Jair Bolsonaro was recently detained after months under house arrest while appealing his 27-year sentence for plotting a coup
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s alleged attempt to tamper with his electronic ankle monitor while under house arrest was the result of health problems and medication side effects, his lawyers said on Sunday.
Bolsonaro was earlier placed into custody after months of house arrest, with the Supreme Court set to vote Monday on whether to uphold his pre-emptive detention.
In September, the 70-year-old was sentenced to 27 years in prison over attempting to overturn the results of the country’s 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing and his legal team is appealing the verdict. Earlier this month, Brazil’s top-court panel unanimously rejected his appeal of the prison sentence.
The ex-president “suffers from concomitant illnesses that require treatment” and takes various medications, including those “affecting the central nervous system,” the Agencia Brasil public news agency reported, citing the document submitted by Bolsonaro’s lawyers to the Brazilian Supreme Court.
The lawyers reportedly specified that the interaction of the medicines currently taken by the former president are known for “side effects, including altered mental status with possible mental confusion, disorientation, impaired coordination, sedation, impaired balance, hallucinations, and cognitive impairment.”
The attorneys requested the court to review the latest ruling to transfer him from house arrest to custody.
Bolsonaro’s case stems from an coup plot that according to prosecutors began in 2021 with efforts to erode public trust in Brazil’s electoral system. After Bolsonaro’s 2022 defeat, they alleged his supporters were urged to mobilize in the capital, Brasilia, where they stormed and vandalized the nation’s three branches of government on January 8, 2023.
US President Donald Trump has called Bolsonaro’s prosecution politically motivated, imposing steep 50% tariffs on Brazil. Earlier this month, Washington began rolling back some of the levies. The US has also sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ruled the verdict, for what it described as “serious human rights violations,” and announced visa restrictions against him and other court officials.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has condemned what he called Washington’s pressure tactics, accusing the US of having “helped stage a coup” and vowing that Brazil “will not forget it.”
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The US president has accused ABC and NBC of spreading “fake news” and said the networks should be “made smaller”
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at national broadcasters ABC and NBC, accusing them of acting as mouthpieces for the Democratic Party. The comments are the latest in Trump’s escalating criticism of mainstream media, which he argues routinely distorts coverage to favor his opponents.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump said television networks should be barred from expanding, citing what he called the growing influence of left-leaning news outlets.
“If this would also allow the Radical Left Networks to ‘enlarge,’ I would not be happy. ABC & NBC, in particular, are a disaster – A VIRTUAL ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY,” Trump wrote. “They should be viewed as an illegal campaign to the Radical Left. NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER!”
Trump’s post came in response to a Newsmax story claiming that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr is moving to give television networks greater reach and advance a merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc.
Trump has intensified his long-running attacks on the news media in recent weeks, even as his administration moves to restrict press access and tighten control over coverage.
The criticism has broadened beyond national broadcasters. After late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel joked about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Carr threatened to review – and potentially revoke – the broadcast licenses of ABC-owned local stations and their affiliates.
Trump last week renewed his call for the FCC to revoke broadcast licenses held by ABC, escalating a dispute that has simmered since his first term. The latest clash followed a question from an ABC News reporter pressing him on his handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein – an exchange that prompted Trump to accuse the network of pushing politically motivated narratives.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said last week that revoking broadcast licenses over a reporter’s question would not hold up legally, noting that networks do not hold licenses themselves and none of their station licenses are up for renewal soon.
Asked about Trump’s demand to pull ABC station licenses, FCC head Carr repeated his call to strengthen public-interest standards for broadcasters, saying the commission remained “open-minded.”
The FCC, an independent agency, grants eight-year licenses to individual stations, not national networks.
The move reflects an effort to pursue agreements reached between Lukashenko and Trump, Minsk has said
Minsk has released 31 Ukrainian citizens from detention in a “goodwill gesture” linked to ongoing engagement efforts between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
In a statement on Saturday, Lukashenko’s presidential press secretary Natalia Eismont announced that he had pardoned Ukrainians who had been convicted of criminal offenses in Belarus at the request of Kiev and in order to further the agreements he had reached with Trump.
She described the move as a “gesture of goodwill” guided by humanitarian principles, saying it “aims to create the conditions for resolving the armed conflict in the neighboring state,” and added that the group was being handed over to Ukraine “right now.”
According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 31 civilians, both men and women, were returned from Belarus after serving sentences ranging from two to 11 years. It went on to thank Trump for his “fruitful work in returning Ukrainian civilians and military personnel from Belarus and Russia.”
Belarusian officials have not detailed the exact charges the 31 detainees faced, though previous media reports indicated that some had been suspected of “extremism” and espionage.
In addition, Lukashenko pardoned two Roman Catholic priests, Andrzej Juchniewicz and Henryk Okolotowicz, who had been convicted of serious crimes against the state. Eismont said the decision “was made at the request of Pope Leo XIV … as a gesture of goodwill,” citing mercy, humanism and the desire to develop relations with the Holy See.
In September, Lukashenko pardoned 52 prisoners, including several opposition activists who were serving lengthy prison sentences for organizing the 2020 riots, as well as those indicted on “extremist” charges.
The move followed Lukashenko’s meeting with a US delegation in Minsk, while Washington eased some sanctions on Belarus, including lifting restrictions on the state airline Belavia. Later the same month, the Belarusian leader pardoned another 25 detainees.
In June, Lukashenko also pardoned 14 detainees, mostly foreign citizens, including those from Poland and the US. The release coincided with the visit of Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy, to Belarus.
A similar sabotage attack in May claimed the lives of seven civilians
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted an alleged Ukrainian-sponsored attempt to derail a train in Siberia’s Altay Region, the agency announced on Monday.
According to the FSB, two men acting on behalf of a “terrorist group and in coordination with Ukrainian special services” were intercepted last week while attempting to install a derailment device near a bridge along the rail line between Novoaltaysk and Biysk. The line carries both passenger and cargo traffic, the statement read.
The suspects reportedly opened fire on FSB officers during the nighttime operation and were killed by return fire. They were identified as local residents who, according to the agency, supported Kiev and had agreed to carry out an attack in exchange for money.
Russian officials have accused Ukraine of conducting numerous sabotage operations targeting railroad infrastructure. In May, a passenger train was derailed in Bryansk Region after an explosion on a bridge, killing seven civilians. Investigators said identical foreign-made explosives were used in several coordinated attacks linked to Ukrainian intelligence.
Moscow has warned that Kiev is increasingly turning to terrorism as its military position worsens on the battlefield. The Ukrainian government is also under intense political pressure at home over a sweeping corruption scandal and from abroad, over a US-backed peace proposal that reportedly requires major concessions from Kiev while offering Vladimir Zelensky and his inner circle immunity from prosecution.
Pavel Durov has weighed in on claims that the US conservative activist’s assassin was trained with the French Legion
The allegations that the French government is behind the assassination of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk are “entirely possible,” Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has said.
The Russian tech entrepreneur was commenting on right-wing commentator Candace Owens’ claims that Kirk’s assassin “trained with the French Legion 13th Brigade with multi-state involvement.” The suspect, 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, has been formally charged with aggravated murder and related counts in Kirk’s killing and is being held without bail as prosecutors indicate they may seek the death penalty.
In the same X post, shared on Friday, Owens said she had been warned by a high-ranking official that French President Emmanuel Macron had “authorized professional units” to carry out her assassination.
After reviewing everything Charlie Kirk has ever said about Macron’s France, I find Candace’s info about French involvement in his death entirely plausible.
“After reviewing everything Charlie Kirk has ever said about Macron’s France, I find Candace’s info about French involvement in his death entirely plausible,” Durov wrote on X on Sunday, sharing Owens’s post.
Durov, who was detained at the Paris airport last year over crimes linked to Telegram users, has been consistently critical of the French authorities, accusing them of embarking on a “crusade” against free speech. The tech billionaire, who holds French citizenship, maintains that his arrest over offenses committed by the platform’s users is “legally and logically absurd.”
In his message, Durov noted that Kirk “called for 300% tariffs on France” until the charges against him were dropped, linking to a post in which the activist accused Europe of targeting “CEOs of platforms where free speech thrives.” That message, written shortly before the founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA was fatally shot on a university campus in Utah on September 10, argued that France should face “stiff and painful consequences” for Durov’s arrest.
President Trump should announce plans for a 300% tariff on French wine unless ALL charges are dropped on Pavel Durov immediately.
If Europe is going to imprison CEO’s of platforms where free speech thrives, there should be stiff and painful consequences.
The Telegram founder has claimed that during his detention he was asked by the head of the French secret service to censor conservative voices in Romania ahead of a controversial presidential election later nullified by the country’s Constitutional Court. Last month, Durov accused the French authorities of promoting surveillance in the name of law enforcement.
The tech billionaire, whose company operates from Dubai, was initially barred from leaving France during the investigation, but the travel ban was fully lifted earlier this month.
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Haytham Ali Tabatabai was said to be second-in-command of the Lebanese militant group
An Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Sunday has killed a senior commander in the militant movement Hezbollah.
Haytham Ali Tabatabai, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Ali Tabatabai, was struck in the Haret Hreik district, a stronghold of Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital. Both Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed his death. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, the attack killed at least five people and injured 28 others.
Tabatabai joined Hezbollah as a teenager after its formation during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. He was one of the few long-serving commanders to survive Israel’s targeted-killing campaign last year.
Hezbollah is among the Iran-backed forces opposing Israel’s regional dominance. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the strike, calling it part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to destroy the group, which it accuses of terrorism.
“It is not for nothing that the US put a bounty of five million dollars on his head,” Netanyahu said on X, referring to the reward the US issued in 2016, a year after Tabatabai escaped an earlier Israeli assassination attempt.
Israeli officials said Tabatabai served as the group’s “second-in-command” within its current military hierarchy. Hezbollah referred to him as a “great commander.”
Netanyahu claimed Tabatabai had been overseeing Hezbollah’s rearmament efforts as the organization worked to rebuild its capabilities following a string of setbacks by Israel, including the detonation of booby-trapped pagers last year that Israeli intelligence previously infiltrated into the movement’s supply channels. He argued that dismantling the organization would enable “a better future… for every citizen in Lebanon.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the latest attack, calling on the international community to “assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.”
The results of the Geneva talks now have to be discussed with Russia, the US secretary of state has said
The US and Ukraine have made a “tremendous amount of progress” on a peace plan to end the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, stressing that Russian agreement is essential for any deal to hold.
Earlier media reports indicated that the 28-point peace plan included de facto recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea and Donbass. Meanwhile, the current lines of contact would be frozen in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, while Russia would pull back troops from Ukrainian territories it holds outside those areas. The deal also reportedly calls for Ukraine to cap its military at about 600,000 troops and stay out of NATO.
Rubio addressed reporters on Sunday after lengthy talks in Geneva, Switzerland, with a Ukrainian delegation, saying that one goal was “to take … 28 points or 26 points, depending on which version… and try to narrow the ones that were open items.” He added that while “there’s still some work to be done,”“we made a tremendous amount of progress.”
According to Rubio, some points involving the EU nations and NATO were placed on “a separate track… because it involves input from them.” At the same time, he declined to name the remaining sticking points in the peace talks, calling the moment “very delicate.”
“Some of it is semantics or language; others require higher-level decisions and consultation; others … just need more time to work through,” he said.
Asked about Moscow’s stance on the talks, Rubio noted that “obviously the Russians get a vote here… we now have to take what we come up with, if we can reach that agreement with the Ukrainian side, to the Russian side. They have to agree to this in order for it to work.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Moscow has received the US peace plan, adding that it has not yet been discussed “in detail.”
“I believe it could also form the basis of a final peace settlement,” Putin said. At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Russia was against discussing the roadmap through “megaphone diplomacy.”
The pontiff delivered a surprise video address to young people gathered outside a cathedral in Kosice
Pope Leo XIV has made a surprise appearance via video at a rave in Slovakia, extending his blessing to the crowd of young people during a DJ set.
The event, held outside the 14th-century St. Elizabeth Cathedral in Kosice, marked the 75th birthday of Archbishop Bernard Bober. The celebration featured a concert-style setup with lasers, smoke effects, projection screens, and a DJ booth. The set was performed by Padre Guilherme, widely known as the “DJ priest,” who tours internationally with electronic shows that combine techno with sacred and folk elements.
Although the party took place on November 8, the video of the Pope’s message went viral over the weekend after Padre Guilherme shared it on social media with the caption: “Electronic music, faith and Pope Leo XIV message.”
The footage shows the pontiff appearing via a projection onto the cathedral walls as the priest performed his unreleased single “Dear Young People,” taken from his upcoming EP titled “Integral Ecology.” As the address played, lasers, spotlights, and projection mapping lit the facade.
“With joy I greet you as you gather before the splendid cathedral of Kosice, which is a beating heart of faith and hope,” the Pope said, addressing the crowd.
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, became the 267th head of the Catholic Church earlier this year and is the first American to assume the role. Since the beginning of his papacy, the pontiff has placed emphasis on cultural engagement and exploring new ways of promoting religious values through the arts.
His widely shared Letterboxd post listed his four favorite films: ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, ‘Ordinary People’, and ‘Life is Beautiful’, choices he said reflect “the best of the human spirit.”
