UK Elections !  Brazil was one of the few nations mentioned in the government project of the British Labour Party , the winner of the UK legislative elections held earlier this month.

In the document, the country is described as a country “at the forefront of the climate crisis” and as a likely strategic partner in the clean energy federation that the British want to form.

In an interview with Folha de S.Paulo, former Foreign Minister Antônio Patriota, Brazil’s ambassador in London, said he was informed of the reference in the document by a member of the top echelons of the party of new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as a sign of the British government’s desire to strengthen relations with Brasília.

“The person, whose name I cannot reveal, told me: ‘This was the subject of internal deliberation within the party, and I would like to convey first-hand that Brazil is mentioned by name’, which he considered a promising aspect for the bilateral relationship”, he states.

Patriota points out that there is a historical affinity between the Brazilian Workers’ Party, the PT, and the British Labour Party. Their leaders have maintained contact over the years, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is a partner of former leftist Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with whom he met at the UN General Assembly in December 2023.

On that occasion, the PT member also met Keir Starmer, then Labour leader and now British Prime Minister. “ President Lula’s strong leadership on climate issues is an example to be followed by all of us,” he wrote to the Starmer era , who is considered the main person responsible for his party’s first victory in Parliament in 14 years, on his X account.

Leaders of Brazil and the United Kingdom are expected to participate in a meeting

Patriota says there are plans to hold a bilateral meeting between Lula and Starmer during the G20 summit – Brazil holds the temporary presidency of the forum and will host its meeting in Rio de Janeiro in November. According to the diplomat, it is likely that after the meeting the two leaders will announce joint initiatives between Brasilia and London.

If the partnership is promising in the sustainable agenda, it also appears to have its downside, due to the interest of both States in the uninterrupted exploration of oil.

“The UK is seeking to position itself as a leader in sustainability issues while also developing a significant offshore oil and gas industry. So there is this similarity with Brazil. There is a very interesting conversation between the countries, which have comparable experiences and an ability to dialogue in a non-superficial way,” says the ambassador .

It is no surprise that some of the UK’s biggest investors in Brazil are from the oil and gas sector. This is the case of Shell, which has interests in the controversial authorization of exploration on the equatorial margin, blocked by Ibama and defended by wings of the Brazilian government – ​​President Lula himself has already made statements to this effect.

The president of Shell in Brazil, Cristiano Pinto da Costa, is also in favor of exploration. The oil company currently has eight blocks in the region.

In 2025, Brazil will be at the forefront of the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held in Belém (PA). In the same year, the 200th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Brazil will be celebrated. “All of this is part of the calendar and will stimulate a celebratory dialogue, but also new objectives in political dialogue, trade , protection , technology and academic cooperation”, says Patriota.

The ambassador adds that Brazil still wants to influence the British to take a more assertive stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict. He mentions analyses in the British press that said that, despite being victorious, the Labour Party lost a percentage of votes among the Islamic population because it did not sufficiently question “certain behaviors of Israel.”

Patriota points out, however, that as soon as he took office, Starmer reiterated his commitment to the so-called two-state solution, which envisages the creation of a Palestinian nation-state. “In other words, the gap between the Brazilian and British positions has already narrowed two days after the new government took power. This opens up prospects for closer coordination on major issues of international concern.”

At his first press conference on Downing Street in London, Starmer was keen to announce that the uncertain plan to send asylum seekers who entered British territory irregularly to Rwanda was “dead and buried”.

The measure would not affect Brazilians who migrate illegally to the United Kingdom . But, for Patriota, it is a sign that the new government will treat the issue of immigration differently from the Conservatives.

“All of this opens up a field of cooperation and conversation, including on the subject of human rights, which is much more promising than that of the previous government, which, although democratic, did not show itself to be particularly respectful of international law on the subject of migration,” concluded the ambassador .

Source : Folhapress

Russia fired a barrage of missiles at the city of Kiev and other Ukrainian cities in a rare daytime attack on Monday, killing at least 20 people across the country and hitting a major children’s hospital, officials said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops fired more than 40 missiles targeting different cities and damaging infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings in different Ukrainian cities.

Kiev city authorities said seven people were killed and at least 25 wounded in the attack on the capital. In Kryviy Rih, Zelensky’s hometown, 10 people were killed and 31 wounded, Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said.

Three more people were killed in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine when missiles hit an industrial facility, the regional governor of Donestk said.

“All services are involved to save as many people as possible ,” Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app. “And the whole world should use all its power to finally put an end to the attacks by Russian forces.”

Russia has repeatedly denied ever targeting civilians

A major attack on Ukraine came as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a potential peace deal with Ukraine, making an unexpected visit to Beijing .

Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the attack on the capital was one of the heaviest since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

He said the city’s main children’s hospital was damaged. Windows were shattered and panels ripped off. Parents holding babies ran out into the street, dazed and sobbing.

“We heard an explosion and then we were covered by debris,” Svitlaka Kravchenko, 33, told Reuters after she and her husband Viktor emerged from the shelter.

O bebê de dois meses saiu incólume, mas Svitlana sofreu cortes e o coche ficou totalmente enterrado sob os escombros do prédio destruído, do outro lado do recinto da flanco principal.

“Foi tremendo. Eu não conseguia respirar, estava tentando ocultar (meu bebê). Eu estava tentando cobri-lo com esse tecido para que ele pudesse respirar”, disse ela.

As autoridades locais e regionais afirmaram que instalações industriais, infraestruturas e edifícios residenciais e comerciais foram danificados em Kyi, Kryviy Rih, Dnipro, Pokrovsk, Kramatarosk e outros.

Fonte: CNN

Democracy is not in good shape, Pope Francis said on Sunday (07/07), urging politicians to avoid populism and instead work together to build stronger societies and combat voter indifference .

The 87-year-old pope was in the northeastern city of Trieste for a quick visit – his fourth trip to Italy in just over two months as he prepares for a 12-day tour of Asia in September, the longest of his papacy.

Speaking at an annual Catholic convention on social issues, the pope said many people felt excluded from democracy, with the poor and weak left to their own devices.

“It is clear that democracy is not in good health in today’s world,” he said. A healthy democracy must avoid “the dross of ideology” and move away from partisanship to instead embrace meaningful dialogue, he said.

“Let us not be fooled by easy solutions. Instead, let us be passionate about the very general ,” he said, highlighting the damage caused by political “ prevarication and illegality.”

Democracy needs to be taught to children, says the pontiff

Pope Francis said it was important to teach children the value of democratic values, warning that “indifference is a cancer of democracy.” “I am concerned about the small number of people who turned out to vote. Why is this happening?” he asked.

The half-day visit to Trieste followed similar trips to Venice and Verona in April and May, and a meeting with Group of Seven leaders in southern Italy in June — outings that tested his resilience after repeated illnesses over the past year forced the pope to reduce his workload .

As usual, the pontiff moved around mostly in a wheelchair and appeared to be in good shape. In September, he is due to fly more than 32,000 km on his trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.

Labour returns to power in England!  The Labour Party has won the British general election with a landslide majority of seats in Parliament.

Partial results show that Keir Starmer, the party leader, will become prime minister with at least 411 Labour MPs – slightly less than the total obtained by Tony Blair in 1997 – winning a majority by a margin of around 170 seats.

“Change starts now,” celebrated Starmer.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, lost power after 14 years in a catastrophic run — and are on track to achieve their worst results in history, with 119 seats so far.

The Liberal Democrats came in third place with at least 71 MPs, which represents a gain of 63 seats in the House .

The Scottish National Party is set to see its number of MPs reduced from 47 to nine, and the radical right-wing Reform UK, represented by Nigel Farage, which previously had no seats in Parliament, has gained four.

The Green Party , which had just one seat, will now have four seats, the same number of representatives as the Welsh Party (Plaid Cymru), which doubled its number of seats.

Following the announcement of the official result , King Charles III will ask Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, 61, to become prime minister and form a government.

The leader of the party with the second largest number of MPs will become the leader of the opposition.

The election came after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party called an early general election in May and dissolved the British Parliament – something that is his legal prerogative .

‘Change starts now’, say Labour

Following the announcement of the result, Starmer said the change he promised would take effect immediately.

“Nós conseguimos”, ele disse. “A mudança começa agora.”

Em discurso a seus apoiadores, ele acrescentou:

“Em todo o nosso país, as pessoas vão ajustar com a notícia, aliviadas por terem finalmente retirado um fardo, um peso dos ombros, desta grande pátria.”

“O raio de Sol da esperança, fraco no primícias, mas cada dia mais possante, brilha mais uma vez sobre um país com a oportunidade, em seguida 14 anos, de restaurar seu porvir.”

Líder do Partido Trabalhista, Starmer foi eleito em 2020 para suceder Jeremy Corbyn na liderança da legenda. Anteriormente, foi director do Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), o Ministério Público do Reino Unificado.

‘Assumo a responsabilidade pela derrota’

Já o atual primeiro-ministro, Rishi Sunak, do Partido Conservador, reconheceu a guião e parabenizou o justador — ele deve apresentar formalmente sua repúdio ao rei nas próximas horas.

“O povo britânico emitiu um veredicto preocupante esta noite. Há muito para aprender e refletir. E assumo a responsabilidade pela guião”, afirmou Sunak.

Os conservadores tiveram o pior resultado da sua história. Eles perderam mais de 248 assentos, e vão descrever com 119 deputados.

Entre as baixas conservadoras, estão a ex-primeira-ministra Liz Truss, e o secretário de Resguardo, Grant Shapps.

‘Vitória espetacular’

Chris Mason, BBC News’ political editor, made the following analysis based on exit poll data that had already predicted Labour’s victory:

“Just take a look at these numbers.

The Conservatives, so often an election-winning machine, a successful powerhouse, are being pulverized, obliterated.

Just five years ago , Labour was crushed, humiliated – and reduced to its lowest number of seats since 1935.

People fell over themselves in expressing that Labour were doomed by a dozen .

Boris Johnson, just two years ago, was publicly reflecting on winning three terms, serving until 2030 .

And yet here , if this exit poll is anywhere near where we ended this morning, it points to a surprising Labour comeback.

They faced a Himalayan-scale climb to win by the narrowest of margins.

These numbers point to a victory with a kilometer advantage.

What does all this tell us?

That we live in a world of unprecedented electoral volatility – more people, in more places, are more willing to change their minds about politics more often and more quickly than ever before.

Tomorrow lunchtime (UK time ) it looks like we will have our fourth Prime Minister in less than two years.

And so the turmoil of British politics continues.

It is 27 years since the Labour Party won a general election from opposition.

It’s been 19 years since they won the general election and that’s that.

The history books of the last century tell us one thing: they are spectacularly good at losing elections – losing a lot, a lot more than they win.

But tonight they are on the verge of a spectacular victory.

Spectacular offered where they came from – the crisis.

But spectacular also by any metric, at any time, in any context – it is unexpected .

Remember, however, that a new government will face all the old problems that caused so much trouble to its predecessor – the cost of living, government finances, the fiscal burden , a dangerous world – no majority, however large, can extinguish these colossal challenges.”