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Lula tells Chomsky he wants to bring together world democratic leaders. The meeting, which lasted around 40 minutes, was marked by demonstrations of respect and admiration.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) met linguist Noam Chomsky on Monday (24) in São Paulo, in a meeting that lasted around 40 minutes. During the visit, the two held hands and treated each other with admiration. Lula even joked about rubbing 95-year-old Chomsky’s forehead and head. “You’re older than me, but you have a lot more hair,” said the president, who is 78.

“I came here to see my friend and to repay the visit you and Valeria paid me when I was in prison,” said the president. “I’m glad you’re doing so well, because you have a lot to give to improve humanity. Not a week goes by that Celso Amorim and I don’t talk about you.”

Chomsky suffered a stroke in June 2023, in the United States, and was brought to São Paulo, where he was admitted to the Beneficência Portuguesa Hospital. He was discharged last Tuesday (18).

During the meeting, Lula told Chomsky that he is organizing an international meeting of democratic leaders to discuss ways of confronting the advance of the global far right.

Lula also said he was confident that, when he leaves office, the country will be closer to the ideal of justice for which Chomsky works. "I always say to [Fernando] Haddad [Finance Minister], who is also a friend of yours, that we need to be patient, but without moving away from our purpose.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party) visited former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Social Democrat Party of Brazil - PSDB) this Monday (24) at the latter’s residence in São Paulo. The meeting lasted approximately half an hour.

In the early afternoon, Lula arrived at FHC’s building by car and left without talking to the press. Before the President’s visit, the PSDBist (Neoliberal/Liberal) also received former Finance Minister Pedro Malan and economists Gustavo Franco and Pérsio Arida - all involved in the creation of the Real Plan (Brazil’s current currency), which turns 30 in 2024.

FHC, who was Lula’s opponent in the 1994 and 1998 elections, declared his support for the PT candidate in the 2022 presidential election. At the time, FHC said he would vote for Lula because of “a history of fighting for democracy and social inclusion”.

In São Paulo, the Chief Executive also met the American philosopher Noam Chomsky, 95, and the Brazilian writer Raduan Nassar, 88. Last Tuesday (18), Chomsky was discharged after a period of hospitalization at the Beneficência Portuguesa hospital.

As the meetings are of a personal nature, they are not on the president’s official agenda. Lula is due to return to Brasília on Monday afternoon.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has accepted a plea deal with the US government that will allow him to avoid jail time in the states over his leaking of top secret military information.

Assange is expected to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act and receive credit for time served for the five years he spent behind bars in the UK while fighting extradition to the US, according to court documents and reports.

Assange, of Australia, was charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information for releasing classified reports of the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on his WikiLeaks site, according to the documents.

He’s expected to be released from UK custody after he pleads guilty during a federal US court hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the US this week.

The Philippine military carried out a mission to reinforce the grounded warship at Ren’ai Jiao to extend its service life.

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian urged the Philippines to immediately stop infringement and provocations on the Ren’ai Jiao issue, and return to the right track of properly managing differences through dialogue and consultation as soon as possible.

He made the remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on the recent moves by the Philippine military at Ren’ai Jiao, China’s Nansha Qundao. The Financial Times said the Philippine military carried out the mission to reinforce the grounded warship at Ren’ai Jiao to extend its service life.

“Reports once again confirm that the Philippine side’s claim of sending only living necessities for its grounded warship on Ren’ai Jiao is a complete lie,” Lin stressed.

In fact, as pointed out by the Chinese side on multiple occasions, the Philippine side has been trying to send construction materials and even weapons and ammunition to its illegally grounded warship in an attempt to carry out large-scale repair and reinforcement in order to achieve long-term occupation of Ren’ai Jiao, he added.

Such actions by the Philippine side seriously infringe upon China’s sovereignty, which China will never accept. China will respond resolutely in accordance with the law and regulations, Lin said, noting that the cause of the current situation on Ren’ai Jiao is very clear.

The root cause is that the Philippine side violated its promise, refused to tow away the warship that had been illegally grounded on Ren’ai Jiao for 25 years, and insisted on sending construction materials in an attempt to reinforce it, the Chinese diplomat pointed out.

This warship is irrefutable evidence of the Philippines’ long-standing infringement and provocation against China in the South China Sea, its treachery and violation of the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and its destruction of the ecological environment in the South China Sea, Lin noted.

“We urge the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringement and provocative actions and return to the right track of properly managing differences through dialogue and consultation. China’s determination to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests remains unwavering,” Lin said.

“Armenia’s wise decision aligns with the principles of the two-state solution, a strategic choice that defends international will and legitimacy,” he said in a statement.

“On various international platforms, we have always advocated a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian question and support the two-state principle of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We are convinced that this is the only way to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis can realize their legitimate aspirations,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry stated.

“Based on the above and reaffirming its commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence of peoples, the Republic of Armenia recognizes the State of Palestine,” it added.

For his part, Hussein al Sheikh, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), also expressed his “satisfaction” with the recognition.

“It is a victory for law, justice, legitimacy and the struggle of our Palestinian people for liberation and independence. Thank you our friend Armenia,” Sheikh wrote on the X social network.

Norway, Ireland and Spain made a coordinated announcement on May 22, declaring their recognition of Palestine as a state effective as of May 28. But their decision was condemned by Israel.

On June 3, over 20 UN experts and special rapporteurs called on all countries to recognize a Palestinian state. So far, over 140 countries have already recognized a Palestinian state, representing more than two-thirds of the United Nations’ membership.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and To Lam signed deals on education, science, technology, nuclear energy, and disease prevention.

On Thursday, Vietnam and Russia signed eleven cooperation agreements and issued a joint declaration committing to deepen their historical relationship.

At the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vietnamese President To Lam signed agreements on issues related to education, science, technology, nuclear energy, and disease prevention. They also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the state-owned company Petrovietnam and Novatek, Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer.

According to an article published by Putin in the Vietnamese Communist Party newspaper regarding his visit, Novatek plans gas projects in the Asian country, while the state nuclear corporation Rosatom intends to create a center for nuclear energy and technologies.

The presidents signed another agreement between the asset manager Vietnam Partners Investment Management (BVIM) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign investment fund established by Moscow in 2011.

The text reads, “Putin arrives in Vietnam on a state visit. He is received with a red carpet and guard of honor. A joint declaration and the signing of several bilateral documents by both leaders are expected.” President To Lam also announced the signing of a joint declaration to “deepen” the existing strategic cooperation relationship between the two countries, without providing further details at the moment.

“I firmly believe that with the success of President Putin’s visit to Vietnam and the determination of our leaders, relations between the two countries will continue to strengthen in the future,” he said.

After visiting North Korea, Putin arrived in Vietnam accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, and the director of the federal agency for military-technical cooperation, Alexander Mikheev.

On Thursday, the Russian leader met with the secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, the most powerful man in the country. Putin is also scheduled to attend a banquet in his honor before departing the Asian country at 8:30 PM local time.

Ten soldiers have been found guilty at a court in Lima of crimes against humanity for rapes committed four decades ago during Peru’s civil war.

In what is being hailed as a landmark verdict, a panel of three judges on Wednesday said the systematic use of rape by soldiers in the Manta y Vilca case – named after the communities where the abuses took place – qualified as a crime against humanity.

“It is not legitimate that strategies of sexual violence be used as an intimidation method,” the court said.

The case is the first collective proceeding in Peru over the mass use of sexual violence during the state’s conflict with the Mao-inspired Shining Path rebels, which caused 69,000 deaths and disappearances between 1980 and 2000.

Six of the nine women who took legal action were in court to hear the verdicts. One, known as Marilia, died in March without seeing justice served. Her friend and fellow survivor, María, was in tears after the verdicts.

“Marilia told me, she would have liked [to see] these wretches behind bars for what they did to us,” said María. “They caused us so much harm. And we haven’t been able to move forward until now because of these soldiers. But I am glad that those guilty will pay for this.”

The convicted men were given prison sentences ranging from six to 12 years and ordered to pay 100,000 soles (£20,500) to each of their victims, who were all Quechua-speaking women from a rural Andean community.

The verdict comes at a crucial moment for human rights in Peru. Earlier this month, its congress voted to pass a bill to make crimes against humanity committed before 2002 subject to the statute of limitations. The bill, which awaits a second vote in congress, has been criticised by human rights organisations for undermining accountability for past human rights violations.