Skip to main content

Brazil ex-President Bolsonaro’s kidney function improves but he remains in intensive care

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ’s kidney function has improved but he will remain in an intensive care unit because of pneumonia, a hospital in the capital, Brasilia, said on Sunday.

The 70-year-old former leader has also been given more antibiotics since Saturday, according to a statement by his doctors.

Bolsonaro, who governed between 2019 and 2022, was taken to DF Star Hospital on Friday from the prison where he is serving a 27-year sentence for leading a coup attempt in 2023.

The embattled ex-leader was transferred from the local federal police headquarters to a larger cell in January. His family and allies have repeatedly asked Brazil’s Supreme Court to allow him to carry out his sentence under house arrest.

The right-wing leader has been hospitalized multiple times since being stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election.

The hospital, which admitted Bolsonaro with high fever, sweating and chills, has also said that his inflammatory markers are increased.

His son Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator, is expected to run for president later this year against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Jair Bolsonaro was also convicted on charges that include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied any wrongdoing.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Read Next Story