Brazilian Supreme Court Sentences Former President
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison by Brazil’s highest court last Thursday for his role in plotting a failed military coup and uprising in January 2023. The uprising occurred after left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the presidency in 2022. After da Silva assumed power, rioting and arson occurred throughout the capital of Brasilia, terrifying many in a country with a long history of military coups. These fears were partially assuaged on Sept. 11, when four out of five of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices found him guilty of trying to “annihilate the essential pillars of the democratic rule-of-law,” and guilty of involvement in an assassination plot targeting da Silva. The decision was highly celebrated by the Brazilian left, while Bolsonaro’s supporters staged massive protests, signaling his continued popularity with portions of the population.
U.N. Inquiry Declares Israel Is Committing Genocide In Gaza
The U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a Sept. 16 report that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces launched a ground invasion of Gaza City. While hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began fleeing south, an even larger number remained, saying they weren’t able or couldn’t afford to leave. Palestinian officials declared that Israel was turning the city into a “mass graveyard,” while Israeli officials said that the invasion was necessary to prevent Hamas from regrouping. The international community widely condemned the invasion. The ground operation follows Israeli strikes on Qatar last week which targeted Hamas’ political leadership in residence there.
South Africa Reopens Inquest Into Steve Biko’s Death
On Sept. 12, South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority reopened an inquest into the death of iconic anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, exactly 48 years after he died in a prison cell. In 1977, Biko spent three weeks in police custody where, it is widely believed, the police beat him into a coma before transporting him to a Pretoria prison hospital where he died. Biko’s interrogators insisted that he died after attacking them with a chair, then hitting his head on the wall in the ensuing struggle, maintaining this story throughout South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission of the late ’90s. A spokesperson for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority said they wanted “to address the atrocities of the past and assist in providing closure to the Biko family and society at large.”
New Nepalese Interim Prime Minister Appointed
After several days of civil unrest, the Nepalese military entered negotiations with youth protestors, and a caretaker prime minister was appointed to reestablish stability in the country. Former PM Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli resigned on Sept. 9, one day after the protests began. Sushila Karki, who previously served as the first female chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court from 2016-2017, was chosen by the protesters for her strong anti-corruption stance while in office. A reluctant Karki told civil servants, “I’m not here because of my personal wish.” All three of Nepal’s dominant political parties have declared Karki’s appointment unconstitutional, making her task of restoring government functions and holding elections all the more difficult. Elections to determine the next full-time prime minister will be held on March 5, 2026.
Belarus and Russia Hold Military Exercises Amid Russian Aerial Incursions
Belarussian and Russian troops held a five-day series of exercises called Zapad 2025 in Belarus between Sept. 12 and Sept. 16. The show of military preparedness comes at a time when multiple Russian drones have entered NATO airspace twice in as many weeks. The incursions, first in Poland and then in Romania, sent NATO jets scrambling to intercept the drones, and, in the Polish incident, to shoot them down. Poland has invoked Article 4 of the NATO convention, formally bringing the issue of the trespassing drones to NATO’s central council. A statement by the European Union’s foreign policy chief accused Russia of “reckless escalation.” The drones crossed the border from Ukraine, where Russian drones remain a constant threat to soldiers and civilians alike after 823 were launched into the country on Sept. 8 alone.
