CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Friday appointed to his Cabinet a close ally who was pardoned by U.S. President Joe Biden last year as part of a prisoner swap and following assurances that Venezuela would hold a fair presidential election in 2024.

Maduro named Alex Saab minister of industry and national production and tasked him with promoting “the development of the entire industrial system of Venezuela within the framework” of what he called a “new economic model.” Maduro made the announcement on the messaging app Telegram.

Saab returned to Venezuela a free man in December after being in custody since 2020, when authorities in Cape Verde arrested him on a U.S. warrant for money laundering charges. U.S. prosecutors long regarded him as a bagman for Maduro.

The president secured his release and clemency in a deal conducted with the Biden administration. In exchange for Saab, Maduro released 10 Americans and a fugitive defense contractor known as “Fat Leonard” who was wanted for his alleged role at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal.

The largest release of American prisoners in Venezuela’s history took place weeks after the White House granted the South American country a broad reprieve from economic sanctions, following a commitment by Maduro to work with the political opposition toward free and fair conditions for the 2024 presidential election.

The U.S. ended the sanctions relief earlier this year after hopes for a democratic opening faded.

Last month, it responded to Venezuela’s highly disputed July presidential election by sanctioning 16 of Maduro’s allies, accusing them of obstructing the vote and carrying out human rights abuses.

Party leader says Bolsonaro draws crowds and votes

Costa Neto eyes gains in Senate to clear legal hurdles

PL leader rooting for Trump win to boost global right

BRASILIA, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The leader of Brazil's biggest right-wing party cannot speak to his candidate for the 2026 presidential election by court order, even though his office is across the corridor.

Valdemar Costa Neto, head of the conservative Liberal Party (PL), has to call up when arriving at party headquarters to avoid bumping into former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in the lift. That makes it hard to plan campaign strategy.

Still, Costa Neto is banking on Congress passing a constitutional amendment that would overturn the court order banning Bolsonaro from running for office until 2030.

"Bolsonaro's charisma is amazing. People turn out in droves. Some cry when he appears in public," he said in an interview.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20973709

US charges former Indian intelligence officer named Vikash Yadav

Charges say Yadav directed plot against Sikh separatist in US

US case is separate from case of another Sikh separatist killed in Canada

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The United States has charged a former Indian intelligence officer for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist and Indian critic in New York City, with the FBI warning against such a retaliation aimed at a U.S. resident.

An indictment of Vikash Yadav was ordered to be unsealed on Thursday. The U.S. Justice Department indictment mentioned Yadav as a former officer in India's Research and Analysis Wing spy service.

Washington has alleged that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination plot against Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen.

"The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the U.S. for exercising their constitutionally protected rights," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

The indictment alleged that beginning in May 2023, Yadav, described as an employee of the Indian government at the time, worked together with others in India and abroad to direct a plot against Pannun. The indictment described Pannun as a political activist, a critic of the Indian government and an advocate for a separate homeland for Sikhs.

India has labeled Sikh separatists as "terrorists" and as threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.

Yadav, 39, was still in India and the United States was expected to seek his extradition, the Washington Post reported, citing American officials.

US charges former Indian intelligence officer named Vikash Yadav

Charges say Yadav directed plot against Sikh separatist in US

US case is separate from case of another Sikh separatist killed in Canada

WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - The United States has charged a former Indian intelligence officer for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist and Indian critic in New York City, with the FBI warning against such a retaliation aimed at a U.S. resident.

An indictment of Vikash Yadav was ordered to be unsealed on Thursday. The U.S. Justice Department indictment mentioned Yadav as a former officer in India's Research and Analysis Wing spy service.

Washington has alleged that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination plot against Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen.

"The FBI will not tolerate acts of violence or other efforts to retaliate against those residing in the U.S. for exercising their constitutionally protected rights," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.

The indictment alleged that beginning in May 2023, Yadav, described as an employee of the Indian government at the time, worked together with others in India and abroad to direct a plot against Pannun. The indictment described Pannun as a political activist, a critic of the Indian government and an advocate for a separate homeland for Sikhs.

India has labeled Sikh separatists as "terrorists" and as threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.

Yadav, 39, was still in India and the United States was expected to seek his extradition, the Washington Post reported, citing American officials.

NAIROBI, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Kenya's senate voted to dismiss Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office by impeachment on five out of 11 charges levelled against him on Thursday, in an unprecedented move that risks pushing the country towards a political crisis.

The National Assembly voted last week to impeach Gachagua, who helped President William Ruto win an election two years ago but has been assailed by allies of the president over alleged disloyalty and a series of provocative public comments.

Fifty-four out of 67 senators voted to dismiss Gachagua on the first count of "gross violation of the constitution", more than the two-thirds majority required under the law, making him the first Kenyan president or deputy president forced from office by impeachment.

JAKARTA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The first time Prabowo Subianto lost a presidential bid, he claimed there had been "massive" fraud. The second time, the former special forces commander initially said he did not accept the election results, but later joined the winner's cabinet.

Prabowo dominated this years' presidential election, his third attempt in a decade, and is set on Sunday to become the leader of Indonesia on the back of support from outgoing President Joko Widodo and popular policies like free meals for school children.

The 73-year old, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, has undergone a remarkable transformation: projecting a persona of a charismatic statesman during the campaign - associated with viral dance moves, represented by a cute and cuddly cartoon avatar and often posing with his cat, Bobby.

His new image contrasts with his past reputation as a fiery, pious nationalist who as a military commander faced unproven allegations of rights abuses, and who for a time went into self-exile in Jordan after authoritarian leader Suharto, his former father-in-law, was ousted in a popular uprising in 1998.

Since winning the February election, Prabowo has signalled he will seek a greater role for Indonesia on the international stage, pledged to lift economic growth and urged unity in the country.

• Muslims in Delhi increasingly congregate in enclaves after 2020 riots

• Popular enclave of Jamia Nagar is overflowing, residents and real-estate agents say

• Experts link rising segregation to Islamophobia under BJP, which says it doesn't discriminate

• Muslim enclaves often have poor economic and educational infrastructure

NEW DELHI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - In February 2020, Nasreen and her husband Tofik were living in Shiv Vihar, an upcoming neighbourhood in northeast New Delhi. But that month, riots erupted targeting Muslims like them and Tofik was pushed by a mob from the second floor of the building where they lived, according to a police report he filed days later from hospital.

He survived, but has a permanent limp and was only able to return to work selling clothes on the street after spending nearly 3 years recuperating.

Soon after the riots the couple moved to Loni, a more remote area with poorer infrastructure and job prospects - but with a sizable Muslim population.

"I will not go back to that area. I feel safer among Muslims," Tofik, who like his wife goes by one name, told Reuters.

Reuters interviewed about two dozen people, who described how Muslims in the Indian capital have been congregating in enclaves away from the nation's Hindu majority, seeking safety in numbers following the deadly 2020 riot and an increase in anti-Muslim hate speech. Details about this phenomenon, which has led a major Muslim neighbourhood in Delhi to effectively run out of space, have not previously been reported.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who says she worked as a hair-and-makeup stylist for Garth Brooks alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that he raped her in a Los Angeles hotel in 2019.

The woman does not use her name and goes by Jane Roe in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Brooks forcefully denied the allegations in a statement and acknowledged he tried to get a court to stop Thursday’s lawsuit from being filed.

The woman says in the lawsuit she had worked for Brooks’ wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, since 1999, and had started also working for Brooks in 2017.

An incomplete table of magical effects from gnostic TTRPG Invisible Sun listed by level from 1 to 5

Lithuania’s customs service has intercepted multiple shipments of camouflage nets on trains from Kaliningrad, raising suspicions about their intended use in Ukraine.

Lithuanian customs officials intercepted camouflage nets being transported by train from Kaliningrad to Moscow, which they suspect may have been intended for Russian armed forces fighting in Ukraine.

European Pravda, citing the Lithuanian customs service, reports that the nets will now be sent to Ukraine as aid.

On 27 September, customs officers at the Kybartai railway post discovered 22 camouflage nets in seven postal parcels during an inspection of a passenger train traveling from Kaliningrad to Moscow. The parcels were addressed to recipients in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General reported the murders as another Russian war crime, saying: “This is the largest case of execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front line.”

In an unprecedented war crime, 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) were executed by Russian forces to whom they were surrendering in the Pokrovsk district of eastern Ukraine.

The atrocity came to light through a video released on Telegram on Oct. 1.

• • Ukrainian arms production has expanded rapidly during war

• PM says domestic production tripled last year
• Says 65% more funds set aside for arms purchases in 2025

KYIV, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Ukraine can produce four million drones annually and is quickly ramping up its production of other weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in comments authorised for publication on Wednesday.

Speaking on Tuesday to executives from dozens of foreign arms manufacturers in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had already contracted to produce 1.5 million drones this year.

Drone production was virtually non-existent in Ukraine before Russia's invasion in February 2022.