Seven guards at a Brazilian prison were briefly taken hostage on Saturday during an inmate uprising stoked by fears of a coronavirus outbreak.
Authorities at Puraquequara prison in Manaus, a state capital deep in the Amazon rainforest where public services have been overwhelmed by the pandemic, said 10 guards and five inmates were injured in the incident, which officials said was a distraction from a foiled escape attempt.
There were no reports of any fatalities.
Relatives of inmates said the incident was a response to poor conditions in the prison, including a lack of food, power and medical attention. Some said the spread of the virus in Manaus made the concerns of prisoners more urgent.
Officials did not respond to questions about fears of an outbreak in the prison. Two other prisons in the state of Amazonas confirmed cases of the virus, according to local prison authorities.
Inmates in various Latin American nations have risen up during the pandemic due to fears the virus would rip through the region's underfunded and overcrowded jails.
Late last month, inmates in Buenos Aires climbed to the roof of a jail and set fire to mattresses, saying they refused to die while locked up.
Nine inmates died in a prison riot in Peru last week.
Last Friday in Venezuela, at least 46 people died and 60 were injured in a riot at a prison in Portuguesa state, according to a rights group and an opposition lawmaker.
El Salvador prisons amid coronavirus
The violence at Puraquequara prison came as the virus outbreak overwhelms public services in Manaus, where patients who succumb to Covid-19 are buried mass graves and there are warnings of an imminent shortage of coffins.
Brazilian TV network GloboNews reported the country's national prison chaplaincy sent a formal complaint to the public defender's office in Manaus alleging that up to 300 inmates at the prison were sick, some with symptoms compatible with coronavirus cases.
According to the report, authorities denied there were cases of the virus inside the prison.
The chaplaincy, which is tied to the Catholic Church in Brazil, and state prison officials did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters on Saturday.
The public defender's office said it visited the prison in late March and the chaplaincy's complaint regarding an outbreak "was not confirmed".
However, the office said the possibility of the virus spreading among inmates was a concern and it was working to move vulnerable prisoners to house arrest where possible.
Violence is rife in Brazil's prisons, which are often controlled by people involved in organised crime.
Human rights groups call conditions medieval, with food scarce and cells so packed prisoners sometimes have no space to lie down.
In January 2017, almost 150 prisoners were killed as rival gangs battled each other in several prisons in northern and north-eastern Brazil.
In one particularly violent incident in Manaus in July last year, 57 inmates were killed, some of whom were decapitated and thrown over prison walls.
Last year, more than 50 inmates were strangled or stabbed to death as rival gangs battled each other in four Manaus jails.
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz S 450
Price, base / as tested Dh525,000 / Dh559,000
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
The five pillars of Islam
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
