Searchers in Brazil are looking for Dom Phillips, above, and Bruno Pereira. AFP
Searchers in Brazil are looking for Dom Phillips, above, and Bruno Pereira. AFP
Searchers in Brazil are looking for Dom Phillips, above, and Bruno Pereira. AFP
Searchers in Brazil are looking for Dom Phillips, above, and Bruno Pereira. AFP

Brazil police sceptical of 'apparently human' remains in Dom Phillips search


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Investigators in Brazil are sceptical that remains found in a river could be from a British journalist who went missing in the Amazon rainforest on Sunday, two police officers involved in the case told Reuters.

On Friday, federal police had announced finding “organic material” that was “apparently human”, raising expectations of a breakthrough in the search for Dom Phillips and his travel companion, indigenous expert Bruno Pereira.

However, a federal police officer and a state detective said the location of the material and its condition raised doubts about whether it could be connected to the missing men.

Federal police did not respond to requests for comment.

The remains were found near the port of Atalaia do Norte, a town more than 65 kilometres downstream from where Phillips and Pereira were last seen on a slow-moving river, the sources said.

The condition of the material suggested it could have been scraps from a nearby butcher's rather than remains carried far downstream, they said.

One of the sources said it seemed likely the material was animal and not human, but that it had been sent for forensic analysis.

Witnesses said they last saw Phillips, a freelance reporter who had written for The Guardian and The Washington Post, last Sunday. Mr Pereira, an expert on local tribes, had been a senior official with government indigenous agency Funai.

Police officers and rescue team conduct a search operation for Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Reuters
Police officers and rescue team conduct a search operation for Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Reuters

The two men were on a reporting trip in the remote jungle area near the border with Peru and Colombia that is home to the world's largest number of uncontacted indigenous people. The region has lured cocaine-smuggling gangs, along with illegal loggers, miners and hunters.

The pair's disappearance has resonated in Brazil, with public figures from football great Pele to singer Caetano Veloso joining politicians, environmentalists and human rights campaigners in urging President Jair Bolsonaro to step up the search.

State police detectives involved in the investigation have told Reuters they are focusing on poachers and illegal fisherman in the area, who clashed often with Pereira as he organised indigenous patrols of the local reservation.

Police have arrested one fisherman, Amarildo da Costa, known locally as Pelado, on a weapons charge and are keeping him in custody as they investigate whether he is involved in the men's disappearance

Mr Costa's lawyers and family have said he fished legally on the river and denied he had any role in the disappearance.

About 150 soldiers had been sent on riverboats to search for the men and interview locals, joining indigenous search teams who have been looking for the pair since Sunday.

The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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THE SPECS

Engine: 3-litre V6

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 424hp

Torque: 580 Nm

Price: From Dh399,000

On sale: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports

Common%20symptoms%20of%20MS
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Points Classification

1. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 63

2. Arnaud Demare (France / FDJ) 38

3. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) 25

4. Sonny Colbrelli (Italy / Bahrain) 24

5. Mark Cavendish (Britain / Dimension Data) 22

6. Taylor Phinney (U.S. / Cannondale) 21

7. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20

8. Thomas Boudat (France / Direct Energie) 20

9. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17

10. Michael Matthews (Australia / Sunweb) 17

Updated: June 12, 2022, 4:38 AM`