Brazil prosecutors demand government plan for oil spill

Brazil's public prosecutor's office requested the government be forced to activate its national plan to minimize damages caused by an oil spill contaminating the nation's northeast coast, including popular tourist beaches. It alleges the government's response has thus far been "silent, inert, inefficient and ineffective" in the face of the spreading crude. Prosecutors from the nine states whose coasts have been sullied by the sludge - whose origin remains unknown - asked the federal justice system to grant the government a 24-hour period to activate the plan and set a daily fine equivalent to nearly $250,000 for failure to comply.

South Korean Students Break Into U.S. Ambassador’s Residence

(Bloomberg) -- A group of South Korean students broke into the residence of American ambassador Harry Harris on Friday, in a protest against Donald Trump’s campaign to get the Asian nation to pay more for U.S. military support.Nineteen students, who described themselves as members of a liberal university students’ group, were detained by police after staging a protest against plans to impose a bigger financial burden for the stationing of U.S. troops in the country, the Yonhap News Agency reported.The students used a ladder to climb the walls of the ambassador’s residence, next to an old South Korean palace, and urged Harris to leave the country.The incident happened days before officials from the U.S. and South Korea are due to meet in Honolulu for the next round of talks on sharing defense costs.After the incident, Seoul police dispatched 80 more officers to beef up security of the envoy’s home, according to Yonhap.Earlier this year, the two allies reached a one-year cost-sharing deal for maintaining about 28,500 American troops in South Korea. That deal expires at the end of 2019.The relationship between the two allies soured after Seoul abruptly announced the termination of a three-year-old pact with Japan -- another U.S. key ally -- for exchanging classified military information. That was in response to Japan’s move to restrict exports of key materials for the manufacture of semiconductors to South Korea.To contact the reporters on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.net;Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Marcus Wright, Jasmine NgFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Thousands in Germany, France protest Turkish push into Syria

Thousands of people in the German city of Cologne and in the French capital demonstrated Saturday against Turkey's offensive in northern Syria. Cologne city authorities said around 10,000 people took part in marches organized by left-wing groups. In Paris, more than 1,000 gathered at the Place de la Republique to denounce Turkey's actions.

Rudy Giuliani reportedly tried to get a visa for a former Ukrainian prosecutor ousted with the help of Joe Biden

President Trump's personal lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani reportedly attempted to secure a visa for former Ukraine prosecutor Viktor Shokin, CNN reported Friday.George Kent, the deputy assistant of state for European and Eurasian affairs, reportedly told congressional investigators that Giuliani asked both the State Department and the White House for a visa, two people familiar with his closed-door deposition earlier this week said. The State Department reportedly objected to the request and refused to grant the visa, which led Giuliani to seek help from the White House. It's unclear what the response was there, but Shokin never did receive a visa. CNN notes that the revelation appears to reveal that Giuliani's attempts to gather information about Democrats went further than previously understood.Shokin was pushed out of his position in 2016 when several world leaders, including former Vice President Joe Biden, voiced concerns that Shokin was not pursuing corruption cases in Ukraine. Giuliani has previously said he wanted to interview Shokin because he promised to reveal information about Democrats' actions in Ukraine. Giuliani has alleged that Biden was trying to stop investigations to protect his son, Hunter, who was sitting on the board of a Ukrainian gas company at the time, though there is no evidence of wrongdoing on either of the Bidens' part. Read more at CNN and NBC News.

Egypt unveils biggest ancient coffin find in over a century

Egypt on Saturday unveiled the details of 30 ancient wooden coffins with mummies inside discovered in the southern city of Luxor in the biggest find of its kind in more than a century. A team of Egyptian archaeologists discovered a "distinctive group of 30 colored wooden coffins for men, women and children" in a cache at Al-Asasif cemetery on Luxor's west bank, the Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement on Saturday. "It is the first large human coffin cache ever discovered since the end of the 19th century," the Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany was quoted as saying during a ceremony in Luxor.

McConnell rebukes Trump administration: Syria withdrawal is a 'grave strategic mistake'

The Senate majority leader never mentions President Donald Trump by name in his op-ed for the Washington Post.

Thousands take to Lebanon's streets in third day of anti-government protests

Tens of thousands took to the streets of Lebanon on Saturday for a third day of anti-government protests, directing growing rage at a political elite they blame for entrenched cronyism and driving the country to the economic brink. In central Beirut, the mood was fiery and festive, with protesters of all ages waving flags and chanting for revolution outside upmarket retailers and banks that had their store fronts smashed in by rioters the night before. From the south to the east and north of Lebanon, protesters marched and blocked roads to keep the momentum going despite gunmen loyal to the Shi'ite Muslim Amal movement appearing with firearms to scare them away.