Helicopter crash claims pilot

Firefighters work Monday at the site where a helicopter crashed into a residential area of Sao Paulo, Brazil. According to authorities, the pilot flying the private helicopter died, and three passengers were injured. Sao Paulo has one of the world’s largest private fleets of helicopters, used as a means of bypassing extremely congested roads. It was not clear what caused the crash, officials said.

CHAVEZ EXPECTED TO RETURN SOON

CARACAS, Venezuela — One of Hugo Chavez’s brothers said Monday that the Venezuelan president is expected to return home from Cuba in the coming days as he continues to recover nearly six weeks after undergoing cancer surgery. Argenis Chavez, one of the president’s five brothers and the president of the National Electric Corp., said the president continues to recover. He said the decision about when Chavez returns is up to his medical team, but that he is expected to return to Venezuela in the “coming days.”

DOZENS DIE IN RECENT FLOODING

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Police say floods in Indonesia’s capital have killed at least 26 people and sent more than 100,000 fleeing their homes. Jakarta police spokesman Col. Rikwanto said Monday that most of the victims were electrocuted or drowned. About 103,000 people are living in temporary shelters.

SEVEN HELD ILLEGALLY, LAWYER SAYS

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s most powerful intelligence agency held seven suspected militants sought by the Supreme Court for more than a year and a half without sufficient evidence to try them, the agency’s lawyer said Monday. The admission, made in a court hearing, was likely to fuel concerns about the conduct of Pakistan’s security establishment in its battle against a domestic Taliban insurgency during the past several years. Rights organizations have accused Pakistani security forces of holding scores of suspected militants without charging them.