Brazil: Trump ally Bolsonaro convicted on attempted coup charges

Brazil: Trump ally Bolsonaro convicted on attempted coup charges.

Qatari PM: “Barbaric” Netanyahu “killed any hope” for Israeli hostages and Gaza peace.

A majority of Brazil’s Supreme Court Justices has voted to convict former president Jair Bolsonaro on charges of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing a 2022 election. He has been sentenced to 27 years, but his attorneys say they intend to appeal.

Bolsonaro has long been a far-right firebrand and developed a close relationship with President Trump during the latter’s first administration. In July, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil when Bolsonaro’s trial began, calling it a “witch hunt”.

Prosecutors accused Bolsonaro of going to extraordinary lengths to try to cling to the presidency. This included a plot to assassinate then President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his running mate after their election win. Prosecutors have also charged Bolsonaro with orchestrating a riot of hundreds of his supporters on January 8, 2023, in a last-ditch attempt to prevent Lula from taking office. The mob sacked the capital complex in Brasilia (which houses the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace), causing millions of dollars worth of damage.

Four of the five justices on Brazil’s Supreme Court voted to convict Bolsonaro and one voted to acquit. Bolsonaro’s supporters are claiming the one acquittal vote as a victory and may use it to mount further legal challenges to delay the ultimate conclusion of the legal proceedings.

Despite being under house arrest and currently barred from running for office, Bolsonaro has announced himself as a candidate to challenge Lula’s re-election in 2026.

Qatari PM: “Barbaric” Netanyahu “killed any hope” for Israeli hostages and Gaza peace

In a CNN interview, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani described Israel’s strike on Hamas offices in Doha as “barbaric” and said Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “killed any hope for [Israel’s] hostages”. Al-Thani said he was meeting with family members of hostages on the day of the strikes. “They are counting on this [ceasefire] mediation,” he said. “They have no other hope for that”.

Netanyahu has since doubled down on his aggressive rhetoric towards Qatar, tweeting, “I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will”. Al-Thani rejected Netanyahu’s characterization of Qatar “harboring terrorists”. He explained that the Hamas office was established in Doha in 2012 at the request of the US to enable mediation. Qatar has also served as a mediator between Afghanistan’s Taliban and the first Trump administration.

“We were thinking that we are dealing with civilized people. That’s the way we are dealing with others. And the action that [Netanyahu] took – I cannot describe it, but it’s a barbaric action”.

Repercussions for diplomacy and US influence in Middle East

Following the strike on Tuesday, which killed 5 members of Hamas and a Qatari national, even President Trump issued a rare, if mild, rebuke of Israel’s action. Early in his second administration, Trump demonstrated willingness to play hardball with Netanyahu to get a peace deal, but in recent months, they have increasingly been in lockstep.

It remains unclear what the fallout from Israel’s strike on a close US partner will be, either for peace negotiations or for US influence in the Middle East. Al-Thani said Qatar is discussing with the White House as to how to move forward and reserved his condemnation for Netanyahu.

Al-Thani stressed that he believes “the entire Gulf region is at risk” if Netanyahu is not reined in. He said that Qatar and other Arab partners in the region are discussing a “collective response” to Israel’s actions. “We are hoping for something meaningful that deters Israel from continuing this bullying,” Al-Thani said.

This response will most likely involve diplomatic repercussions for Israel rather than anything military. Even before Tuesday’s strike, major Middle Eastern powers were reconsidering their participation in the Abraham Accords. The Accords aim to normalize Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors. Their collapse would not only further isolate Israel, but would also embarrass Trump, who touts the Accords as one of his most successful diplomatic initiatives.

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Trump offered to let Korean workers detained at Georgia Hyundai plant to stay in US, but almost all are leaving. Their departure will cause a months-long delay for plant opening.

ICE agents back down after protesters show up to defend roofers.

UK sacks ambassador to US over Epstein relationship.