Brazil prepares to extract citizens from Lebanon

The Brazilian government said Sunday it has sent an air force plane to remove its citizens from Lebanon. More than 50 Brazilian tourists and workers have requested government help to leave the country as Israel escalated its air strikes, Brazil's Foreign Ministry said, adding other requests were expected in the coming days. The air force plane left Brazil on Saturday afternoon and headed to the southern Turkish city of Adana, where it would pick up the Brazilians, Foreign Ministry spokesman Paulo Gustavo said. Local buses were expected to carry the Brazilians from the Lebanese city of Beirut into neighboring Syria and then Adana, Gustavo said.