Global investigation reveals Pegasus Project identified in Azerbaijan and elsewhere

Global investigation reveals Pegasus Project identified in Azerbaijan and elsewhere

Authorities in Azerbaijan have refrained from making any statements

Written byArzu Geybullayeva

Posted 23 July 2021 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Code_on_computer_monitor_(Unsplash).jpg

Days after a global investigation titled the Pegasus Project exposed how an intrusive software, called Pegasus, was used to target journalists, rights defenders, activists, and political leaders across the world, one country that utilized this technology has remained quiet. Authorities in Azerbaijan have so far refrained from making any statements about its surveillance policies or ties to the Israeli surveillance company that sells Pegasus software, NSO Group. According to leaked data, around 1,000 phone numbers belonging to users in Azerbaijan were identified — among them, prominent journalists, editors, rights defenders, lawyers, and political activists, as well as their friends and family members.

Pegasus Project

A successful Pegasus infection gives NSO customers access to all data stored on the device. An attack on a journalist could expose a reporter’s confidential sources as well as allowing NSO’s government client to read their chat messages, harvest their address book, listen to their calls, track their precise movements and even record their conversations by activating the device’s microphone.

Pegasus infections can be achieved through so-called “zero-click” attacks, which do not require any interaction from the phone’s owner in order to succeed.

For months Paris-based journalism non-profit Forbidden Stories, Amnesty International Security Lab, and more than 80 journalists from 17 media outlets collaborated to establish the identities of those targeted by the intrusive NSO software after leaked data revealed that some 50,000 phone numbers across 50 countries were potentially targeted. So far, the groups have established where Pegasus was put to use: Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates; and have identified 14 world leaders plus 180 journalists, editors, and freelancers who were targeted.

Not all of the 50,000 numbers were subject to an attempted or successful hack. And in the absence of a forensic examination, it is impossible to tell whether a device was hacked. Amnesty International Security Lab was able to carry out forensic examinations on 67 phones so far, out of which 37 showed signs of Pegasus.

The NSO Group

NSO Group insists that it sells its software only to governments, suggesting that the clients in these countries represent intelligence services, law enforcement agencies, or other official bodies.

NSO Group was set up in Israel in 2010 by Niv Carmi, Shalev Hulio, and Omri Lavie. On its website, the company claims to develop technology “to prevent and investigate terror and crime” but the surveillance technology appears to have been used against dissidents, journalists, and activists across the world. Citizen Lab investigations reveal that NSO's Pegasus was used against dissidents at least since 2016 in numerous countries.

In 2019, the company came under fire when accusations emerged that it was infecting users’ devices with malware by hacking WhatsApp. In response, WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook sued the NSO Group. In July 2020, a U.S. federal court judge ruled that the lawsuit against NSO Group can proceed despite the company's defense that “its business dealings with foreign governments, granted it immunity from lawsuits filed in U.S. courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA).” In December 2020, Microsoft, Google, Internet Association, GitHub, and LinkedIn joined as parties in Facebook's ongoing legal battle against NSO. The most recent hearing took place in April 2021 and according to Politico the NSO Group appeared “unlikely to prevail.” Josh Gerstein, Politico's Senior Legal Affairs Reporter noted: 

Even if the firm’s effort to head off the suit fails, it could continue to fight the case in the trial court, but will likely be forced to turn over documents about its development of Pegasus and make executives available for depositions.

In addition to NSO's legal battles, the company has faced criticism from various international human rights organisations. 

In April of this year, nine international human rights and press freedom organizations penned a letter to Chaim Gelfand, Vice-President for Compliance at NSO Group, asking the company “to deliver on its commitments to improve transparency about sales of its advanced spyware, and due diligence to protect human rights.” The letter also rejected the NSO Group's claims “of their unverified compliance with human rights standards.”

Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, considers NSO's claims that they adhere to human rights standards as “pure theater.”

The spectacle might be a mildly entertaining farce were it not for the very real and gruesome way in which its spyware is abused by the world’s worst autocrats. NSO’s irresponsible actions have proven their words are nothing more than hand-waving distractions from the harsh reality of the unregulated marketplace in which they, and their owners, thrive and profit.

Two years ago, the then-UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, called for a moratorium on the sale of NSO-style spyware to governments until viable export controls could be put in place. Despite his warnings, the sale of surveillance software continued without any transparency or accountability.

The most recent investigation not only brings the company to the spotlight but also highlights the importance of control mechanisms imposed on spyware companies.

Azerbaijan chapter 

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which was among the 17 media partners involved in the global Pegasus investigation, out of the 1,000 phone numbers from Azerbaijan, the project researchers were so far able to identify 245 phone numbers that were targeted, a fifth of which belonged to reporters, editors, or media company owners. The list also includes activists and their family members.

Meydan TV, a Berlin-based online news platform, spoke with some of the targeted community members. “Anyone who is engaged in civil society work in Azerbaijan is aware they are under surveillance. But this program is a spyware. And its capabilities such as turning on microphone and camera, while in an intimate setting with friends or family members, without the owner's awareness, is a direct violation of privacy,” said Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, a political activist.

Among the dissident family members targeted by the spyware is Shura Amiraslanova, the mother of former political prisoner Giyas Ibrahimov, known as one of the “graffiti prisoners” who was jailed after spraying graffiti on the statue of the former Azerbaijan President Heydar Aliyev and later sentenced to ten years in jail on questionable drug possession charges. “I guess they thought that if I fully stand behind my son, I should be watched too. But why? What can I do?” said Amiraslanova in an interview with Meydan TV.

Speaking to Azerbaijan Service for Radio Free Europe, Elshad Hajiyev, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior Affairs, dismissed the investigation as “baseless” assuring that “the ministry is willing to investigate any allegations upon request.”

In the meantime, the NSO Group denies all of the accusations, “the report by Forbidden Stories is full of wrong assumptions and uncorroborated theories that raise serious doubts about the reliability and interests of the sources,” read a company statement published on its website. In another statement issued on July 21, 2021, the group said, “enough was enough,” and that it will no longer respond to media queries, participating in “the vicious and slanderous campaign.”

Global phone hacks expose darker side of Israel's 'startup nation' image


By Hadas Gold, CNN Business
Updated  Sun July 25, 2021

See how 17 news outlets are coming together to expose Pegasus spyware 02:12

Jerusalem (CNN)Audacious Mossad spy operations around the world. The plucky "startup nation" home to reams of billion-dollar ideas. These are two drivers of Israel's image abroad that its political and business leaders have long been happy to push.
That slick image appears to have taken a hit with new reports that once again Israeli-founded technology, like the Pegasus software from the firm NSO, has been used by governments around the world to allegedly hack the cellphones of human rights activists, journalists and others.

NSO and its defenders say its software is meant only to catch terrorists and other criminals, saying it regularly saves lives and operates under strict export controls.
The company says it doesn't control what its clients do with the software, but follows Israeli laws on exporting military-grade technology, is selective in vetting its customers and cuts off access if it discovers misuse.


But the recent revelations by an international consortium of media and human rights groups about Pegasus, have thrown the spotlight back on both the company and Israel. Now, as many consider the morality and legality of such programs, there are calls from both inside Israel as well as in the international community about how better to regulate the cyber-espionage market.

A perfect marriage of spycraft and technology

Israel's dominance in the cybersecurity field did not occur in a vacuum. The country's intelligence and covert operations divisions, especially its Mossad security force, have long had a storied reputation for engaging in cunning, daring and ruthless espionage, burnished by Hollywood depictions.

As Israel's prominence as a hub of technological innovation and startup grew, the two areas converged to give the tiny country an outsized influence in the cybersecurity industry.

The country's well-resourced education system, plus the compulsory military service, brings scores of young Israelis into high-level training in cybersecurity and cyberwarfare before many of them even go to university, according to Tal Pavel, Head of Cybersecurity studies at The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo. Much of the country's most cutting-edge technology has its roots in military development, Pavel noted.


Daughter of detained man behind 'Hotel Rwanda' says she was spied on by Israeli software

One of the most elite units of the Israel Defense Forces is the secretive Unit 8200, the cyber spy agency that has produced some of the country's biggest tech super stars.
"One of the unique things in Israel, is the 'cynergy,' the bringing together of cyber and synergy between industries," Pavel told CNN, before alluding to a characteristic he says is perhaps rooted in the Israeli psyche.
"There is also something here ... maybe there is also the struggle to survive. If everything is happy and you're not constantly trying to survive (against people trying to destroy you), you don't have to innovate, to cope."

NSO fallout
NSO was founded in 2009, but it wasn't until 2016 that the power of NSO's technology came under scrutiny.
It was in that year that reports emerged that Emirati human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor received suspicious text messages with links, that researchers at Citizen Lab in the University of Toronto revealed contained malware from NSO that would have hacked his iPhone. (In 2018 Mansoor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "damaging the reputation" of the UAE on social media.)

Pegasus Project: Why 17 news outlets are working together to cover spyware on a mass scale

Pegasus software was also allegedly connected to the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi via fellow dissident Omar Abdulaziz, whose phone was allegedly hacked through Pegasus software. Abdulaziz sued NSO in 2019, accusing the company of violating international law by selling the software to oppressive regimes. Early last year an Israeli judged rejected NSO's request to dismiss the lawsuit, which NSO had argued was lacking "good faith," according to The Guardian. NSO has repeatedly denied its software was used to monitor Khashoggi or his family.

The recent investigation by the international media and human rights consortium found evidence of Pegasus software on 37 phones belonging to people who, based on the company's own description of the software's purpose, shouldn't have been targets of NSO software, like journalists and human rights activists.

CNN has not independently verified the findings of that investigation, named Pegasus Project, which was organized by Forbidden Stories. In a statement to CNN, NSO strongly denied the investigation's findings saying it found fault with many of its assertions.
As a result, countries like France have announced probes into the use of the technology, while Amazon announced they had "shut down the relevant infrastructure and accounts" linked to NSO that used Amazon services.

Tip of the iceberg

NSO is simply one part of a vast industry of cyber espionage, according to Israel Bachar, a strategy and communications consultant who has worked with many of Israel's top political leaders, including former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and current Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

"Let's be honest, intelligence is being gathered by states against each other constantly. Everyone spies on everyone. And when it comes to an Israeli company there's a lot of hypocrisy," Bachar said, pointing to previous revelations about the US National Security Agency spying on world leaders and its own citizens. "NSO is another tool but there are many other tools."


Amazon Web Services disables cloud accounts linked to NSO Group

Beyond its actual capabilities, companies like NSO also help Israel diplomatically, Bachar said, as Israel has for years quietly, and now publicly, cultivated relationships with former adversaries.

"One of the tools that Israel uses diplomatically is its ability in intelligence. It's not a secret that Israel is sharing sensitive intelligence even with Arab countries because we have an interest in protecting them," Bachar said.

But Professor Yuval Shany, chair of the public international law department at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, says the tactic is starting to backfire on Israel's image.
"The logic is Israel may be willing to turn a blind eye to transactions that are conducted with friendly regimes in the sense that they are friendly to Israel but not necessarily friendly to human rights," Shany said. "I think this recent scandal, which is quite embarrassing both for NSO but also for Israel, would lead at least in the short run to some tightening of export controls standards."

How to control the uncontrollable

Unlike conventional weapons, software is often intangible and can easily be sold and transferred across the globe, making attempts to control technology like the Pegasus system difficult.

NSO and similar military-grade technology is regulated by an export control structure within Israel's Ministry of Defense, Shany said. This system looks both at the technology and the target; which entity -- either state or non-state -- is purchasing this technology including its human rights record, he added. But, Shany said, looking at the allegations around NSO's Pegasus software, "the results are not impressive, it's quite concerning."

In response to the most recent allegations around NSO technology, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said they are "studying" the claims, while an interministerial team has been appointed to look into the current process and whether Israeli-made technology was being misused abroad, according to Reuters.


Just spyware? It's a potential 'cyberweapon' 14:36

A quick fix, Shany said, would be for Israel to formally sign onto the Wassenaar Arrangement between 42 countries, which tries to bring transparency to the export of military and dual-use technology and attempts to prevent such technology from being acquired by dangerous elements. Shany said Israel currently adheres to the agreement but is not a formal member.

But the most important reforms to help controlling such technology will come from within, said Karine Nahon, a professor at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and President of the Israel Internet Association.

"If Israel doesn't export it someone else would, if you don't give those engineers and startup licenses and provide a kind of supervision nothing stops them from moving to another country and selling it from there," she said.

Nahone is calling for the ethical consideration and the possibility such technology will be exploited to become a more significant part an export decision. And, she suggested, the companies should place more limitations on the software's use and have more oversight into how their clients are using the software -- something NSO says it has little control over.
"NSO does not operate the system and has no visibility to the data," the company said in a statement last week, saying it will continue to investigate "all credible claims of misuse and take appropriate action based on the results" of such investigations.

WhatsApp sues Israeli company over cyberattack that it says targeted journalists, dissidents and diplomats

"It makes it more complicated in terms of the responsibility of these companies and Israel but on the other hand it might minimize the number of countries this software is being exported to," Nahone said.

Even though it may seem like NSO and Israel's image is being dragged through the mud for its connection to such alarming surveillance, Bachar said overall it could have a positive effect for those who want to continue burnishing Israel as a leader in advanced technology and intelligence operations.

"I think sometimes people come to curse and the outcome is there is a blessing because what happened at the end of the day, people remember that the best technology is Israeli technology, NSO," Bachar said. "That's what people three months from now will remember."

WATCH: Angry constituent curses out Rand Paul during town hall meeting

Bob Brigham
July 23, 202

Rand Paul on Fox News (screengrab).


Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) faced off against an angry constituent during a virtual town hall meeting broadcast on TikTok.


A staffer who was moderating the event introduced a woman who had called in to the meeting.

"You are live with the senator, you can go ahead and ask your question," the staffer said.

"Hi senator, I am a proud Kentucky citizen and I just wanted to tell you get f*cked," she said.

Paul is being challenged by former Kentucky state legislator Charles Booker in the 2022 election.

S. African women risk assault to reach work as taxi violence surges

by Kim Harrisberg | @KimHarrisberg | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Friday, 23 July 2021 15:58 GMT


Activists say women are particularly vulnerable in a country where a sexual offence is committed every 10 minutes

* Violence between taxi firms has left thousands stranded

* Women are at risk walking long distances to and from work

* Activists have called for more police and community engagement


JOHANNESBURG, July 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - South African language tutor Debbie Odumuko has already survived a shootout in a grocery store since fighting between rival taxi drivers resurfaced in Cape Town in early July.

But walking alone at night alongside the highway to get home now that most taxis have stopped running has left her equally terrified of being assaulted.

Getting to and from work has become risky for Odumuko, 49, but the thought of staying home and not being able to feed her four children kept her up at night as she lay in bed listening to gunshots fired between taxi gangs.

"I feel overwhelmed and angry ... I fear for my safety, but I have to put bread on the table," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on the phone.

Odumuko is one of thousands whose lives have been impacted by a recent spate of violence in South Africa's Western Cape province, fuelled by repeated territorial disputes between different taxi associations.

In South Africa, informal minibus taxis complete about 15 million trips daily, according to government data, a service that commuters say is marred by harassment and high risk of accidents.

Research shows that in Sub-Saharan Africa "transport poverty" - when inaccessible transport negatively impacts a person's quality of life - disproportionately affects women and girls in terms of harassment and getting to school and work.

During this recent bout of taxi violence around the Western Cape, activists say women are particularly at risk in a country where police statistics show a sexual offence is committed every 10 minutes.

"I know of women walking up to 50 km through the night, or in the rain, to get to work. If they don't go, they bear the brunt of having to look in the eyes of hungry children," said Joanie Fredericks, a local women's rights activist.

At least 83 people have been killed since January in the intermittent clashes, according to the province's Department of Transport and Public Works.

The government has said it will close the contested taxi route for two months starting Monday and has upped security and the number of buses to try to control the violence.

"This is not only about a taxi route, this really speaks to the core of our community's struggle to feel safe," said Fredericks, who also runs a women-only taxi service from the gang-ridden Cape Flats of the Western Cape.

DIVIDED CITIES

Apartheid spatial planning that physically divided cities according to racial groups left many Black and mixed-race South Africans on the outskirts of town and far from economic opportunities.

"Because of this distance from townships to the city centre, some women are walking to their places of work and then try to find a place to sleep there - but what about their children? Who protects them?" asked Fredericks.

Odumuko said she usually wakes up at 4am to find transport to cover her 50-km commute and get to work by 8am, moving between taxi and bus ranks to find the quickest available ride.

"I wish my colleagues could see what I go through just to get to work on time," she said.

Community activism groups have called for increased police presence and emergency accommodation for those stranded by the violence, and asked the local government to engage with communities impacted by the transport breakdown.

"We can no longer be held hostage by a criminal few who ... threaten both the lives and livelihoods of our residents," said Daylin Mitchell, provincial minister of transport and public works, in a statement announcing the route closure on Friday.

For now, Odumuko says her options are limited.

The coronavirus pandemic has decimated South Africa's economy, with the first total lockdown in 2020 causing 3 million job losses within months, with women in the informal sector hit particularly hard.

"I feel traumatised from all the violence, but what can I do? We need to get our children to school, to feed them. We are trying to survive," Odumuko said. (Reporting by Kim Harrisberg @KimHarrisberg; Editing by Jumana Farouky. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nurses’ pay in England to fall 7% in a decade even after government offer

Latest NHS salary plan fails to offset past drop, as teachers and police furious at wage freeze

NHS staff, trade union members and health campaigners protest about pay on July 20 in Whitehall. Photograph: Barcroft Media/Getty

Toby Helm
Sun 25 Jul 2021 

THE GUARDIAN 

Pay for nurses and other NHS staff in England will have fallen in real terms by more than 7% since 2010, even if they accept the latest offer from the government, according to new analysis that will fuel rising anger about public sector pay deals.

Figures produced by the TUC show that remuneration for nurses, community nurses, medical secretaries, speech therapists, physiotherapists, paramedics and radiographers will have dropped by between 7.3% and 7.6% in real terms in just over a decade, even after factoring in the 3% rise offered last week.

The Royal College of Nursing, which represents 450,000 nurses, is to consult its members next month for their views on the offer and, if they are overwhelmingly negative, may proceed to an “indicative ballot”, opening up the possibility of some form of industrial action. A senior RCN source said that while this was a remote possibility, it was “not completely off the table”.

The 3% offer for NHS workers was an improvement on an initial figure of just 1% submitted by ministers to the NHS pay review body. But it still caused dismay among many workers who believe their role in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic deserves more.

Last week, unions representing teachers also reacted with fury after it was announced that pay for most of their members would be frozen, while the Police Federation of England and Wales said it no longer had confidence in the home secretary, Priti Patel, after she announced their pay would also be frozen.

The issue of public-sector pay is now building into a political headache for the government, as ministers face up to the huge costs of the pandemic, and look for savings across departmental budgets.

The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, told the Observer: “It’s easy to understand the anger from NHS staff when you see what’s been done to their pay. It’s not just about the 3% – it’s the way their wages have been held back year after year.

“All our key workers deserve a decent standard of living for their family. But too often their hard work does not pay. And after the hardest year of their working lives, they deserve better.

“The prime minster must follow through on his promise to ‘build back fairer’ with fair pay for all key workers. It’s not only about valuing them properly. The spending boost from pay rises will help our businesses and high streets recover faster. It’s the fuel in the tank that our economy needs.”

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) last week highlighted how the decision on teachers’ pay went back on previous pledges from ministers, and risked damaging recruitment into the profession. The IFS said: “At the last election, the Conservative party manifesto committed to increasing teacher starting salaries in England to £30,000 per year by September 2022.


Pay freeze for England’s teachers a ‘slap in the face’, say unions

“However, to ease pressure on school budgets and the public finances, the government has now announced a freeze on teacher pay levels in England for September 2021, and pushed back starting salaries of £30,000 to September 2023.

“The level of teacher pay is important. It plays a big part in determining the recruitment and retention pressures faced by schools. With the cost of employing teachers accounting for over half of school spending, what happens to salary levels also has a large bearing on the overall resource pressures faced by schools. And it is a key determinant of material living standards for over 500,000 teachers in England.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Following a year in which teachers and leaders have worked flat out on managing a battery of Covid control measures, as well as assessing students following the government’s decision to cancel public exams, the decision to implement a pay freeze is an absolute insult.”

HOW MUCH IS A WORKERS LIFE WORTH?!
Poultry plant fined $1M over 'entirely avoidable' deaths of six workers

BY CELINE CASTRONUOVO - 07/24/21

© Greg Nash

The Department of Labor this week issued nearly $1 million in fines over a January nitrogen leak at a poultry processing plant that killed six people and hospitalized at least a dozen others.

The agency in a Thursday document listed a total of 59 safety violations and $998,637 in proposed penalties for the Foundation Food Group and three other companies with roles at the Gainesville, Ga., plant.

The fines followed an investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which found that six workers at the plant died of asphyxiation after entering a freezer room where an equipment malfunction caused liquid nitrogen to release into the air.

According to the OSHA, Foundation Food Group had not properly informed employees, either “by posting danger signs or by any other equally effective means, of the existence and location of, and the danger posed by the permit spaces.”

The department’s 26 violations against the poultry company also included allegedly failing to “develop, document and use lockout procedures,” and “not training employees on the methods and observations used to detect the presence or release of nitrogen.”

In total, the Labor Department has levied $595,474 in penalties against the Foundation Food Group.

The agency also issued $74,118 in fines against Messer LLC, which provided the industrial gas for the plant.

The OSHA argued this week that Messer had engaged in six violations, including exposing “workers to injuries and suffocation from the uncontrolled release of liquid nitrogen” and not making sure that lockout procedures were made known and shared between the host employer and workers.

Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. Ltd. was also fined $286,720 for 17 serious and two repeat violations for failing to train workers on the hazards of liquid nitrogen and “not ensuring emergency eye washes were available and unobstructed.”

FS Group Inc., the firm responsible for manufacturing and servicing equipment at the plant, faces $42,325 in fines for failing to train workers on the hazards posed by the machinery and emergency procedures on dealing with liquid nitrogen leaks.

Protestors continue to rail against France's COVID-19 measures
NFL to issue $14K fines if unvaccinated players violate COVID-19...

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said in a statement announcing the penalties that the deaths and hospitalizations suffered as a result of the nitrogen leak “were entirely avoidable.”

“The Department of Labor is dedicated to upholding the law and using everything in our power to get justice for the workers’ families,” Walsh added. “The bottom line is no one should leave for work wondering if they’ll return home at the end of the day, and the Department of Labor is committed to holding bad actors accountable.”

The Hill has reached out to Foundation Food Group for comment.

Angered by Covid response, Brazilians protest against Bolsonaro

Issued on: 24/07/2021 -
Demonstrators take part in a protest against the government of Brazilian President Jair Jair Bolsonaro in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 24, 2021. Carl de Souza AFP

Rio de Janeiro (AFP)

Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets Saturday to demand the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing increasing pressure as the pandemic exacts a devastating toll.

It was the fourth weekend of protests called by leftist political parties, labor unions and social groups against Bolsonaro, who is being investigated for allegedly turning a blind eye to a scheme to embezzle government funds in the purchase of vaccines.

Protest marches were planned in 400 cities and towns.

In Rio de Janeiro, thousands of people in red clothes and wearing face masks marched with banners bearing slogans berating the embattled leader, including "No one can take any more" and "Get out corrupt criminal."

Organizers said they were part of a day intended to galvanize the country "in defense of democracy, the lives of Brazilians and getting Bolsonaro out."

In Rio and elsewhere, protesters complained about Brazil's late-starting vaccination program and high unemployment rate, and demanded more emergency aid for poor people grappling with the pandemic.

"It is very important that everyone who feels offended or oppressed by this government comes out to the streets, because we need to fight for the return to democracy," Laise de Oliveira, a 65-year-old social worker, told AFP.#photo1

Brazilian press carried images and reports of streets thronged with anti-Bolsonaro demonstrators in 20 of Brazil's 26 states through early afternoon.

- Record low approval -

Neither the organizers nor the authorities have released an overall estimate of the number of people attending the marches.

But large demonstrations were planned in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city with 12.3 million residents, and the capital Brasilia.#photo2

Bolsonaro, criticized for remarks in favor of exploiting protected areas of the Amazon, his views on guns, and an ambitious privatization program, is enduring his worst stretch since coming to power in 2019.

His approval rating is at a record low 24 percent and polls suggest he could lose October's presidential election to his main rival, leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose Workers Party was one of the forces behind Saturday's demonstrations.

Brazil has suffered nearly 550,000 deaths because of Covid, a toll surpassed only by that of the United States, which has almost 120 million more people.

Bolsonaro has been famously dismissive of the health crisis, the need to wear face masks, and lockdown measures to halt the spread of the virus.

But Bolsonaro still has enough support in congress to block these initiatives, including that of the speaker, who decides whether the complaints are allowed to proceed.

© 2021 AFP

Brazilian protesters call for impeachment of Bolsonaro for 2nd time in a month

Protests occur amid ongoing drop in popularity for Brazilian leader

Thomson Reuters · Posted: Jul 24, 2021 

A demonstrator holds a placard reading 'Impeachment' on an image depicting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a protest in downtown Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images)


Protesters took to the streets in several Brazilian cities on Saturday to demand the impeachment of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, whose popularity has fallen in recent weeks amid corruption scandals against the backdrop of the pandemic.

News broke this week that Brazil's Defence Ministry told congressional leadership that next year's elections would not take place without amending the country's electronic voting system to include a paper trail of each vote.

Bolsonaro has suggested several times without evidence that the current system is prone to fraud, allegations that Brazil's government has denied.

A protester displays a puppet version of Bolsonaro during a demonstration in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

The president is facing re-election next year in a race in which he is likely to face his political nemesis, former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Polls currently show Bolsonaro losing against Lula.

Continued opposition from protesters

Saturday's protests — including this one in downtown Rio de Janeiro — were at least the second time this month that Brazilians, in multiple cities, had taken to the streets to oppose the president. (Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images)

Saturday's protests were at least the second time this month that Brazilians have taken to the streets in several cities to oppose Bolsonaro.

"I'm here because it is time to react to the genocidal government that we have that has taken over our country," said Marcos Kirst, a protester in Sao Paulo.

A man dressed up as Spider-Man displays a sign during a protest against Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday. The sign reads 'Impeachment now! Bolsonaro in jail!' (Carla Carniel/Reuters)

More than 500,000 Brazilians have died of COVID-19 under the leadership of Bolsonaro, who has been widely criticized for dismissing the severity of the disease and opposing masks and physical-distancing measures.

Bolsonaro is now being investigated in the Senate, which is probing the possibility of corruption tied to the purchase of an Indian coronavirus vaccine.

Demonstrators take part in a protest against Bolsonaro's government in Sao Paulo on Saturday. (Miguel Schincariol/AFP/Getty Images)

On Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue, the traditional location for political protests, more than 1,000 people were gathering as of 4 p.m. local time on Saturday.

A man wears an alligator hat and a mask that reads 'Bolsonaro out' during a protest against the Brazilian president in Sao Paulo on Saturday. (Carla Carniel/Reuters)

There were later some clashes with police in Sao Paulo, with video showing police using tear gas and advancing on protesters.

Bolsonaro was in Brasilia, the capital, on Saturday and went out for a motorcycle ride while greeting supporters.

Demonstrators — holding a banner with a message that reads in Portuguese '550 thousand deaths, Bolsonaro!' — demand the impeachment of the president at the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia, Brazil, on Saturday. (Eraldo Peres/The Associated Press)

G20 ministers stuck on global warming caps

LOWER IT TO 1.5 ,,,,,WHAT ....I CAN'T HEAR YOU 

By DW News 

Rome, July 24: The G20 ministers responsible for climate, energy and environment failed to reach a consensus on more ambitious climate goals after talks in Italy on Friday. 

Following the discussions in Naples, several countries rejected the idea of committing to keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), said Roberto Cingolani, the Italian Minister for Ecological Transition.

The countries instead only pledged to aim for the less ambitious target in the Paris Climate Agreement of keeping the increase in the Earth's temperature to well below 2 degrees, while continuing efforts to reduce it to 1.5 degrees, a joint declaration said. 

Global warming has already seen a 1.2-degree increase compared to pre-industrial times, with fatal climate consequences, such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods. Environmental disasters and global warming Cingolani told reporters that concern over last week's deadly floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands was at the forefront of discussions during the two days of negotiations in southern Italy. Germany and the European Union are both G20 members. 

G20 ministers' meet: What you need to know "All began by offering condolences," Cingolani said. Such natural disasters are "changing consciences." 

Climate scientists say the link between extreme weather and global warming is unmistakable, while calling for urgent action. Between them, the G20 countries account for some 80% of the world's gross domestic product and some 60% of the planet's population.

Read more at: https://www.oneindia.com/international/g20-ministers-stuck-on-global-warming-caps-3290016.html

INDIA

Manipur HC orders release of journalist charged under NSA for post against cow urine as Covid cure

The ruling came in the same week when the Supreme Court ordered the release of an activist, who was charged along with journalist Kishorchandra Wangkhem

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Scroll Staff
Jul 23, 2021 ·

Manipur journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem | Facebook/Wangkhemcha Wangthoi


The Manipuri High Court on Friday ordered the release of journalist Kishorchandra Wangkhem, who has been charged under the National Security Act, reported Bar and Bench.

Wangkhem, along with activist Erendro Leichombam, were charged under the Act in May, for Facebook posts they put up after the death of Manipur Bharatiya Janata Party chief Saikhom Tikendra Singh due to Covid-related complications. They had criticised the saffron party for purportedly promoting cow urine as a cure for the infection.

The police had arrested Leichombam and Wangkhem on May 13. Later on May 17, an Imphal court granted them bail, but before they could be released, the government invoked the National Security Act.

“Cow dung [and] cow urine didn’t work,” Wangkhem had written in his Facebook post. “Groundless argument. Tomorrow, I will eat fish.”

On Monday, the Supreme Court had ordered the release of Leichombam, saying that his “continued detention of the petitioner would be a violation of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21”.

The order to release Wangkhem was passed by a bench of Chief Justice PV Sanjay Kumar and Justice KH Nobin Singh on a petition moved by the journalist’s wife Ranjita. The High Court ordered that the journalist should be released by 5 pm on Friday, reported Live Law.

Advocate Chongtham Victor, representing Wangkhem, said that the matter of compensation for his client’s unlawful detention will be decided on August 24.

In her petition in a form of a letter addressed to the judges of the High Court, Ranjita had stated Leichombam and Wangkhem were arrested on the same charges. While the Supreme Court ordered Leichombam’s release, Wangkhem is still in jail, she said.

The High Court also observed that there was no difference between the cases of Leichombam and Wangkhem as both of them had put up similar Facebook posts.

Borrowing observations from the Supreme Court’s verdict in Leichombam’s case, the bench said: “As they stand identically situated, we are of the opinion that the continued incarceration of the petitioner’s husband [Wangkhem] would be as much a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution [right to life or personal liberty] as it was in the case of Erendro Leichombam.”

In May, the Imphal court had criticised the police and said that they should not arrest someone under section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Code before they can “satisfy themselves” on the reasons behind the arrest. The section pertains to the arrests that the police may make without issuing a warrant.

The court had said the police should explain their reasons behind the arrest and warned that a failure to comply would lead to departmental action.

In 2018, the police had invoked the National Security Act against Wangkhem after he posted a Facebook video critical of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.