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Público is a Portuguese daily newspaper published in Lisbon. It was launched in March 1990. It is one of the first Portuguese mainstream newspapers to have an online edition which started in 1995.
How Trump’s Legal Troubles Look In Places Where Presidents Get Prosecuted
eyes on the U.S.
Alex Hurst

How Trump’s Legal Troubles Look In Places Where Presidents Get Prosecuted

-Analysis-

What do South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Italy, France, Portugal, and Iceland all have in common? They’re all wealthy democracies that have charged and prosecuted former heads of state or heads of government for criminal acts committed while in office.

The United States is not a member of this club — at least, not yet.

Add to the above list, Argentina and Brazil, though not as wealthy, another pair of more or less mature democracies that have recently seen former leaders face prosecution.

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So how are countries like these, and others, looking at the U.S. House of Representative Committee’s recommendation that Donald Trump be prosecuted for, among other things, inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021? Is the view in their mainstream news outlets informed by their own experiences with charging former leaders?

“The first time in history that Congress recommends criminal punishment for a former president,” notes South Korea’s largest daily, Chosun. Conversely, any indication that the staunchly anti-China former U.S. President might end up in jail received rather scant coverage from Taiwan’s pro-independence Liberty Times.

Israel’s left-wing daily Haaretz duly reported the news, but as a republication from Reuters — perhaps there will be columns forthcoming in the next few days linking potential charges against Trump with Israeli prosecutors’ own attempt to indict and convict former and now once-again Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Trump: nightmare week.”

In Latin America though, which is no stranger to seeing former rulers jailed, Argentina’s Clarin offers an in-depth explanation of the charges the U.S. Justice Department will have to decide whether or not to pursue: “insurrection, obstruction of official process, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to lie, for which he could face jail time and removal from office.”

Brazil’s O Globo says what U.S. media have been hesitant to say straight out: “January 6, 2021 entered into the history of the United States as the first coup attempt during a transition of power.”

In Italy, where former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud, Corriere della Sera writes at more length about what it called “Trump: nightmare week,” and lists out the twice-impeached, single-term former president’s perils: possible charges, a concrete mark on his historical legacy, whether his taxes records will be made public, and the impact of all of that on his support among Republican voters.

In Portugal, former Prime Minister José Socratès was charged with corruption, money laundering, and falsifying documents — though the corruption charges were dismissed, the latter two were upheld in 2021. Of Trump, Lisbon-based Publico emphasizes the thoroughness of the year-and-a-half long investigation, and the 154 page report released Monday.

“Although they do not have legal force, these recommendations have a very relevant symbolism, since this is the first time that a former President of the United States has been referred to a criminal process,” writes Publico’s Joao Pedro Pincha. “If the former president is actually indicted, he faces the prospect of a long prison sentence and jeopardizes his aspirations to return to the White House in 2024.”

From France, where former President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted and sentenced for corruption, Le Monde is the most scathing. In an editorial titled, “After the assault on the Capitol, the devastating legacy of Donald Trump,” two central lessons are drawn.

The first is that “despite a handful of conservatives who paid with their political careers,” the Republican Party has been “decidedly incapable of opposing on principle the man who has continuously debased it.” The second goes beyond the fate of a single party: that “the gravest threats to American democracy today come from a supremacist extreme-right whose rhetoric Donald Trump has rendered banal.”

Le Figaro saw the latest news as a chance to run a simple online poll for its French readers. “La Question du Jour: “Should Donald Trump renounce his candidacy for the next American presidential election?”

Regardless of what the French think he should do, the whole world by now knows that the question of what these singularly troubling politicians will do is not only impossible to predict, but is bound to reverberate far beyond America’s borders …

— Alex Hurst

In other news …

📰  UP, FRONT PAGE AND CENTER

L’Economia picked tech billionaire Elon Musk as its person of the year. Just as the SpaceX and Tesla CEO’s fate hangs in the balance with his latest venture, Twitter, Italian daily Corriere Della Sera’s economy supplement describes him as “innovative and controversial, over-the-top and visionary, loved and hated.”

🤫 SO AMERICAN

Equally loved and hated is the series Emily in Paris, whose third season is about to hit Netflix. For the occasion, French TV channel BFM met with some of the show’s actors, who hail from both sides of the Atlantic, for a bit of U.S. v. France banter.

Résultat: Cast members trading barbs about U.S. aloofness, French straightforwardness, Parisians being blasés and Americans being LOUD.

🇵🇭🛥🇨🇳 IN BRIEF

Newspapers in the Philippines are focused this week on the latest reports of Chinese naval vessels “swarming” near contested islands in the South China Sea — and the swift U.S. backing of Manila.

In its lead front-page story, The Philippine Daily Inquirer referred to the statement of U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price: “The reported escalating swarms of PRC vessels in the vicinity of Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands interfere with the livelihoods of Philippine fishing communities, and also reflect continuing disregard for other South China Sea claimants and states lawfully operating in the region.”

The Philippine Star offered similar Page One treatment, with the headline: “U.S. slams swarming of China ships in WPS” — referring to the West Philippine Sea, Manila’s official name for the part of the South China Sea that falls within its economic zone of influence.

President Joe Biden speaks on midterm elections results. Live broadcast on CNN TV channel from Clermont-Ferrand, France, November 9, 2022​.
eyes on the U.S.
Alex Hurst

Eyes On U.S. — No 'Vague Rouge,' No Final Results: How The World Makes Sense Of Midterms

While some breathed sighs of relief that the Republicans' predicted "red wave" sweep didn't happen, others chuckle at how long it takes to count the votes. And then there's Senõr Musk...

PARIS — Three full days later, and there's still no real clarity on the U.S. midterms — but the world has gotten used to American elections dragging out for days or even weeks, for both political and technical reasons.

One French journalist wondered if there’s a simpler way.



But whatever the final tally, whoever winds up with majority control of the House of Representatives and Senate, readers learned that — after weeks of forecasts of huge Republican gains — the Democrats have avoided the vague rouge (Montreal)... onda rossa (Rome) ... chervona khvylya (Kyiv).

Elisabetta Grande of Italian magazine MicroMega noted that, while the midterms are not quite a win for the Democrats and President Joe Biden, voters rejected candidates in the "election denier" camp of the Republican party allied with former President Donald Trump.

France’s left-leaning Libération on Thursday was already looking ahead to the Republican battle royale shaping up between Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Portugal’s Publicozeros in on the Democrats man of the moment, John Fetterman, the newly elected Senator from Pennsylvania, who they describe as not having “supporters,” but rather “fans.” Publico sees particular relevance in the fact that Fetterman took down Trump’s handpicked candidate, Mehmet Oz.

Brazil’s O Globo gives Fetterman front page treatment, at least in part because he is married to a Brazilian, Gisele Barreto.


With DeSantis' midterms victory, "Trump already has a rival" for the 2024 presidential election, foresees Monterrey-based Mexican newspaper Milenio.

Global right-wing connections

European eyes remain concerned. From Germany, security and foreign policy watcher Marcel Dirsus quips, “it’d be a lot less unnerving to watch Americans vote from Europe if we weren’t so damn dependent on their choices.” No place is that more true today than the war in Ukraine, where Washington is by far the biggest contributor of military aid.

Kyiv-based news website Livy Beregnoted the results of exit polls that showed Americans are focused, above all, on the impact of a growing economic crisis and how it could affect U.S. support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. Notably, 81% of Democrats supported providing additional aid to Ukraine, compared to just 35% of Republicans.

For Jerusalem-based Haaretz, Moshe Gilad sees a dangerous connection between the U.S. far-right, the Israeli far-right, and “Birthright,” an organization that offers young American Jews a "discovery" trip to Israel.

Meanwhile observers from the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe), which typically monitors elections in countries with weak or no democratic institutions, deplored a state of “generalized disinformation” across the U.S. ahead of the elections.

Which brings us to our next topic, disinformation, and just what the heck is going to happen with Twitter.

📰 UP, FRONT PAGE AND CENTER

Korean daily Dong-a Ilbo

🐦 Monsieur Musk, alors?

Occupying almost just as much global attention this week as the U.S. midterms is Twitter under its new master, Elon Musk.

As An-Nahar sums up from Lebanon, Twitter is seeing a flood of users leaving for other pastures because it “became the place of a notable increase of speeches of hate and racist insults right after Elon Musk’s bought back the company.”

That’s unlikely to change anytime soon — as Germany’s Die Zeit reports, Musk sacked the Twitter team that discovered that Twitter’s algorithm tended to amplify far-right content. “Now that this team has been fired, it is even less likely that change will be possible — or even that these phenomenons could be better understood within the company,” Die Zeit writes.

As a result, many are threatening to leave Twitter (1 million accounts have already been deactivated), and the platform that’s in the running to replace it is not-U.S. based: Mastodon was created in 2016 by German software engineer Eugen Rochko, who is the company’s only employee.

The quirk of Mastodon is that everything is hosted on a series of independently run, decentralized servers; there is no central company, or central organization behind it.

Our continent, our rules.

This week, both Deutsche Welle and Le Monderan explainer pieces, giving readers the rundown on how Mastodon works, and how to create an account. But whether or not the platform shapes up as a true alternative remains to be seen — as Publico’s Karla Pequenino writes, Musk’s ultimate goal is to transform Twitter into a “superapp,” the likes of which exist in southeast Asia — like China’s WeChat or Singapore based Grab.

However, though he is now the sole owner of Twitter, Musk won't necessarily be able to do as he likes with the platform. Twitter’s global reach is a strength, and a constraint, as global regulators intend to make clear.

Stéphane Séjourné, the head of the Renew Europe group — the third largest in the European Parliament — is demanding that Musk come and testify before the EU’s legislative body. “Whatever Mr. Musk chooses to do, our refrain remains the same: our continent, our rules," he tweeted. "We must assure that Twitter continues to act against disinformation and hate speech."


A crashing bird is singing on the front page of French daily Libération.

​🇪🇬 IN BRIEF

COP 27 is happening in Egypt, and the U.S., Canada, and Australia are being called out for contributing far less towards climate finance than they should, considering their share of historic emissions.

But in the case of the US, it’s not just far less, it’s far, faaaaaaaar less. The U.S. is #1 … at doing the least, says Carbon Brief. And developing countries — who will bear the biggest burden despite their lack of responsibility for the problem, are upset.

Photo of a woman walking in Kyiv next to a disused Russian tank
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

World Front Pages As Ukraine Marks Independence Day & 6 Months Of War

Ukraine is marking a somber independence day that coincides with the six-month milestone of the Russian invasion. Here’s how newspapers around the world are covering the event.

Every year on August 24, Ukraine celebrates its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union. The anniversary of the peaceful transition is traditionally marked by military parades and other displays of patriotic pride across the country.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

But this year, celebrations will be subdued, as the event coincides with the grim milestone of six months since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of the country.

Watch VideoShow less
The Fall Of Severodonetsk
In The News
Cameron Manley and Emma Albright

The Fall Of Severodonetsk

After weeks of raging battles, it appears Severodonetsk is set to fall under full control of Russian forces. The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces will have to withdraw from the strategic city in southeastern Ukraine.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

The decision to retreat was made in order to save Ukrainian soldiers: “Nobody abandons our guys, nobody allows the encirclement (of our troops). The situation right now is as such that staying at these destroyed positions just for the sake of being there doesn't make sense,” Haidai said. At least 90% of the city's infrastructure has been destroyed.

Watch VideoShow less
Clashes in Gaza on May 14
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG

A Bloody Contrast, 24 World Front Pages After Gaza Killings

PARIS — The world reacted in a chorus of shock Tuesday after the deadliest day in Gaza since 2014, as Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians protesting at the border against the opening of the new American embassy in Jerusalem. U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize the holy city as Israel's capital, against the will of almost the entire international community, has been the source of deadly clashes for months. But the response of Israeli Defense Forces on demonstrators Monday was brutal. Haaretz, the progressive Israeli daily, posted an editorial Tuesday titled: "Stop The Bloodbath."

The death toll had risen Tuesday morning to 60, with more than 2,000 wounded. As those killed yesterday are being put to rest, more protests are expected as Palestinians also commemorate the 70-year anniversary of the Nakba, when more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war.

The killings have sparked protests as well as official condemnations from around the world, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, who said he was "profoundly alarmed and concerned by the sharp escalation of violence and the number of Palestinians killed and injured in the Gaza protests."Many of Tuesday's newspaper front pages captured the contrast of Tuesday's events, where Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump was beaming during the inauguration of the new embassy, while unarmed civilians were being killed just miles away at the border. Le Monde"s lead article opened with the following words: "Champagne in Jerusalem, blood in Gaza."

ISRAEL

Haaretz

Israel Hayom

The Jerusalem Post

Watch VideoShow less
Error 2018
eyes on the U.S.

Facebook And Uber, Eye On A European Techlash

-Analysis-

The term "techlash" has been around for awhile, but get ready to see and hear it more and more. The company that stands at the center of this "technology backlash" is no doubt Facebook, with the world's largest social network experiencing its worst week in memory amid snowballing revelations around its relationship with Cambridge Analytica. Some 50 million people had their Facebook profiles harvested so this UK-based data analytic company could target them with political ads and influence elections, not least the last U.S. presidential vote. The scandal has already cost Facebook $37 billion in market value.

But another U.S. tech giant also has big questions to answer following the fatal accident involving a Uber self-driving car and a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, believed to be the first of its kind. Uber's decision to pull its autonomous vehicles from the roads is a major setback. "Hard days for the tech industry" indeed, as noted in this headline from Süddeutsche Zeitung.

But beyond these two companies, it's a form of Silicon Valley imperialism that's ultimately in the spotlight. So the techlash is sure to come with a foreign accent.

Part of it, naturally, is a question of money. France and its President Emmanuel Macron are already leading European calls to close the loopholes that have allowed U.S. tech giants such as Google, Facebook or Apple to minimize the amount of tax they pay in Europe. And on Wednesday, the European Commission is expected to unveil a plan to tax digital companies where they generate revenue, instead of where their headquarters are located, a move that The New York Times says is "setting off a fight between the United States and Europe."

Mistrust, at the very least, is indeed advised to anybody concerned about their privacy.

But beyond the cash, there's also a deeper mistrust toward the way tech companies exploit private information. There is particularly strong opposition across the Old Continent, not least in Germany, where the past experience of life under both fascist and communist regimes has taught the public to be cautious when it comes to data. Reacting to the recent news about Uber and Facebook, Süddeutsche Zeitung"s reporter Johannes Kuhn writes that on top of showing the need for more regulation, both cases illustrate "the loss of confidence in tech companies," with a growing number of people wondering "whether companies are taking adequate responsibility for the consequences of their technology or whether, in their adamant path to growth, they've lost — or jettisoned — control over it."

Another disturbing story from Germany, this time published today in Die Welt about whether Facebook listens to conversations to sell targeted advertising — something the company has denied doing and which is often referred to as a conspiracy theory — tends to show that mistrust, at the very least, is indeed advised to anybody concerned about their privacy.

The techlash against Facebook, however, goes beyond personal fears. Diogo Queiroz de Andrade, deputy executive editor of Portuguese dailyPúblico, writes on Tuesday that tackling Facebook and its excesses has become a question of preserving democracy. "The threat to our way of life is real and Facebook is part of the problem," he writes. The social network can "no longer be seen as a mere entertainment platform, given that it's the perfect tool to exploit fears, hatreds and insecurities, and that those who win are those who have the most money to spend to spread their advertisements."

Is there a way to stop it? Yes, according to Andrade, but it will require the intervention of European governments, perhaps even of the European Union, which he says would be "instrumental in an increasingly necessary attack against the enemies of democracy." And most importantly, it will require that people become aware of these dangers — and act. "It's up to the citizens to inform themselves so they can avoid being manipulated," Andrade writes. "By definition, nobody likes to be taken for a fool." Yes, this is what a techlash sounds like.

Portugal

Portuguese Daily Hails 'Win' Of UN Chief Antonio Guterres

[rebelmouse-image 27090460 alt="""" original_size="750x892" expand=1]

Publico — Oct. 6, 2016

"We all win" reads the front-page headline of Lisbon-based daily Publico on Thursday, after Portugal's former Prime Minister António Guterres was chosen to become the next UN secretary general.

After what was largely considered an unremarkable tenure by outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, commentators are hoping for better results from Guterres, 67, who has served at the helm of the UN's refugee agency.

In Público, Jorge Almeida Fernandes sums up the challenge: "There are always more crises to control and always fewer means to do so," Fernandes writes. "Guterres knows he won't be the leader of the world. He only knows that the UN is in the eye of the storm."

Smartphone Alert: Stay out of the sun
Portugal

This App Could Reduce Your Risk Of Cancer

Science has determined a variety of actions you can take aimed at keeping people cancer-free: diet, avoiding sun exposure, exercise, et al. Now your smart phone can help.

PORTO — Health tech is a booming market, with no shortage of apps available touted as new ways to help people stay in shape and avoid illness. But one noteworthy newcomer from Portugal is notably singular in its focus: keeping users cancer-free.

Meet HAPPY (Health Awareness and Prevention Personalized for You), a free app developed by biologist Nuno Ribeiro and the Institute for Innovation and Health Research (I3S), in the northern city of Porto. Using persuasion techniques, the smartphone app encourages every-day behavior changes by prompting people — one notification at a time — with information about cancer and advice on how to better prevent it.

The app tracks a user's location and, depending on the time of day and other pieces of information such as UV index, sends the person a maximum of one message per day based on the collected data. If the user is at the supermarket, for example, the app might send a reminder to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. If the person is at the beach, HAPPY might recommend sitting in the shade.

Ribeiro believes there are three main factors that make people alter their behavior: motivation, capability and (this is where the app comes in) timely reminders.

"Knowing about the risks of developing cancer isn't enough to alter your behavior," Nuno Ribeiro told newspaper Público. "More often than not, people are aware of the risks but either take those risks or ignore them to keep doing things that give them pleasure," he says.

"Some automatic behaviors are deep-rooted within us and are therefore difficult to break because we're not aware of them," Ribeiro adds. "Technology provides a way to make you aware of these behaviors."

In keeping with B. J. Fogg's theories on persuasive technology, HAPPY also grades a user's performance, awarding people a maximum of 150 points if they follow the app's advice. It also allows users to "compete" with their friends.

During the one-month beta test, the app was successful in helping its 32 users reduce their cigarette and alcohol consumption. Ribeiro notes, furthermore, that HAPPY isn't ad-supported. "It's not there to promote anything except health," he says.

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