What did Jair Bolsonaro’s trial reveal about an attempted coup in Brazil?

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Far-right ex-president was found to have led a ‘criminal organisation’ to try to stay in power

Brazil’s supreme court has made Jair Bolsonaro the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted for attempting a coup.

The 70-year-old far-right leader claims he is the victim of political persecution, but three out of five judges concluded on Thursday that it was sufficiently proven that Bolsonaro and his close allies attempted to overturn the 2022 election, which he lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

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Belarus frees political prisoners in exchange for easing of US sanctions – BBC

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  1. Belarus frees political prisoners in exchange for easing of US sanctions  BBC
  2. Belarus pardons scores of prisoners ‘at the request’ of Trump, Lukashenko says  CNN
  3. Alone in no man's land, one freed prisoner refused to leave Belarus  Reuters
  4. 'Europe's last dictator' frees more than 50 prisoners to ease sanctions in Trump trade  Sky News
  5. Belarus frees 52 political prisoners, including foreigners, after visit by US delegation  The Guardian
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UK should work with Nato on new missile defence system to counter Russia, experts say

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After Russian drones entered Polish airspace, two authors of the UK strategic defence review said Europe would need to build up its defences

Britain should work with Nato allies in developing an integrated air and missile defence system after the incursion of nearly 20 Russian drones into Poland, according to two authors of the UK strategic defence review.

Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser, said that Russia was “testing the limits” of Europe’s defences at a time when the military commitment of the US to Nato was uncertain.

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Alone in no man’s land, one freed prisoner refused to leave Belarus – Reuters

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  1. Alone in no man's land, one freed prisoner refused to leave Belarus  Reuters
  2. Belarus pardons scores of prisoners ‘at the request’ of Trump, Lukashenko says  CNN
  3. Belarus prisoners forcibly deported to Lithuania after US deal, says opposition  The Guardian
  4. 'People Are Simply Being Destroyed': Freed Belarusian Prisoners Describe Brutal Conditions  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  5. UK says 'great news' British national freed in Belarus release deal  BBC
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Senate mounts new Russia pressure campaign – Axios

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  1. Senate mounts new Russia pressure campaign  Axios
  2. Bipartisan Senators on Designating Russia and Belarus as State Sponsors of Terrorism  C-SPAN
  3. Senate bill would designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism over kidnapping of 20K Ukrainian children  New York Post
  4. Russia, Belarus face terror label in US over abducted Ukrainian children  10News.com
  5. Senators start new push to punish Russia over kidnapped Ukrainian kids  Spectrum News
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Fiji ant study provides new evidence of insects’ decline on remote islands

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DNA analysis of endemic specimens in museums finds 79% of ant populations in Pacific archipelago are shrinking

Island-dwelling insects have not been spared the ravages of humanity that have pushed so many of their invertebrate kin into freefall around the world, new research on Fijian ant populations has found.

Hundreds of thousands of insect species have been lost over the past 150 years and it is believed the world is now losing between 1% and 2.5% a year of its remaining insect biomass – a decline so steep that many entomologists say we are living through an “insect apocalypse”. Yet long-term data for individual insect populations is sparse and patchy.

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Struggling to walk, Elizabeth Tsurkov embraces loved ones after return to Israel from captivity – The Times of Israel

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  1. Struggling to walk, Elizabeth Tsurkov embraces loved ones after return to Israel from captivity  The Times of Israel
  2. Princeton Student Held by Iran-Backed Militia Is Released, Trump Says  The New York Times
  3. Princeton academic Elizabeth Tsurkov freed by Iraqi militia after 2 years in captivity  NBC News
  4. Princeton Doctoral Student Freed After Being Kidnapped in Iraq  The Wall Street Journal
  5. Statement by President Eisgruber on the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov  Princeton University
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No 10 says Starmer found Mandelson’s emails to Epstein ‘reprehensible’ – UK politics live

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Despite being repeatedly asked, No 10 declines to say the PM was ‘misled’ by Mandelson

Stephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.

He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the “despicable” 9/11 terrorism attacks.

Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.

UK government documents shouldn’t be hidden from the public just because they are damaging to the Labour party - and by backing Peter Mandelson to the hilt, the prime minister’s own reputation is now on the line.

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Blackpool hospital neglect contributed to suicide of man who waited 22 hours for help, coroner rules

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Jamie Pearson killed himself in toilet at Blackpool Victoria hospital after being admitted over painkiller overdose

The death of a 27-year-old man who killed himself in a hospital toilet after waiting 22 hours to be seen by the mental health team was “contributed to by neglect”, a coroner has ruled.

Jamie Pearson was admitted to Blackpool Victoria hospital’s A&E department after taking an overdose of high-strength painkillers on 17 August 2024.

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Trump blamed ‘radical left’ for Charlie Kirk’s death – even as shooter’s identity remains unknown

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In Oval Office address, president decried the demonization of political opponents, ignoring his own past rhetoric

In his Oval Office address on Wednesday, Donald Trump sought to blame the “radical left” for Charlie Kirk’s killing while the shooter’s identity and motivations remained unclear. Trump promised an unspecified crackdown that could also target “organizations” that he claimed contributed to political violence.

Trump’s speech underscored an aggressive effort to pin the attack on the left while ignoring his own role in fomenting politically motivated violence.

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