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☆ Bolsonaro's career wrecked as majority of Brazil court vote to bar him for 8 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Ricardo Brito | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, June 30 (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's political career evaporated on Friday as a majority of federal electoral court (TSE) justices voted to bar him from public office until 2030 for his conduct during last year's fraught election. Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing and has already said he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. The TSE trial is part of a broader reckoning in Brazil with the fallout from the country's most painful election in a generation. While the former president faces electoral court scrutiny, many of his one-time allies are being questioned by lawmakers in a congressional probe into the Jan. 8 riots. Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jair Bolsonaro, Adriano Machado BRASILIA, Jair, Bolsonaro, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Benedito Goncalves, Donald Trump, Ricardo Brito, Gabriel Araujo, Jonathan Oatis, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Brasilia International, Electoral Justice, REUTERS, Supreme, TSE, Thomson Locations: Brasilia, Brazil

☆ U.S. Lawmakers See Russia Rebellion Benefiting Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rep. Jason Crow (D., Colo.) said Ukraine should move quickly to capitalize on the insurrection. (Michael Brochstein/Zuma Press)Congress has passed vast spending bills supporting Ukraine. Now some of its members see the rebellion launched by paramilitary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin as helping Kyiv’s effort to push Moscow’s troops from Ukrainian territory. “This will almost certainly benefit the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the near term and Ukraine should move quickly to capitalize,” said Rep. Jason Crow (D., Colo.), a former Army Ranger, in a tweet. Still, Prigozhin is “nobody’s friend and not less dangerous than Putin,” he said.

Persons: Jason Crow, Michael Brochstein, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ”, Putin Organizations: Zuma Press, Army Locations: Colo, Ukraine

☆ How Daniel Ellsberg, who died at 92, went from being a disillusioned member of the government-military elite to a hero of anti-war movements
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower behind the Pentagon Papers, died at 92, his family said Friday. David Halberstam, the late author and Vietnam War correspondent who had known Ellsberg since both were posted overseas, would describe him as no ordinary convert. "Without Nixon's obsession with me, he would have stayed in office," Ellsberg told The Associated Press in 1999. Ellsberg's story was depicted in the 2009 documentary "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers." He and Marx wedded in 1970, the year before the Pentagon Papers were made public.

Persons: Daniel Ellsberg, Ellsberg, —, — Daniel Ellsberg, Richard Nixon, Julia Pacetti, Dan, Robert S, McNamara, Lyndon Johnson's, John F, Kennedy, David Halberstam, Johnson, Neil Sheehan, Henry Kissinger, Hannah Arendt, Nixon, Nixon fumed, H.R, Haldeman, Matthew Byrne, Gordon Liddy, Howard Hunt, Byrne, Daniel, Harry Truman, nodded, Ellsberg's, Rand, Anthony J, Russo, Robert, Kissinger, Sen, William J, Fulbright, George McGovern of, Marcus Raskin, Ralph Stavins, Sheehan, Raskin, Stavins, didn't, spry, George W, Bush, Obama, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Snowden, Patricia Marx, Marx Organizations: Pentagon, Service, Supreme, Defense, Harvard, Democratic, Republican, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Associated Press, National Security, United, U.S, White, Democratic Party's, Washington , D.C, Associated Press, Coast, Rand Corp, Christian Science, Soviet Union overseas, Harvard University, Marines, Ivy League, Defense Department, State Department, Rand, Xerox, Arkansas, Foreign Relations Committee, Institute for Policy, Times, ., Army, New York Times, Massachusetts Institute, Technology's Center for International Studies Locations: Boston, Los Angeles, Vietnam, Indochina, U.S, France's, America, United States, Beverly Hills , California, Washington ,, Saigon, Santa Monica, Chicago, Detroit, Pearl, London, Germany, Japan, Santa Monica , California, George McGovern of South Dakota, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia

☆ Brazil police find plans for military coup on Bolsonaro aide's phone, Veja reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Cid is currently under arrest as part of a probe into the alleged falsification of Bolsonaro's COVID-19 vaccination card. According to Veja, the three-page document provided a roadmap for how to block Lula's inauguration, using the military as a "moderating force." The document calls for the nomination of an "intervener" with power over the armed forces and all of Brazil's federal public security agencies. Offending justices in the Supreme Court and the federal electoral court would be investigated, removed and replaced. Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter Additional reporting by Ricardo Brito Editing by Brad Haynes and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jair Bolsonaro, Veja, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Anderson Torres, Lula, Colonel Mauro Cid, Cid, Bolsonaro's, Bernardo Fenelon, Gabriel Stargardter, Ricardo Brito, Brad Haynes, David Gregorio Our Organizations: RIO DE, Federal Police, Force, Thomson Locations: RIO DE JANEIRO

☆ What might the Espionage Act mean for Donald Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

June 13 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump has become the most high-profile person ever to face criminal charges under the Espionage Act for the unlawful retention of sensitive national defense records. WHAT IS THE ESPIONAGE ACT? The Espionage Act is an anti-spy law enacted by Congress shortly after the start of World War One. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has also been charged under the Espionage Act, and is fighting extradition to the United States. HOW DOES THE ESPIONAGE ACT APPLY TO TRUMP?

Persons: Donald Trump, Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, Department's, Chelsea Manning, Manning, Barack Obama, Winner, Julian Assange, Jack Smith's, Trump, Sarah N, Lynch, Scott Malone, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Former U.S, Trump, Justice Department, Pentagon, National Security Agency, Obama, WikiLeaks, Wikileaks, TRUMP, FBI, Prosecutors, U.S . National Archives, Records Administration, White, Thomson Locations: Former, United States, Florida

☆ Neo-Nazi groups multiply in a more conservative Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Items seized from a neo-Nazi group who call themselves Crew 38 are displayed in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, Brazil April 24, 2023. "Santa Catarina is a land of WHITE PEOPLE, FOR WHITE PEOPLE," the anonymous sender wrote, signing off with the Nazi salute "SIEG HEIL." Researchers at Sao Paulo state's Unicamp university have tracked a more than 10-fold rise in the number of neo-Nazi cells in Brazil since 2015. SOUTHERN HATEThe problem of neo-Nazism is particularly acute in Santa Catarina, a state where many have German and Italian ancestry. The state has the largest proportion of white residents in Brazil, with 84% declaring as white in the last census.

Persons: Cristiano Estrela, Andrea Muller, Jair Bolsonaro's, Adolf Hitler, Bolsonaro, Flavio Dino, CONIB, Guilherme Franco de Andrade, Bolsonaro's, Arthur Lopes, Lopes, Luis Eduardo de Quadros, de Almeida, Steven Grattan, Gabriel Stargardter, Deepa Babington Organizations: Nazi, REUTERS, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Federal Police, Nazism, Santa, Brazil's, Sao Paulo state's Unicamp, Federal University of Mato, Blacks, Haitian, Thomson Locations: Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, Itajai, Santa Catarina, Haiti, Nazi, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sul, U.S, United States, Europe

☆ What is the Espionage Act and what might it mean for Donald Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Sarah N. Lynch | Thomson Reuters | Sarah N. Lynch Is The Lead Reporter For Reuters Covering The U.S. Justice Department Out Of Washington | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump has become the most high-profile person to ever face criminal charges under the Espionage Act for the unlawful retention of sensitive national defense records. WHAT IS THE ESPIONAGE ACT? The Espionage Act is an anti-spy law enacted by Congress shortly after the start of World War One. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has also been charged under the Espionage Act, and is fighting extradition to the United States. HOW DOES THE ESPIONAGE ACT APPLY TO TRUMP?

Persons: Donald Trump, Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, Department's, Chelsea Manning, Manning, Barack Obama, Winner, Julian Assange, Jack Smith's, Trump, Sarah N, Lynch, Scott Malone, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Former U.S, Trump, Justice Department, Pentagon, National Security Agency, Obama, Wikileaks, TRUMP, FBI, Prosecutors, U.S . National Archives, Records Administration, White, Thomson Locations: Former, United States, Florida

London CNN —A High Court judge in London has denied Julian Assange permission to appeal an order to extradite him to the United States, where he faces criminal charges under the Espionage Act. A London court issued a formal extradition order to send the Australian to the US in April last year; it was rubber-stamped by the UK government two months later. In January 2021, a UK judge rejected a request from the US to extradite Assange, ruling that such a move would be “oppressive” to his mental health. Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office described the latest court decision as “disappointing.” It said allowing the extradition “would set a dangerous precedent, threatening all our rights to freedom of expression” in a Twitter post. The reaction was similar from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which said it was “deeply concerned” by the High Court decision against Assange which brings him “dangerously close” to being extradited.

Persons: Julian Assange, Justice Swift, Assange, Vanessa Baraitser, Mr, Assange’s, Stella, Julian, ”, Chelsea Manning, “, Rebecca Vincent, Biden, Dominique Pradalié Organizations: London CNN, CNN, WikiLeaks, High, U.S ., Twitter, London’s Metropolitan Police, Eastern, of, Army, Department, High Court, Amnesty, Office, International, European, of Journalists, British Locations: London, United States, Belmarsh, of Virginia, Guantanamo

☆ Prosecuting Florida’s Migrant Flights Would Face Legal Hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Edgar Sandoval | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lawyers who represent Ms. Huerta in related civil lawsuits did not respond to a request for comment. In legal filings, they have said the migrants only complained about their trips because they disagree with Mr. DeSantis’s politics. They were receptive to the free trips, the filings said, because they were hungry, exhausted and had few other options for help by the time they were approached. Legal analysts said this was probably because local law enforcement officials felt their role was limited in scope. From the beginning, Sheriff Javier Salazar has emphasized that he was looking at the people who may have broken the law in his own jurisdiction.

Persons: Perla Huerta, Huerta, DeSantis, Sheriff Javier Salazar, Greg Abbott, Newsom, Abbott Organizations: “, Vertol Systems, Lawyers, Democratic Locations: Texas, San Antonio, “ Massachusetts, Florida, California, New York, Washington, Chicago

☆ Guinea-Bissau holds legislative elections amid political deadlock
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Alberto Dabo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sparring for seats in Sunday's polls are more than 20 political parties and coalitions, including the former ruling PAIGC party and its rival MADEM G15. "There will be no winner with an absolute majority in these elections. Under the current political system, the majority party or coalition appoints the government but the president has the power to dismiss it in certain circumstances. That has led to political deadlock and infighting in the past. The former army general then threw the country into further chaos in May 2022 when he sacked the government, helping delay local elections by months.

Persons: Umaro Sissoco Embalo, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, Embalo, Edward McAllister, Angus MacSwan, Diane Craft Organizations: PAIGC, Thomson Locations: BISSAU, Guinea, Portugal, Bissau, South America, Europe

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —Opposition parties intent on preventing the military establishment from remaining in power in Thailand have formed a coalition with the hopes of forming a new government that could radically transform the kingdom if they are successful. Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Thailand’s Move Forward Party, which won the largest share of seats and the popular vote in Sunday’s election, said Thursday seven other parties had joined him in a coalition. Together, they secure a majority 313 votes in the lower house, according to Pita, who said: “We definitely will be able to form a government.”The eight parties include Move Forward, Pheu Thai, Thai Sang Thai, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai, Pheu Thai Ruam Palang, FAIR Party, and the Plung Sungkom Mai Party. Party members in the new coalition will now develop a memorandum of understanding, which will be presented on May 22. Prayut’s United Thai Nation Party won just 36 seats in the election, while another military-backed party Palang Pracharat, led by former army chief Prawit Wongsuwan, received 40.

☆ Thailand's Thaksin lauds 'disruptors' Move Forward for election triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Chayut Setboonsarng | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Before Sunday's vote, Thaksin's populist political juggernaut had won every election since 2001, despite being ousted from office three times. Move Forward had strong appeal and organisation in university towns, Thaksin said, adding many young people convinced their parents to vote for Move Forward. "Pheu Thai got hammered because we did not disrupt ourselves enough. Move Forward's trend overcame Pheu Thai and the other parties that had money," he said. Thaksin also pledged loyalty to the palace and stressed Pheu Thai would not back any actions by Move Forward that would impact the monarchy.

☆ Thailand Pro-Democracy Candidates Push to Break Military Grip in Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Feliz Solomon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Pheu Thai party supporter wearing a cap with a photo of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Photo: rungroj yongrit/EPA/ShutterstockMillions of Thais are set to vote in nationwide elections Sunday that pit the country’s pro-military establishment, which has kept a grip on power for almost a decade, against pro-democracy opposition forces seeking to retake control. Thailand has for years weathered political turmoil, becoming a symbol of democratic decline, according to foes of the government. After leading a 2014 coup, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan -ocha, a former army leader, oversaw the writing of a new constitution that was widely seen as a tool to give the military electoral legitimacy. It paved the way for Mr. Prayuth to become the country’s elected prime minister after the last national vote in 2019.

☆ Thai opposition take on kingdom’s conservative cliques in challenge to military’s power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The junta-era constitution gives the establishment-dominated upper house a significant say in who can ultimately form a government so opposition parties must win by a strong margin. It’s the party of the billionaire Shinawatra family – a controversial political dynasty headed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Paetongtarn only entered politics three years ago but has presented herself as hailing from a new generation to connect with young Thais. To be prime minister, a candidate must have a majority in both houses – or at least 375 votes. That means an opposition party or coalition need almost three times as many votes in the lower house as a military party to be able to elect the next leader.

☆ Thailand’s election could be a lose-lose scenario
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, May 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Thailand’s elections on Sunday might return opposition parties to power for the first time since 2014, or alternatively deliver a stitched-up military-backed government. Assuming one of these opposition parties wins, it will need to control 376 seats out of the combined 500-seat House of Representatives and the 250-seat Senate to choose a prime minister. Pheu Thai claims it can lift annual economic growth to around 5% so long as is in power, which would be nearly double 2022’s low base. Higher incomes might ease Thailand’s household debt, which at 87% of GDP is the third-highest in Asia. HSBC analysts expect revenue at major Thai corporations to grow by only 2% next year – again, well behind neighbours – and Pheu Thai is mulling a 20% tax on private company profits, per a report in the Bangkok Post.

☆ The US could 'screw up' Ukraine's counter offensive by exerting too much pressure on the country to deliver a decisive blow against Russia, former Army general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But a former Army general told Insider that too much Western pressure could tank the attack. "I would reject the talk that Ukraine's only got one shot," said Ben Hodges, a retired Army general. But global expectations of a triumph could torpedo the offensive before it even begins, a former Army general told Insider. While the exact timing of Ukraine's much-anticipated counteroffensive is still unknown, military experts told Insider earlier this month that the assault could start as soon as the coming weeks. But framing this offensive as make-or-break for Ukraine sets a dangerous precedent, said Ben Hodges, a retired lieutenant general and former commander of US Army Europe.

☆ Thai election agency criticised after snags in early voting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, May 8 (Reuters) - Thailand's election commission came under scrutiny on Monday after what a monitoring group said were widespread complaints in early voting, fuelling concern on social media about the competence of a body appointed under military rule. The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) said it had received 92 complaints and investigations were going on. "They don't understand the system so they only do what they understand," Yingcheep said, adding many complaints were over the same issues. The hashtag "why do we have an election commission?" The commission at the time denied wrongdoing and said it needed time to allow recounts, disqualifications and by-elections.

A veteran and former police officer described the haunting scenes he found when he arrived at the outlet mall in Allen, Texas, Saturday. The aftermath of the mass shooting there was “horrific,” Steven Spainhouer told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday. Spainhouer said he was planning to meet his son, who works at the H&M store at the outlet mall, for lunch. Spainhouer drove to the outlet mall and said when he showed up, he saw many people fleeing the scene and counted seven bodies on the ground. Spainhouer added that both he and his son will receive counseling for what they witnessed Saturday.

☆ Former Army officer and witness to Texas mall shooting who calls himself a 'gun lover' says mental health isn't the problem: 'We need more gun control'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former Army officer who rushed to scene of mass shooting in Allen, Texas says US needs gun control. Steven Spainhouer said he's a "gun lover" but that "this is going to keep happening" without stricter laws. He added that it was a gun, not mental health issues, that "killed these people." "I don't know what the gunman's problem was, but it wasn't mental health that killed these people. "I'm a gun lover.

☆ Thai voters cast early ballots one week before election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] People cast their early vote for the upcoming Thailand's general election at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2023. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaBANGKOK, May 7 (Reuters) - Many Thais lined up on Sunday in long queues to vote early in parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14. More than 2 million Thais had registered for early voting out of 52 million eligible voters who are aged 18 and above, according to the country's election commission. "I wish to see change and improvement in management," said 51-year-old Gosol Pungtaku, one of the 800,000 Bangkok residents who registered for one-day-only early voting in the capital. Opposition Pheu Thai Party, a populist group that won five general elections before 2019 and was ousted by Prayuth in the coup, is leading in most polls followed by the progressive Move Forward Party.

☆ Thailand's Pita tops PM poll as opposition leads opinion surveys
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward Party's leader and prime ministerial candidate, reacts during an upcoming election campaign event in Bangkok, Thailand, April 22, 2023. Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, the charismatic leader of the Move Forward party, jumped ahead of Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the main opposition Pheu Thai, with 29.37% support versus her 27.55% in a countrywide survey by Nation media group. Reuters GraphicsBoth polls showed the pro-military Palang Pracharat party, the Democrats and Bhumjaithai - current coalition partners - trailing the opposition by a large margin. Most experts believe Pheu Thai will need to form an alliance to govern and Paetongtarn on Wednesday hinted it could partner with Move Forward and ruled out military-backed parties. Separately, a Super Poll survey on parties released on Friday of 14,332 people also showed Pheu Thai leading with 139 of 500 parliamentary seats, followed by Bhumjaithai with 112 seats, and Move Forward with 63 seats.

During the current fighting Egypt has joined calls for an effective ceasefire while saying they consider the conflict an internal matter for Sudan. The most important regional ally for Hemedti before the conflict was the United Arab Emirates. Hemedti said he advised Sudan to cut ties to Wagner after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the private military contractor. Saudi Arabia has had close ties to Burhan and Hemedti, both of whom sent troops to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Israel, which had been hoping to move forward in normalising ties with Sudan, has also offered to host talks.

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —The frontrunner in Thailand’s upcoming national elections gave birth to a son on Monday, just two weeks before the polls open. The vote has been framed as a showdown between Paetongtarn, whose billionaire Shinawatra family dominates the largest opposition Pheu Thai party, and incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, head of a pro-military conservative grouping. Prayut is a former army chief who in 2014 seized power from the Pheu Thai government, after Paetongtarn’s aunt Yingluck was removed from power in a controversial court ruling. She was the most popular choice for prime minister, the NIDA survey found, receiving “more than double the support” of her rivals – the incumbent Prime Minister Prayut and Pita Limjaroenrat from the progressive Forward Party. This year’s election will see some 52 million eligible voters elect 500 members to the lower house in Thailand’s bicameral system.

BANGKOK, April 22 (Reuters) - Thailand's opposition bloc should stick together to dislodge the military from politics and form a government after an election in May, the leader of a popular opposition party told Reuters on the sidelines of a packed campaign rally on Saturday. Thailand's election, on May 14, is shaping up as a contest between pro-military conservatives and the populist opposition led by Pheu Thai Party and its ally the Move Forward Party. Two governments Pheu Thai supported were overthrown by military coups, in 2006 and 2014. He is contesting the upcoming election but recent opinion polls put him behind both Pheu Thai and Move Forward, who maintained first and second places. Pita said that support bases complimented compliment Pheu Thai, backed by the working class and farmers in the rural north and northeast.

☆ Airman Charged in Leak of Classified Documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In later remarks to reporters, Mr. Biden added that he had instructed officials to get “to the root of why he had access in the first place.”The Pentagon has provided little information about what security reviews might be underway. While Mr. Biden’s remarks were directed widely to the military and intelligence agencies, officials said that based on what is known so far, the Defense Department will make the initial moves to tighten security. Officials described a reluctance to limit intelligence shared with the Pentagon and said it is more likely that the first steps of any security review will focus on improving how the military gives access to the material. Top Republicans on Friday praised the arrest of the airman even as Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused the Biden administration of having been “asleep at the switch” on protecting the nation’s secrets. But Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia went further, calling Airman Teixeira a “hero” who had exposed government secrets the administration has tried to conceal and who was being unfairly targeted for his right-wing views.

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