The 76th UNGA session commenced from September 14 under the Presidency of Abdulla Shahid.

Wildfires are common in the dry season, but are also deliberately set by farmers illegally deforesting land for cattle ranching.

Brazil's most popular politician and imprisoned former President Lula will wait for the country’s apex court to deliver a verdict on his appeal regarding his ban from running before dropping his candidacy and endorsing his vice-presidential candidate, Fernando Haddad to replace him.

Brazil’s jailed former President Lula is expected to give up his bid to run for presidential elections and endorse his chosen successor, Fernando Haddad, after losing two appeals at the Supreme Court to run for office.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 72, could now be ineligible to stand for election under Brazil's "Ficha Limpa" or "Clean Record" law, which bans political candidates whose convictions have been upheld by an appellate court.

The arrests were ordered by Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin, who agreed to a request by Brazilian Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot.

Brazil President Michel Temer set to be first sitting leader facing criminal charges of corruption, the country's top federal prosecutor said.

The presidential palace in its short written statement gave no reason for the appointment of Torquato Jardim as the new justice minister.

Temer refused to resign till the incriminating recording was verified, despite a probe authorised by the Supreme Court into allegations that he took bribes.

Lula, a hero to many working-class Brazilians since his two terms in office, flatly dismissed the charges, saying the media had "massacred" his character.

Brazil's Congress has come under fire for trying to shield itself from a corruption investigation surrounding state-controlled oil company Petrobras that threatens to implicate more than 100 politicians for taking kickbacks.

Prosecutors have not brought charges against Taurus but said evidence seized in the raid included dozens of emails showing it knew of UN sanctions against trading arms with Mana'a and Yemen but sought ways to skirt them.

The accusations provide more fodder for suspended President Dilma Rousseff and her allies, who accuse Temer and his party of mounting the impeachment process against her in order to distract from their own roles in the corruption scandal.