Europe’s political centre holds in weekend of elections

Super Sunday was the result of three simultaneous elections held in the European Union.

Romania’s presidential election, which was a crucial vote for the NATO member and for which the EU and Ukraine were all hoping, was in the spotlight.

In Poland, the ruling party’s pro-EU candidate and his right-wing rival are scheduled to face off in a crucial second-round vote in June. However, the country may still lean toward populism despite the slim lead of the center-right Warsaw mayor.

Portugal saw the biggest change, with the center-right alliance winning snap parliamentary elections with a record-equal number of votes cast by the far right.

How long does the political center of Europe appear to be in tact?

Will these outcomes reassure a populist-run Europe that it is seeking a break from the turmoil?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Editor-in-chief of BrusselsReport, Pieter Cleppe. eu

The European Council on Foreign Relations is led by Piotr Buras.

Professor of Political Science at the University of Lisbon, Antonio Costa Pinto

Former President Bolsonaro’s coup trial opens in Brazil

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is set to stand trial on charges that he plotted a coup d’etat and organized a “criminal organization” to overturn the outcome of his election in October of 2022, which he narrowly lost to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Over the following two weeks, the nation’s Supreme Court is scheduled to hear testimony from prominent military and political figures.

Former army captain, who ruled Brazil from 2019 to 2022, could face up to 40 years in prison if found guilty.

Bolsonaro refutes the accusations, claiming that he was the victim of “political persecution.”

Generals Marco Antonio Freire Gomes and Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, who served as Bolsonaro’s army and air force commanders, are scheduled to give videoconference testimony to over 80 witnesses.

Both men claimed that Bolsonaro had “raised the hypothetical possibility” of using legal means to rig the 2022 election and justify military intervention in prior statements to federal police.

The alleged plot included plans to declare a state of emergency, hold new elections, and assassinate President Lula, according to the prosecution.

The scheme, which prosecutors claim ultimately failed due to lack of support within the military, is described in a 900-page federal police report.

The charges also cover the riots that occurred on January 8, 2023 in Brasil, where thousands of Bolsonaro supporters threw the Supreme Court, Congress, and the presidential palace.

Although Bolsonaro, a close ally of Donald Trump when they were both in power, was present in the US at the time, prosecutors claim he supported the violence, calling it the “last hope” of those seeking to overturn the election.

Four former ministers, a former navy commander, and the head of Brazil’s intelligence services are all facing charges alongside him in his presidency.

Since the military dictatorship’s end in 1985, this Brazilian president has been charged with coup.

After making allegations about Brazil’s electronic voting system, Bolsonaro, who has frequently praised that time, is already prohibited from running for office until 2030.

Bolsonaro has expressed a desire to return to politics despite the ban. However, he warned that a conviction would result in a “death penalty, political and physical,” as he compared the allegations to a “telenovela scenario” in a letter to UOL last week.

Bolsonaro’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his policies and spread of misinformation led to Brazil experiencing the highest overall death toll in Latin America and the second highest death toll in the world after the US from the coronavirus. He was subject to harsh criticism when he was Brazil’s leader.

Pope Leo XIV meets US VP JD Vance

NewsFeed

A day after his inaugural Mass, Pope Leo XIV had a meeting with US Vice President J. D. Vance and Marco Rubio, the US’s Secretary of State. Veda invited the US-born pontiff to a US visit, whose hardline immigration policy has previously drawn criticism from Leo.

Measure targeting pro-Palestine NGOs disappears from US tax bill

Washington, DC – A measure known as the “nonprofit killer” has been removed from an enormous tax bill being advanced in the United States Congress, according to the bill posted online by the House of Representatives.

The provision, which no longer appeared on the President Donald Trump-backed “One Big, Beautiful Bill” on Monday, would have given the executive branch the authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that it deems supportive of “terrorism”.

Advocates have warned that the legislative effort – which failed to pass as a stand-alone bill last year – could be abused to crack down on groups that the administration does not agree with, particularly nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) that support Palestinian rights.

Israel has given little indication that it is relenting after more than 19 months into its war on Gaza. The past week has seen an intensification of violence across the besieged Palestinian territory, which has killed hundreds of people.

The reason for the disappearance of the NGO provision remains unclear, and experts warned it may yet reappear in the bill before the final vote in the House, expected later in the week.

The office of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

With a razor-thin majority in the House, Republicans need every vote to pass the tax bill, which Trump has put at the top of his agenda in Congress.

Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the section may have been removed to avoid putting the must-pass bill at risk, especially because the House parliamentarian, a nonpartisan office that oversees procedures, may have rejected it for violating the rules.

“It’s possible that this is a hiccup that they didn’t want, given that it wasn’t even likely to go through,” Hamadanchy told Al Jazeera.

“I can’t tell you that is the reason for sure. What I can tell you is that we continue to be very vigilant in case it comes back, either later this week or in the future.”

For weeks, Trump has been calling on Congress to pass the bill, which extends his 2017 tax cuts, a key component of his economic plans.

But the proposal has faced some opposition from conservative budget hawks, who have argued it does not cut spending enough and would add to the nation’s $36.2 trillion debt. So Republicans can ill-afford unnecessary issues that could derail the passage of the legislation.

‘Chill free speech’

Rights groups have been rallying against the “nonprofit killer”, saying it violates free speech and the right to due process.

The proposal would have granted the secretary of state power to unilaterally declare an NGO “terrorist supporting” and make it ineligible for tax exemptions.

It also said the government would not have to reveal the reason behind the designation if “disclosure of such description would be inconsistent with national security or law enforcement interests”.

Under the current rules, organisations certified to be nonprofits by the government get breaks on their federal income taxes. The status also makes donations to such groups tax deductible for donors.

While the withdrawn measure would have allowed a targeted NGO to challenge the secretary of state’s decision in court, losing the tax exempt status, even if temporarily, could have proven costly for nonprofits, especially smaller organisations.

Hamadanchy said being accused of supporting terrorism could also have prompted banks to close down the accounts of the groups.

“And then you have legal costs fighting off the designation because even if you might win in court, it’s going to take time to get there, and it’s going to cause a lot of damage to your organisation through that process,” he said.

“And that’s sort of the point because they want to chill speech.”

Hamadanchy noted that existing laws already make material support for a designated “terrorist” group a criminal offence with severe penalties.

The legislative push coincided with the Trump administration’s crackdown on Palestinian rights supporters, especially on college campuses.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the student visas of several Palestine advocates – who have not been charged with a criminal offence – over allegations of “support for terrorism”.

Some advocacy groups have portrayed the “nonprofit killer” as part of a broader push to muzzle voices critical of Israel.

“This bill is designed to silence dissent, especially from Muslim, Palestinian and civil rights organizations that speak out against injustice and genocide,” the Council on American Islamic Relations said in a statement last week.

“It threatens every nonprofit that engages in advocacy, educates the public, or challenges government policy.”

The apparent setback for the nonprofit provision came nearly two weeks after House leaders cancelled a vote on a bill to restrict boycotts of Israel after a backlash from right-wing legislators who voiced opposition to the measure on free speech grounds.

Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, said it would be “interesting” to see how Republican leaders would deal with staunchly pro-Israel measures like the “nonprofit killer” going forward.

Regeneron buys 23andMe for $256m after bankruptcy

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has bought the genetic testing company 23andMe, a company once valued at $6bn, for $256m through a bankruptcy auction.

Regeneron said in a statement on Monday that it aims to bolster its capabilities in genomics-driven drug discovery by using customer DNA profiles, collected via its popular direct-to-consumer saliva testing kits.

It added it would prioritise the ethical use of customers ‘ DNA data.

However, the transaction has put the spotlight back on data privacy issues, especially in light of 23andMe’s recent challenges. Founded in 2006, 23andMe has collected the genetic information of roughly 15 million people.

The genomics firm, once a trailblazer in ancestry DNA testing, has faced dwindling demand for its core services and reputational damage from a 2023 data breach that exposed sensitive genetic and personal information of millions of users.

The hack and subsequent bankruptcy filing have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers who warned that millions of customers ‘ genetic data could be sold to unscrupulous buyers.

After the company’s bankruptcy filing in March, several congressional committees and federal agencies, including the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and&nbsp, the Federal Trade Commission, penned letters voicing concerns&nbsp, that the company’s data could end up in the hands of malicious parties.

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability in the House of Representatives launched an investigation into the matter.

Acknowledging the heightened scrutiny, Regeneron said it will uphold 23andMe’s existing privacy policies and comply with all applicable data protection laws.

The drugmaker also committed to working transparently with a court-appointed independent overseer who will assess the implications of the deal for consumer privacy and is expected to deliver a report to the court by June 10.

The court is scheduled to consider approval of the transaction on June 17.

Investments in genomics “make good strategic sense” for Regeneron but might take a decade or more to see a return, Bernstein analyst William Pickering told the news agency Reuters.

“Given Regeneron’s track record, we also believe 23andMe customers are in good hands from a privacy perspective”, Pickering added.

As part of the agreement, Regeneron will acquire all units of 23andMe except the company’s on-demand telehealth service Lemonaid Health, which is being shuttered.

After the transaction, expected to be completed in the third quarter, 23andMe will operate as a wholly owned unit of Regeneron.

Lithuania files case against Belarus at ICJ over alleged people smuggling

Belarus is the subject of a legal action brought by Lithuania’s neighbor at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of stoking the refugee and migrant crisis by facilitating human trafficking across their borders.

Lithuanian Justice Minister Rimantas Mockus issued a statement on Monday, saying that the Belarusian regime must be held legally accountable for initiating the wave of human rights violations.

According to international law, “we are bringing this case before the International Court of Justice to send a clear message to the international community.”

The alleged violations of the UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air by Belarus are the focus of the case, which was submitted to the ICJ in The Hague.

According to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bilateral negotiations to resolve the conflict failed, and there is evidence of direct involvement by the Belarusian government in coordinating refugee and migrant flows, including a rise in flights operated by Belarusian state-owned airlines from the Middle East.

Many of the passengers were escorted to the Lithuanian border by Belarusian security forces after landing in Belarus, according to Lithuanian officials.

Lithuania also alleged that Belarus had refused to cooperate with its border services in preventing unreliable crossings and that it is now suing the ICJ for alleged damages, including costs incurred as a result of border reinforcement.

Since 2021, when thousands of people, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, have started arriving at the borders of Lithuania, Poland, and Latvia from Belarus, the tensions between the two nations have simmered.

More than 400 Iraqis were repatriated to Baghdad on a charter flight from Minsk to Belarus in November 2021, despite Belarus’ prior deportation of Middle Eastern refugees and migrants.

A Human Rights Watch report that the country was responsible for the crisis that year claimed Belarus and used brutal methods, dehumanizing treatment, and coercion from Belarusian border guards were all over the place.

Minsk has also been accused of “weaponizing” migration in an effort to destabilize the bloc by European Union officials. Belarus defame the allegations vehemently.