International
Bolsonaro diverted gifts for 1.2 million dollars for his benefit, according to the Police
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro benefited from the diversion of gifts received during official visits abroad that are valued at 1.2 million dollars (about 1.1 million euros), according to a report by the Federal Police of Brazil released on Monday.
The Police assure in their investigation that the plot sought the illicit enrichment of Bolsonaro, whom he accused last Thursday along with 11 other people for the crimes of appropriation of public good, money laundering and association to commit crimes.
According to the researchers, the participants in the scheme used two stratagems to divert the official gifts depending on whether their reception had been formally registered.
Thus, those who were not registered were directly subtracted by the former president without going through the evaluation of the Deputy Cabinet of Historical Documentation, an entity of the Presidency controlled by a Bolsonaro adviser.
Meanwhile, other gifts this organization qualified as “very personal goods” so that Bolsonaro could keep them, based on a “legal interpretation diametrically opposed to the constitutional foundations,” according to the Police.
Among the stolen goods, there is a set of rose gold men’s jewelry of the Chopard brand delivered by the Government of Saudi Arabia to Bolsonaro’s Minister of Energy, Bento Albuquerque.
In December 2022, when there were only a few days left until the end of the ultra leader’s mandate, these jewels were taken on the presidential plane to the United States, where they were auctioned.
The same fate was suffered by other luxury objects received by the president during official visits to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, such as two watches from the Rolex and Patek Phillipe brands.
According to the Police, in the United States, intermediaries of the former president were in charge of negotiating the sale of the jewelry with the purpose of “hiding the real owner and beneficiary” of the transaction.
In this way, the money received for the sale of the two watches went, first, to the bank account of General Mauro César Lourena Cid, father of Bolsonaro’s personal assistant and who occupied an official position of the Government in Miami.
In the following months, those resources were transferred during personal meetings, “in a “split and in kind” way,” to Bolsonaro, who lived for a while in Miami after his electoral defeat against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The far-right leader, on whom other investigations weigh, has denied the charges, waiting for the Prosecutor’s Office to determine whether to file a complaint.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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