International
Brazil ex-lawmaker gets 50 years for husband’s murder
| By AFP |
Former Brazilian congresswoman Flordelis dos Santos was sentenced Sunday to 50 years in prison for the murder of her husband in 2019, a Rio de Janeiro court ruled.
Famous for adopting dozens of street children from Rio de Janeiro’s slums, Dos Santos, 61, and her husband, pastor Anderson do Carmo, were a power couple in Brazil’s burgeoning Evangelical Christian movement until he died in a hail of bullets at their home in a Rio suburb in June 2019.
Prosecutors charged Dos Santos in August 2020 with “orchestrating the homicide, enlisting (several of her grown children) to take part in the crime and attempting to disguise it as an armed robbery.”
Prosecutors said the suspected motive was to gain power over the couple’s finances, which Do Carmo, then 42, managed with “rigorous control.”
Dos Santos had been protected by parliamentary immunity but she lost it after being ousted by a near-unanimous vote of her colleagues in August 2021.
The former congresswoman was also found guilty of trying to murder her husband with poison on at least six previous occasions, as well as forgery of documents and armed criminal association, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office complaint.
Dos Santos was elected to Congress for the conservative Social Democratic Party in 2018.
Born in the Rio favela, or slum, of Jacarezinho, she met Do Carmo in 1994.
Together, they founded what they called the Community of the Evangelical Ministry Flordelis.
Five of the couple’s other children and a granddaughter were also accused in the trial.
Simone dos Santos Rodrigues, biological daughter of the former congresswoman, was also sentenced on Sunday to 31 years in prison, while four adopted children and a granddaughter were acquitted.
One of Dos Santos’s biological sons, accused of being the gunman, as well as another family member who bought the weapon, were sentenced a year ago.
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
International
FBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
Kash Patel did not provide further details, but police sources told CBS News that the potential attack was “inspired” by the Islamic State (ISIS).
“This morning, the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested several individuals in Michigan who were allegedly planning a violent attack during the Halloween weekend,” Patel wrote on X.
“Thanks to swift action and close coordination with our local partners, a possible terrorist act was prevented before it could be carried out,” he added.
CBS reported that five people between the ages of 16 and 20 were arrested on Friday. At least one of them was reportedly acquainted with a former member of the Michigan National Guard, who was arrested in May for plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a U.S. military facility in the Detroit suburbs.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
FBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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