav Trofimov, the club's owner and a singer himself, is worried about the expansion of war but said he wanted to do his part.
"We are here in Odesa totally into this war, we are checking the news 40 times per day, we are expecting something bad to happen every second," he told Reuters.
"Our goal right now is to give people one hour when they can feel they are still living a normal life,” he added, before showing off his singing talent from the balcony.
The music fever also spread to the nearby market, where dozens of people danced to a lively tune.
Members of singer Victoriya Shostak's family are stuck in Kherson and can't leave the city. She feels helpless but still wanted the show to go on.
Having not performed in public for two months, she needed a quick check of her lyrics before stepping onto the balcony, taking the microphone and entertaining passers-by with her songs.
The music does provide a bit of relief from the conflict but Russia's defence ministry said missile strikes by its military destroyed an oil refinery and three fuel storage facilities in the city on Sunday (April 3).
