Pete Hegseth Hammered For Cheating on Multiple Ex-Wives in Wild Senate Hearing Clash

 

Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was absolutely grilled by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) over multiple examples of the former Fox News host’s past marriage infidelities.

Hegseth’s confirmation hearing is the first of this Congress and the first nominee from President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.  Hegseth’s controversial positions in his books, his comments on Fox News, as well as his past extramarital affairs have become central lines of attacks by Democratic senators.

As Mediaite first reported in 2017, Hegseth fathered a child with Jennifer Rauchet, then a Fox News producer, while married to the woman who he has since divorced. Since his nomination, a police report emerged of a sexual assault allegation involving Hegseth, which Hegseth’s lawyers later insisted emerged from a consensual affair. 

“I want to return to the incident that you referenced a minute ago that occurred in Monterey, California, in October 2017,” Kaine opened. “At that time, you were still married to your second wife, correct?” After Hegseth agreed that he believed so, Kaine followed with “And you had just fathered a child by a woman who would later become your third wife, correct?”

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Menina abusada por 64 homens desde os 13 anos, eram vizinhos e amigos do pai

 

Com algumas semelhanças ao caso de Gisèle Pelicot, há mais uma história arrepiante de abusos sexuais, desta vez na Índia.

Uma jovem de 18 anos ‘dalit’ (sem casta) revelou ter sido abusada sexualmente por 64 homens durante mais de cinco anos na Índia. Dos 64 acusados, as autoridades já detiveram 28. Têm entre os 17 e os 47 anos de idade e incluem vizinhos e amigos do pai.

As violações terão começado quando a jovem era apenas uma menina de 13 anos, conta a BBC. Alegadamente sem o conhecimento da família, um vizinho abusou sexualmente da criança e tirou-lhe fotografias explícitas.

Vizinho filmou e partilhou imagens

Alguns anos mais tarde, já aos 16, a menina voltou a ser violada pelo mesmo vizinho, que dessa vez a filmou e partilhou o vídeo com outros suspeitos, que viriam também a abusar sexualmente desta nos anos seguintes.

Do leque de suspeitos fazem parte outros vizinhos, amigos do pai e também membros da comunidade desportiva, da qual a jovem fazia parte por ser atleta.

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A Country in Turmoil: Political Violence in Bangladesh

 

The political violence in Bangladesh cannot be read in isolation. It is the product of years of political repression by the Sheikh Hasina government. With Hasina fleeing the country and the Bangladesh Army likely to form an interim government, it will be interesting to see how the current political landscape unfolds.

  Bangladesh is in the midst of severe violence. Hundreds of the country’s citizens have lost their lives. The protests began soon after the 5 June 2024 judgement by the High Court, in which it reinstated the 30 per cent quota for descendants of war veterans who fought against the Pakistani establishment in 1971 to liberate the country. The judgment also maintained the quota for the other weaker section of the country’s population. The university students mainly led the protest against this judgement.

 The quota system was first introduced in Bangladesh in 1972 by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. For many critics of the system, it unfairly benefits pro-government families. In 2018, Sheikh Hasina’s government abolished the reservations following protests. In its June 2024 judgement, the High Court reinstated the quota deeming its abolition illegal. The government appealed against the decision. The Appellate Division maintained a status quo on the High Court’s decision. Later, the Supreme Court, in its judgement on 21 July 2024, directed that 93 per cent of government jobs should be based on merit, five per cent to be reserved for the descendants of war veterans and two per cent reserved for members of the ethnic minorities, transgenders and disabled people. The student groups welcomed the judgement but decided to continue their demonstrations until their key demands, including the release of those jailed and the resignations of the officials responsible for using violence, are accepted by the government.

 In dealing with the protests, Hasina seemed to forget the country’s history. Bangladesh was primarily the product of the students’ struggle. In 1948, 1952, 1960s and 1971, the students fought against the Pakistani establishment for the rights of the citizens. In 1971, the Pakistan Army’s early target, under ‘Operation Searchlight’, was Dhaka University’s hostels, fully realising the power of the students. 

When confronted by the students’ protests and demands, instead of addressing their issues and the growing political disenchantment, Hasina tried to delegitimise the protestors by demonising them as Razakars (militia who supported the Pakistan Army during the 1971 Liberation War). Hasina retorted, “If the grandchildren of the freedom fighters don’t get quota benefits, should the grandchildren of Razakars get the benefit?” However, such labelling did little to break the protestor’s resolve and they remained defiant

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Political violence in Pakistan: A nation on the brink of division?

 

 

 

Pakistan’s struggle for peace and stability is far from over. As the government seeks accountability for those responsible for this violent protest, the need for healing has never been more pressing. PTI’s leadership must be held accountable for their role in inciting violence, spreading misinformation, and damaging the country’s social fabric. 

On November 25, 2024, Pakistan found itself embroiled in yet another wave of political violence, this time at the hands of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. What started as a protest quickly escalated into a violent confrontation that left the country reeling. 

Despite clear legal directives and unprecedented concessions from the government, PTI's leadership, particularly under the direction of Murad Saeed, ignored the rule of law and led thousands of protesters into clashes with security forces. 

 

The aftermath of this event has not only caused significant loss of life and property but has also highlighted a growing, dangerous trend in Pakistan’s politics—one where violence, misinformation, and division threaten the very fabric of the nation.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had intervened in an attempt to maintain order, instructing the interior minister to engage with PTI's leadership and ensure their protests did not disrupt the peace, especially in the capital's Red Zone, where key government buildings and foreign embassies are located. Initially, PTI was asked to delay the protest for the sake of national stability, but after PTI's insistence, the government offered them Sangjani, a designated location far from the sensitive zones.olence-pakistan-nation-brink-division.

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Under the Gun: Political Parties and Violence in Pakistan

 

Political violence between parties is endemic to Pakistan, both during and between election cycles. In the sprawling, multiethnic megacity of Karachi, which is flooded with guns from the period of the Soviet-Afghan war, both the Awami National Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement have engaged in assassinations, extortion, and violent protests in recent years to protect the physical and economic turf of their ethnic constituencies. 

In the same city, the Pakistan People’s Party let an ethnic militia do its dirty work. In Punjab, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz campaigned alongside leaders of a violent sectarian group in order to get more votes. And in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the same Awami National Party that used violence in Karachi has run for office peacefully. 

Through resourceful case studies, Siddiqui teases out the differences among these four parties. She looks at how local authorities variously struggle to keep the peace. Where state capacity is weak, parties will use violence when they have the support of an ethnic, religious, or ideological constituency that tolerates or even rewards them for doing so. Finally, a party’s organizational strength explains whether it may deploy its own supporters to attack rivals or get help from sectarian militias or criminal gangs

Book reviewed by Andrew J. Nathan

 PS: Soon to come to Portugal. The incidentes from the last Sunday are just the first signal. The lider of the bangladeshi community, Rana Taslin Uddin, explained to TVI that it was a right-wing party "that has a branch in  Vila Nova de Mil Fontes" that came to Lisbon to settle some accounts with members of a left-wing party. 

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List of grenade attacks in Sweden

Peaceful Sweeden accepted around 1 million refugees, many from Síria, around 2015. Today, it's the second country in Europe, in the list of homicides with guns. Granades attacks are also commun. The gang violence is mostly between groups of second-generation imigrants.

"(...) While gun homicides were on the rise in the 2011–2018 time span, according to a study at Malmö University, the number of hand grenade attacks had shown a strong increase in the same period and a total of 116 hand grenade detonations were recorded (...)"

 

 

Almost 8,000 soldiers bussed in for Trump’s ‘peaceful transition’

Troops reinforce 25,000 police, a fleet of drones and 30 miles of fences as Washington DC locks down for presidential inauguratio. Almost 25,000 police officers and 7,800 soldiers will descend on Washington DC for Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, officials have said, as the capital prepares for a “peaceful transfer of power”. Two FBI field offices, a fleet of drones and more than 30 miles of fencing will be used to keep Mr Trump, other world leaders and attendees safe as he takes the presidential oath of office for the second time.

Local and federal officials revealed the security plans for the ceremony on Monday, and said that despite receiving no specific threats against the president-elect, they are “prepared” for the worst. The inauguration security team will include almost 25,000 police officers and members of the National Guard from every state will run checkpoints to enter the National Mall in front of the US Capitol.

The government has also imposed a temporary flight restriction over Washington on Monday, and federal officials will fly drones to monitor the security situation from the sky.
President Donald Trump raises a fist after his inauguration at the US Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC
The security measures will surround president-elect Trump as he takes the oath of office for the second time 

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to travel to the Capitol, and have been told to expect airport-style security to enter a secure zone covering much of the city. Laptops, water bottles, selfie sticks and banners have all been banned from the grounds of the ceremony by the Capitol Police.

The FBI said that despite two attempts on Mr Trump’s life on the campaign trail last year, the agency had not detected specific threats planned for the inauguration.  A coalition of protest groups has announced plans for a “People’s March” on Saturday, two days before the ceremony, to object to Mr Trump’s election victory.

They will include reproductive rights activists from Planned Parenthood, the National Women’s Law Center, Abortion Access Now and the Women’s March. Muriel Bowser, the DC mayor, said the city’s full resources would be deployed to ensure the smooth running of the ceremony. “Every four years, the District is proud to support the peaceful transition of power,” she said. “We take pride in this responsibility, and we’re grateful to our federal partners, local agencies, and community members who work together to ensure a safe and secure event.”

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Parkinson’s tremors disappear with use of machine that sends heat waves to the brain

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Delray Medical Center cut the ribbon on its newest high-tech machine last week that targets brain areas to treat movement disorders such as essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease.

The machine can stop the involuntary trembling of the heat and hands experienced by people with neurological disorders in one treatment using focused ultrasound guided by MRI.

Neurosurgeons at Delray Medical Center already have been treating patients with uncontrollable tremors or stiffness with the earlier version of the machine developed by Insightec. During treatment, ultrasound waves enter a patient’s skull to precisely heat and destroy specific regions deep inside the brain that generate tremors.

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Typically, the tremor is gone immediately and the patients go home the same day with minimal complications, said Dr. Lloyd Zucker, chief of neurosurgery at Delray Medical Center. Neurosurgeons at Delray began using the original machine 10 years ago as an alternative to surgery.

A video shown at the Thursday ribbon-cutting for the new, modernized machine highlighted a patient with Parkinson’s Disease whose hand went from shaking to still in a matter of minutes. As the patient readied to go home, he teared up seeing the difference.

Nearly Half of Adults Worldwide Hold Antisemitic Views, Survey Finds

 

Antisemitism has surged, especially among the young, as the Holocaust fades from collective memory.

Around half of adults across the world hold antisemitic beliefs and deny the historic facts of the Holocaust, according to the latest edition of the largest global study of anti-Jewish attitudes by the Anti-Defamation League, a New York-based advocacy group.

The study surveyed more than 58,000 adults from 103 countries and territories representing 94% of the world’s adult population, and found that 46% of them—which when extrapolated to the global population would equal an estimated 2.2 billion people—display antisemitic attitudes. A fifth of the respondents haven’t heard of the Holocaust, during which six million Jews were killed, while 21% believe it has either been exaggerated by historians or it never happened.

According to the survey, known as Global 100, the level of antisemitism in the global adult population has more than doubled since it was launched in 2014.

The report is the latest among a number of surveys charting a steep rise in antisemitism across the globe, including violent offenses, with some data showing a surge in anti-Jewish sentiment after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent invasions of Gaza and Lebanon.

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