At least 14 people have died in Rio de Janeiro state after heavy rainfall triggered mudslides this weekend. Brazil has lately been reeling from a pattern of destructive storms.

Brazil has more than three million "ghost citizens": people who don't have a birth certificate or ID card. In administrative terms they do not exist and have no access to public health care or education. They also can't vote. But in the run-up to October's elections, these people could constitute a potential political force. Our correspondents Perrine Juan, Louise Raulais and Tim Vickery take a closer look at the legal and social workers who are trying to help "ghost citizens".

The imprisonment and political exclusion of former President Lula da Silva was a violation of his rights, the UN has said. Lula is currently leading in polls for October's presidential election.

Amazon records its first quarterly loss since 2015 as online sales drop, while Apple warns of an $8 billion hit from the war in Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Also, French growth hits zero as consumer spending falls, and the IMF warns of dangers for the economies of sub-Saharan Africa.

One of Germany's biggest trade unions has called strikes at seven branches of online retailer Amazon. Germany is Amazon's second-biggest market behind the United States, where the company is headquartered.

At the beginning of December, Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, said he would make sure that fuel prices go down. Just the opposite has happened, and now unrest in the South American country is growing.

Rio Ferdinand fronting Amazon documentary series about race, mental health and sexuality in football Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand is reportedly working on a trio of documentaries for Amazon about race, mental health and sexuality in football.

The catastrophic weather has forced dozens to flee their homes in Brazil's northeastern Pernambuco state. A red alert has been issued in the city of Recife for Sunday as well.

Rights groups say Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira had received threats before they went missing while reporting in a remote part of the Amazon near Brazil's border with Peru.

After studying philosophy, Brazilian national Pedro Cesarino grew tired of Western systems of knowledge and decided to study other ways of thinking and living. He is now a renowned anthropologist and has published articles and books based on his field research with the Amazon's Marubo community. His first novel tells the story of a melancholy anthropologist hoping to track down a myth in the Amazon rainforest. It explores the certainty with which many anthropologists approach the communities they study and the resulting misunderstandings. He joined us for Perspective.

The French daily Libération continues its investigation into pillaged artefacts. Papers are also making pleas to the Brazilian government to step up the search for a British journalist and a Brazilian indigenous activist who have both gone missing in the Amazon. Finally, from elderly driving to chasing a wheel of cheese, we see how two women are moving forward.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.