Former Brazilian President Michel Temer handed himself over to the police after a court ordered his arrest for the second time in two months over corruption allegations.

Footage of Temer entering the office of Brazil’s federal police in Sao Paulo on Thursday was broadcast by local television. The judges had ruled earlier that the 78-year-old politician should return behind bars as his role in the so-called ‘Car Wash’ scandal is being investigated.

The ex-president’s lawyers insisted that the decision was groundless and showed “injustice,” and have already filed an appeal against the arrest warrant.

Prosecutors said they believe that Temer was the leader of a “criminal organization” receiving lavish bribes from the funds allocated to the construction Angra 3 nuclear plant. He was already arrested as part of the same probe on March 21, but the court released him a few days later. Temer has always denied any wrongdoing.

Brazilian media claims that the politician faces investigation on at least ten separate cases, which also deal with money laundering and large-scale fraud at state-owned oil company Petrobras.

Temer’s downfall is made ironic by his role in ousting his predecessor in 2016. President Dilma Rousseff was impeached over claims that she had mishandled state funds as part of ‘Car Wash.’

Her impeachment amounted to a parliamentary coup, backed by a smear campaign in the media owned by a handful of oligarchs, Rousseff told RT in an exclusive interview last year.

“We won the elections four times in a row but, after the fourth time, they decided not to give us even a slightest opportunity to participate in the fifth election,” she explained.

Rousseff’s predecessor, Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva (2003-2011) was also charged with corruption and ordered to jail last year. In his first interview from prison last week, the 73-year-old Lula called the current government a “bunch of lunatics” and “lackeys” of the US.

Brazil was recently declared a “major non-NATO ally” by US President Donald Trump, following a visit by current president Jair Bolsonaro. The conservative Bolsonaro won the election last September after surviving a stabbing at a campaign event.

After Temer chose not to seek re-election, Lula seemed like a strong contender for the presidency, until he was jailed in April and thus disqualified from running.

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Nationalists in Kiev sought to ridicule the Immortal Regiment march by photoshopping Soviet military uniforms on Marvel’s Avengers. The joke was on them, as the soldiers who fought to defeat the Nazis were real-life superheroes.

Millions in Russia and abroad took to the streets with portraits of their relatives who took part in World War II, or the Great Motherland War as it is known in the former Soviet Union. The international action, known as the Immortal Regiment march, began in 2012 and has since become a tradition that follows the military parade on May 9.

Despite the Ukrainian authorities frowning on the practice and preferring to celebrate “Europe Day” instead, the Immortal Regiment march was held on Thursday in Kiev as well, gathering several thousand participants.

But the nationalists in Kiev organized a march of their own on Victory Day, and prepared thoroughly for it by printing out portraits of the characters from cinematic blockbuster ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which is currently breaking world box-office records.

Marvel’s superheroes were photoshopped into Soviet military uniforms of the WWII era, while a Ukrainian twist was also given to their names. The posters carried by dozens of demonstrators in the Ukrainian capital featured Major Starkov, Captain Amerikov, Sergent Hulkov, Doctor Strangenko, Sergant Lokienko, Private Gamora, Partisan Grootenko, among others. The arch-villain Thanos also made an appearance, with the highest possible rank of generalissimo.

The organizers said they wanted to make fun of the Immortal Regiment, but may have inadvertently paid a massive compliment to those who defeated the Nazis. The Avengers stood for good and sacrificed a lot to protect humanity and life itself from unimaginable evil – a description that perfectly fits the soldiers from all over the USSR – including Ukraine – who foiled Hitler’s plans of world domination in WWII.

Another symbol of victory against the Nazis in 1945 – the orange-and-black Saint George ribbons – was under attack in Ukraine as well. Kiev introduced a special law to ban their display in 2017.

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Those seen sporting such symbols are subject to a fine of up to 2500 hryvna (around $100) or a 15-day administrative arrest in case of a repeat violation. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said it detained and charged 13 people for wearing Saint George ribbons on May 9.

Two citizens of Moldova were also denied entry to Ukraine, after the ribbons were discovered on them by vigilant border guards on Wednesday. They will be barred from visiting Ukraine for the next three years.

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The EU is committed to preserving the nuclear deal with Iran and helping the nation dodge US economic sanctions, and will not bend to any ultimatums, top European diplomats say. Earlier, Tehran suspended some of its commitments.

On Wednesday, Tehran announced it will halt disposal of excessive heavy water and uranium, which is one of the key terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement (known as the JCPOA). Unless European signatories deliver on their promises to Iran, it may enact a further rollback in 60 days.

EU members pledged to create a special financial mechanism which would allow business to be done in Iran without being on the radar of the US, which threatens anyone dealing with the country with economic sanctions.

Top EU diplomats said on Thursday they remain committed to the deal but will not bend to any ultimatums.

“We strongly urge Iran to continue to implement its commitments under the JCPoA in full as it has done until now and to refrain from any escalatory steps,” the officials said in a statement.

Iran for its part stressed that it wants to fix the JCPOA and not abandon it.

“Our goal is to strengthen the JCPOA and bring it back on track,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization, said the same day.

Earlier, Tehran clarified that its decision to partially suspend compliance with the JCPOA was in response to the US’ withdrawal and the failure by European signatories to alleviate the damage done by American sanctions.

The deal offered Iran the lifting of sanctions in exchange for placing restrictions on its nuclear industry. Lucrative business deals with European and American companies were expected to follow, boosting Iran’s economy and building trust with the West.

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Using the destruction of one of the prime Christian sites in the world as a chance to push your pet environmental agendas is disrespectful to Notre Dame’s heritage. Also, architects, please stop putting fake tiny parks everywhere.

Top French design bureau Vincent Callebaut Architectures has gone viral with its plans to replace the roof of the medieval cathedral with a glass shell filled with solar panels.

Underneath will be a “sustainable” farm capable of producing 21 tons of fruit and vegetables each year, to be given out for free to the homeless. Not coincidentally perhaps, this is at least the third eco-garden proposal that has been made public, while the vast majority of the submitted designs for the planned reconstruction feature a glass roof.

One can picture the unquestioning thought processes percolating through these architectural firms: how can we keep the idea of a church being a beneficial public space alive, while updating it to the present day? What could be more positive than green energy?

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There is one thing: restoring Notre Dame as a cathedral space. One understands that these designers are secular in their worldview even if nominally religious, but why do they so blithely assume that they can take a building away from the Catholics who have maintained it continuously for 800 years, without even asking them, and turn it into something more to their liking? Esoteric as it may be, a cathedral has a function that is spiritual – it should facilitate communion with God – and having a vegetable patch may dilute this purpose. Environmentalism, quasi-religious as it is, does not equal bona fide Christianity.

The architects might think there is something so post-modernly clever and ingeniously practical about their designs, but in fact they are just odd: if a football stadium was damaged in a fire, in a competition to restore it you wouldn’t submit a blueprint to turn it into a shopping center or a theme park just because you don’t like football. The fans still want to watch their team somewhere.

And overused as such examples are, one would imagine if Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, or the Angkor Wat were damaged, the same firm would think twice about even publishing their unsolicited proposals for a glass box with a visitor center and viewing platform, which has happened with at least one of the designs here. Why do you hate your own cultural history that much?

But maybe we are all thinking too narrowly. Maybe we are missing the aesthetic originality these architects are bringing into the world. But what is with the fetish for putting gardens in urban spaces? One assumes that the thinking goes: “A forest in the middle of a stone building – magical!” Though what you get instead is some thin, zoned greenery in a place where it would never naturally appear: not Eden but an inauthentic, inorganic party trick that will cost millions to maintain (could just give that money to the homeless instead of some carrots). And as you might see from its replication in so many near-identical submissions for Paris, this isn’t even some budding idea. This is the prevailing “premium” urban aesthetic from New York’s High Line, to Boris Johnson’s never-to-be Garden Bridge, to dozens of shopping malls and restaurants in any global metropolis.

So, here is the challenge, architects. If you are interested in more than easy clicks, what if instead of suggesting overplayed and soon-to-be-dated airport terminal roofs, you think of something that TRULY captures the spirit and purpose of Notre Dame, but is NOT a shiny brand-new replica of its every architectural evolution. If you can solve that conundrum, it is not just the devout who will be thankful in their prayers.

By Igor Ogorodnev

Igor Ogorodnev is a Russian-British journalist, who has worked at RT since 2007 as a correspondent, editor and writer.

People from across the world have taken part in annual Immortal Regiment marches, carrying photos of their relatives and commemorating WWII heroes in emotional Victory Day festivities.

Of course, the biggest Immortal Regiment march is always in Moscow (a record one million people, including President Vladimir Putin, marched in the Russian capital in 2018) — but from New York to London, Tokyo and Melbourne, smaller parades are held across the world every year for the May 9 celebration of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

This year, a group of Russians stationed at the Vostok research station in Antarctica even managed to get in on the action, posting photos from the South Pole in fairly chilly -68 degree Celsius weather conditions.

In Berlin, marchers made their way from the Brandenburg Gate to the Soviet War Memorial in the Tiergarten public park.

Londoners also took to rainy streets on Thursday to celebrate, carrying Russian and Soviet flags along with portraits of family members who fought in the war.

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Memorial marches were also held in Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Melbourne, Buenos Aires and Athens, among others.

Russian embassies posted photos of gatherings at the Soviet war memorials in Austria, Malta and Denmark.

… while Russian news channel Vesti captured video from Immortal Regiment marches in Tokyo.

The ‘Immortal Regiment’ began as a local event in the Siberian city of Tyumen in 2007 and has since ballooned across Russia and the rest of the world into an annual tradition commemorating those who fought in the war.

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Following two short-range missile launches, North Korea is preparing a long-range launch drill as well, according to Pyongyang’s official news agency.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula rose again on Thursday, after the US seized a North Korean cargo ship and DPRK carried out two short-range missile tests on its western border, overseen by Kim Jong-un personally.

Following the short-range launches, Kim gave the go-ahead for a long-range strike drill as well, according to North Korean news agency KCNA.

Kim said that “genuine peace and security of the country are guaranteed only by the strong physical force capable of defending its sovereignty,” KCNA reported.

North Korea had suspended nuclear and missile tests last year as part of a diplomatic overture to Washington, but the second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam fizzled in February without a deal. In return for specific steps in dismantling its nuclear program, Pyongyang had asked for a partial removal of US sanctions. Trump refused, reportedly at the urging of his national security advisor, John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trump has shrugged off the failure of the summit, insisting he still has a good personal relationship with Kim and expressing hope the talks will continue at some point.

“The relationship continues… I know they want to negotiate, they’re talking about negotiating. But I don’t think they’re ready to negotiate,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday morning.

Last month, Kim visited Russia and met with President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok, asking him to play an intermediary with Washington, among other things.

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned the UK that allowing Huawei to bid on 5G contracts could spell the end of the US-UK “special relationship” – and, apparently, the UK’s membership in the Five Eyes.

“With respect to 5G, the United States has an obligation to ensure that the places we will operate, the places where American information is, the places where we have our national security risks, that they operate inside trusted networks,” Pompeo said in a speech to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Wednesday.

While “each country has a sovereign right to make its own decision about how to deal with the challenge,” of whether to invite Chinese firms like Huawei and ZTE to bid on infrastructure contracts, the UK certainly wouldn’t want to make the wrong decision, Pompeo hinted, adding, “I have great confidence that the UK will never take an action that will break this special relationship.”

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt rushed to reassure the American. “We would never take a decision that compromised our ability to share intelligence with our Five Eyes colleagues, or particularly with the US,” Hunt pleaded. “We are absolutely clear that the security relationship that we have with the US is what has underpinned the international order since 1945… the preservation of that is our #1 foreign policy priority.” The Five Eyes is a highly secretive global intelligence network formed in the aftermath of World War II to share intelligence between Anglophone allies the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Pompeo invoked late former PM Margaret Thatcher at a speech later that day commemorating the 40th anniversary of her election, seemingly trying to shame PM Theresa May into committing to a stronger stance against Chinese tech after rumors emerged last week that the UK was considering awarding Huawei contracts for some non-core work on its 5G network.

“Would the Iron Lady be silent when China violates the sovereignty of nations through corruption and coercion? Would she allow China to control the internet of the future?” Pompeo asked, painting a fearsome picture of what could happen if the UK went “wobbly” on China.

“Insufficient security will impede the United States’ ability to share certain information within trusted networks. This is exactly what China wants – to divide Western alliances with bits and bytes, not bullets and bombs,” Pompeo said.

In case the Brits missed his point, Pompeo reprised his threats in an interview with Sky News, where he was “crystal clear” about Huawei and ZTE. “We don’t believe you can have those technologies in your systems and still have a trusted network,” he said, emphasizing the “real risk if countries choose that path that we won’t be able to participate in those networks because of the risk.”

The threats are more of the same from the US diplomat, who declared last month that the US categorically would not “partner” with countries that embrace Huawei’s 5G tech, a position that has created significant friction with other EU countries, particularly Germany.

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has yet again lashed out at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, claiming that Moscow wants it as “leverage” over Europe, and vowed to continue efforts to disrupt it.

Pompeo, well known for his vocal criticism of the pipeline project, touched upon the topic while giving a speech at the Centre for Policy Studies in London on Wednesday.

“Russia wants Nord Stream 2 to use energy as a leverage over Europe. We shouldn’t allow it to proceed,” Pompeo stated, while praising the close relationship between the US and the UK.

The pipeline, constructed by Russia’s Gazprom in partnership with five European energy majors under the Baltic Sea, has been repeatedly criticized by Washington and others, including Kiev. The criticism has included speculation that the new pipeline would bring the amount of Russian transit gas – and profits from it – for the Ukrainian authorities to zero.

Senior US officials, including Pompeo, have repeatedly “warned” Europe of the alleged threats that Nord Stream 2 bears, claiming it would deepen the EU’s dependence on Russian energy. Despite the pressure from the US, Europe – namely Germany, the major partner in the project – has not caved in to it and the construction of the pipeline, expected to provide transit for 70 percent of Russian gas sales to the EU, goes on.

While Washington’s concerns about the “dependence” of the EU on Russia might appear genuine, the US has actually been actively seeking to get its own share in the European energy market, trying to sell more of its liquefied natural gas (LNG).

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An Indian diamond dealer who is a chief suspect in a huge bank fraud and money laundering case has been denied bail by a British court as he fights extradition to India.

Nirav Modi, 48, was arrested in London, in March, on suspicion of being the main beneficiary of a huge illicit scheme focused on defrauding Punjab National Bank in India of up to $2 billion, and then laundering the alleged proceeds of that fraud. He denies the allegations, dismissing them as “politically motivated.”

Westminster Magistrates Court refused bail on the grounds the judge feared Modi would not appear in court for his extradition hearing, which is scheduled to begin at the end of this month. It’s the third time British courts have denied his application for bail.

Modi had reportedly been living a lavish lifestyle in London after his name was put on Interpol’s Red Notice list by New Delhi authorities in July 2018. He was arrested while opening a new bank account on March 19, though his lawyers argue that he was preparing to surrender himself to police.

The small French Alps village of Crets en Belledonne is counting sheep, but not to cure insomnia. Instead, they’re enrolling them in school to make up for low attendance.

Yes, you read that right: the Jules Ferry elementary school registered some 15 sheep as pupils on Tuesday in order to fulfill French regulations which set quotas for the number of students required at a school.

“National education is unfortunately only numbers,” said Gaelle Laval, one of the parents behind the odd initiative. “So now, with this surge in numbers, we are good.”

The elementary school risked losing state funding for one of its eleven classes when its enrollment figure fell below the required threshold, prompting residents to symbolically register the animals to ensure the quota was met.
Click Here: kanken mini cheapHuman students at Jules Ferry were elated by the arrival of their new classmates.

“To have sheep in the school, it is super!” said one eight-year-old student. “I’m ready to take one or two in my class. I’m sure they will work well.”

The effort was organized by three parents, but the town’s mayor, Jean-Louis Maret, has come out in support, officially recognizing the animals as students at the school.

The sheep were provided by a local farmer named Michel Girerd, one of just 4,000 residents in the small town.

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