Army influence on Brazilian elections causes a stir
AFP, Rio de Janeiro
With an ex-army captain leading polls, a reserve general picked as his running mate, and a military chief sticking his nose into the election chaos, Brazil’s army has become an increasingly conspicuous participant on the political scene.
On top of that, the number of military candidates across both the presidential and gubernatorial elections on October 7 has almost doubled since the last vote, up from 13 to 25, according to the influential Estado de S. Paulo newspaper.
‘Trump should be ‘glad’ of media scrutiny’
Reuters, Washington
Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said on Thursday the company would announce a decision on where it will build a second headquarters before the end of the year, and also said that President Donald Trump is wrong to “attack the media.”
Bezos privately owns the Washington Post, which has been among the media that have been the frequent target of broadsides from Trump.
Afghan military copter crash kills 5
AFP, Herat
An Afghan military helicopter carrying weapons and ammunition burst into flames during an “emergency landing” in western Afghanistan, killing at least five people, including the pilot, officials said Saturday.
The aircraft was flying from Herat to the neighbouring province of Farah on Friday night when it experienced “technical problems”, Farah provincial governor spokesman Nasir Mehri told AFP.
US to sell arms worth $2.6b to South Korea
Reuters, Washington:
The US State Department has approved possible military sales worth $2.6 billion to South Korea, including six P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft and 64 Patriot anti-ballistic missile weapons, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The Boeing-made Poseidon aircraft, which are used for hunting submarines and conducting maritime reconnaissance, are worth up to $2.1 billion, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said.
Rwandan oppn leader released from jail
AFP, Kigali
Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire was unexpectedly freed from jail on Saturday after President Paul Kagame permitted her early release, alongside two thousand other prisoners.
“I thank the president who gave me this liberation,” Ingabire said as she left Mageragere Prison in the capital Kigali. “This is the beginning of the opening of political space in Rwanda, I hope so,” she added calling on Kagame “to release other political prisoners.”
