Stabbing of candidate shakes

Brazil’s presidential race

SAO PAULO (AP) — The stabbing of a leading Brazilian presidential candidate jolted an already wildly unpredictable campaign to lead Latin America’s largest nation, with doctors saying Friday that Jair Bolsonaro will be hospitalized for at least a week.

Supporters of the far-right congressman who wants to crack down on crime said the attack would only boost his chances in next month’s election, but it was unclear when he would be able to return to campaigning in person.

A knife-wielding man whose motive was unknown stabbed Bolsonaro during a rally Thursday in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro, as he was being carried on the shoulders of a supporter.

Bolsonaro, 63, suffered intestinal damage and serious internal bleeding, said Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, one of the surgeons who operated on the candidate. He was in serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for seven to 10 days, Borsato said.

The candidate was transferred Friday to a premier hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city.

Palestinian teen killed by Israeli fire

at Gaza border rally

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A teenager was killed and dozens of other Palestinians wounded by Israeli fire at a border protest, Gaza officials said Friday, as efforts by Egypt to mediate a possible ceasefire between the territory’s Hamas rulers and Israel appear to have stalled.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said a 17-year-old was killed and 45 others were wounded by Israeli fire at Friday’s protest. Separately, it said a 19-year-old died of wounds sustained weeks earlier.

Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas observation post after Palestinians threw a grenade at its forces. Palestinians also threw firebombs and rolled burning tires at soldiers stationed along the border, it said.

Thick black smoke hung in the air from tires the protesters set ablaze. Israeli soldiers perched on high earthen berms behind the border fence hit several protesters in their legs. Some protesters burnt effigies of U.S President Donald Trump. Showers of tear gas were launched at the protesters from a drone and cannons mounted over military jeeps.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, has led weekly border protests since March 30 aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after it took control of the territory in 2007.