AUSTRALIA
Nazi to be sentenced
A self-described Nazi is to become the first person in the nation sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed Nazi salute when a magistrate sets his term next month. Magistrate Brett Sonnet yesterday told Jacob Hersant that he would be sentenced to a “relatively modest term of imprisonment” at his next court appearance. The maximum potential sentence is 12 months in prison plus a A$24,000 (US$16,177) fine. Hersant gave the salute and praised Adolf Hitler in front of news media cameras outside the Victoria County Court on Oct. 27 last year, six days after the Victoria state government made the Nazi salute illegal.
KENYA
Impeachment begins
The Senate was meeting yesterday to begin hearing an impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, fast-tracking a process stemming from a fallout with President William Ruto. On Tuesday, the National Assembly voted to impeach the 59-year-old Gachagua. The motion accused him of corruption, insubordination, undermining the government and practicing ethnically divisive politics, among a host of other charges that he has denied. Senate Speaker Amason Jeffah Kingi said the upper house would hear the charges, telling lawmakers “we are expecting a heavy day.” The Senate has 10 days to wrap up the proceedings.
BRAZIL
Nun wins UN award
Nun Rosita Milesi yesterday won the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’s Nansen Award for decades of work championing the rights of migrants and refugees. Milesi, 79, has helped thousands of people to access legal documents, shelter, food, healthcare, language training and the labor market over 40 years, the agency said in a statement. “I decided to dedicate myself to migrants and refugees. I’m inspired by the growing need to help, to welcome, and to integrate refugees,” Milesi said in the statement. “I’m not afraid to act, even if we don’t achieve everything we want to. If I take something on, I will turn the world upside down to make it happen.”
COLOMBIA
Petro probe announced
The electoral authority on Tuesday said that it was investigating President Gustavo Petro for allegedly exceeding spending limits in his 2022 campaign by nearly US$1 million. National Electoral Council President Cesar Lorduy told reporters that Petro and some members of his campaign were suspected of overspending by US$880,000. He would face financial penalties if found to have breached campaign financing rules. “The coup has begun,” Petro wrote on X.
UNITED STATES
Election day plot thwarted
The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant organization and was plotting an election day attack targeting large crowds, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City told investigators after his arrest on Monday that he had planned his attack to coincide with the Nov. 5 election and that he and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, the charging documents said. The alleged co-conspirator was not identified by the department, which described him only as a juvenile, a fellow Afghan national and the brother of Tawhedi’s wife. Tawhedi was arrested after taking possession of two AK-47 rifles and ammunition he had ordered, officials said.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
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