Briefly

BRAZIL

Protests break out after 119 dead in police raid

A massive police raid on a drug gang embedded in low-income neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro that left at least 119 people dead drew protests for excessive force on Wednesday. Dozens of residents from favelas, or slums, gathered in front of the state's government headquarters shouting "assassins" and waving Brazilian flags stained with red paint. This came a day after Rio's deadliest raid and hours after families and residents laid dozens of dead bodies on a street in one of the targeted communities to show the magnitude of the operation. The toll of 115 suspects and four policemen killed was an increase over what authorities originally said were 60 suspects dead in Tuesday's raid by about 2,500 police and soldiers in the favelas of Penha and Complexo do Alemao.

LEBANON

Israeli army kills municipal worker

The Israeli military on Thursday killed a municipal worker in a raid in southern Lebanon, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to order the army to confront such incursions. Israel's military confirmed the raid, saying it was operating against Hezbollah infrastructure when its forces fired on a "suspect". Aoun instructed the military to "confront any Israeli incursion into liberated southern territory, in defense of Lebanese territory and the safety of citizens", the presidency said. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the incursion as "a flagrant aggression against Lebanese state institutions and sovereignty".

UNITED STATES

Shutdown to cost economy up to $14b

The federal government shutdown could cost the US economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, shaving up to 2 percent from GDP in the fourth quarter because of the lapse in government spending, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday. CBO estimated the economy would suffer as a result of delayed federal spending for employee compensation, goods and services, and food stamp benefits for low-income people. "Although most of the decline in real GDP will be recovered eventually, CBO estimates that between $7 billion and $14 billion will not be," agency director Phillip Swagel said.

Agencies via Xinhua