Sri Lanka's cabinet ministers have resigned from their posts as an economic crisis deepens in the country. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksahas has yet to step down, despite growing demands for his resignation.

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.

The European bloc is moving closer to banning Russian oil with Germany changing course to support the embargo. But many questions remain open.

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.

There's political upheaval in Nigeria after ten government officials step down, signalling their interest in the 2023 elections. And Somalia prepares for a presidential poll this weekend, after months of delays. Sunday's winner will have no shortages of challenges, as the country faces an Islamist insurgency, famine, and drought. Finally, in Niger, anti-corruption NGOs file a legal complaint over the government's accounting. They allege that over 95 million euros of state funds are missing.

Spain could become the first European country to cover sick leave for workers experiencing period pain. The draft law, which still has to pass through Parliament, has sparked a debate.

The Ukrainian government has been unable to collect taxes since Russia's invasion, and now international support aims to prop up its budget.

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

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.

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 American and Brazilian presidents spoke on the sidelines of the Americas Summit, with Jair Bolsonaro trying to breathe life into his re-election campaign and Joe Biden keen to have something to show for his event.