The victory of Chinese runner He Jie in the Beijing Half Marathon on Sunday has sparked controversy, with his win being questioned after African runners appeared to deliberately slow down to let him cross the finish line first, CNN reported. A video clip capturing the final moments of the race shows a remarkable scene: Kenya’s Willy Mnangat turns towards He Jie and gestures for him to move ahead as the four runners, including former 5km world record-holder Robert Keter of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu, run side by side just metres from the finish line. In a display that raised eyebrows, Keter then seems to signal for He Jie to overtake the pack while motioning for his compatriot and Hailu to hold back. The Chinese runner indeed crosses the finish line in 1:03:44, claiming the USD 5,500 first prize, with the trio of African runners just one second behind, jointly securing second place, according to CNN. The video clip captures the African runners applauding He’s victory and patting him on the back, though He himself appears less jubilant despite achieving his first-ever competitive half-marathon win. At 25 years old, He Jie, who has previously broken China’s marathon record twice, confessed to reporters after the race that he “was not in [his] best competitive state,” but he remained silent on the controversial finish. The race outcome swiftly ignited discussions on Chinese social media platforms, with calls for an investigation into the event and demands for action from organisers. One user on Weibo emphasised the importance of fairness in sports, stating that the “ways of the world” should not compromise the integrity of competition. Another popular comment said: “I support an investigation, and fair play is vital,” with the user adding they hoped authorities “can give a clear explanation to maintain the fairness of competition and respect athletes’ efforts.” Responding to the public outcry, race organisers, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, and the Chinese Athletics Association issued a statement on Monday, affirming their commitment to addressing the matter. They announced an ongoing investigation into the matte, as reported by CNN. Xstep, the Chinese sports company sponsoring both He Jie and the Beijing Half Marathon, acknowledged the situation in a statement to state-run outlet The Paper, noting that multiple parties were involved in investigating and verifying the incident. “Further information will be communicated as soon as possible,” Xstep said in a statement to the outlet. Meanwhile, World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport, acknowledged awareness of the footage circulating online and revealed that local authorities were conducting their own investigation. “The integrity of our sport is the highest priority at World Athletics,” it said. Sports analyst Mark Dreyer, author of “Sporting Superpower: An Insider’s View on China’s Quest to Be the Best,” weighed in on the controversy, describing the finish as a “bad look.” “It’s one thing for four runners running right at the end to potentially hold hands or cross the line together in a show of sportsmanship. That’s not what we saw,” he said, adding, “It’s not a sprint finish for anyone other than He Jie. It doesn’t take a genius or running expert to figure that out.” Despite the unfolding controversy, He Jie, hailing from northwest China’s Ningxia region, remains a figure of promise in long-distance running. Ranked 77th in the world in the men’s marathon by World Athletics, he is anticipated to play a significant role in representing Asian runners in the upcoming Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Source: The Print  

Canada's domestic spy agency concluded that China interfered in the last two elections, an official probe heard on Monday, the firmest evidence so far of suspected Chinese meddling in Canadian politics. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party won both the elections, held in 2019 and 2021. Under pressure from opposition legislators unhappy about media reports on China's possible role, Trudeau set up a commission into foreign interference. The commission was shown a slide on Monday containing an extract of a February 2023 briefing from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). "We know that the PRC (Peoples' Republic of China) clandestinely and deceptively interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 elections," it said. "In both cases, these FI (foreign interference) activities were pragmatic in nature and focused primarily on supporting those viewed to be either 'pro-PRC' or 'neutral' on issues of interest to the PRC government." The existence of the assessment had previously been reported by Global News. China denies it interferes in Canadian politics. Erin O'Toole, who led the Conservatives during the 2021 campaign, estimated Chinese interference cost his party up to nine seats but added it had not changed the course of the election. A legislator for the left-leaning minority New Democrats told the inquiry that once she started criticizing Beijing's Hong Kong policy, invitations to events held by the politically influential ethnic Chinese community started to dry up. According to the official 2021 census, Canada is home to around 1.7 million people of Chinese descent, just under 5% of the total population. The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the CSIS statement. Last year, Canada said a Conservative legislator with family in Hong Kong had been targeted in an online disinformation operation, and kicked out a senior Chinese diplomat. "State actors are able to conduct foreign interference successfully in Canada because there are few legal or political consequences. FI is therefore low-risk and high-reward," said the CSIS assessment. Intelligence analysts and the Conservatives say Trudeau's government has not done enough to combat Chinese interference. Trudeau is due to testify to the commission on Wednesday. The Conservatives, who generally take a harder line on China than the Liberals, campaigned in 2021 on a platform that condemned Beijing's treatment of its Uyghur minority and vowed to ban Chinese mobile giant Huawei from the 5G network.   Source: Reuters  

Four Argentinian first division footballers stand accused of raping a woman in a hotel room earlier in March. At least one player denies the allegations. Four professional footballers from Argentinian premier division football club Velez Sarsfield were provisionally taken into custody on Monday as part of an investigation into allegations they raped a female sports journalist in a hotel room earlier in March. The four players — Uruguayan goalkeeper Sebastian Sosa (37), Paraguayan midfielder Jose Florentin (27) and Argentines Braian Cufre (27, defender) and Abiel Osorio (21, striker) — were ordered to be detained for 48 hours until a judge decides whether they should remain under arrest pending the investigation. What are the allegations against the Velez players? The plaintiff, a 24-year-old sports reporter, alleges she was invited by Sosa to a hotel room in Tucuman in the north of Argentina, where Velez had drawn 0-0 with Atletico Tucuman on March 2, where the other three men were also waiting. She said she had a few drinks, felt dizzy, lay down on a bed and was then raped. The woman's defense said the case was classified as "sexual assault with aggravated intercourse by two or more persons." In a televised statement, her lawyer Patricia Neme said there were "sufficient elements to request pre-trial detention" as the four footballers had "sufficient means" to flee if they wanted to avoid trial. Another prosecuting lawyer, Juan Robles, said: "The prosecutor announced that the four people who had come to this trial as defendants were going to be remanded in custody." Velez suspend players, goalkeeper denies allegations Veteran goalkeeper Sosa denied the allegations on his Instagram account on March 8, writing: "I repudiate violence of any kind. I respect the physical and sexual integrity of every person. I trust in the swift action of justice." His three teammates are yet to comment. Velez Sarsfield, from the western Buenos Aires suburb of Liniers, said in a statement on Monday it had suspended the four players' contracts and ordered an internal investigation. "The Club reiterates its deepest concern about the reported events, which are clearly contrary to the principles and values of our institution," it said. Velez Sarsfield are one of the most successful football clubs in Argentina, having won 10 league titles, most recently in 2013 with Sosa in goal. In 1994, they won the South American continental Copa Libertadores, going on to beat European Champions League winners AC Milan in the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.

FBI agents seized New York mayor Eric Adams' phones and other devices, his campaign lawyer said on Friday. Authorities are investigating whether Adams' 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive donations from foreign sources. The seizure comes four days after federal agents searched the Brooklyn home of Adams' top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs. What did Adams and his lawyer say? "On Monday night, the FBI approached the mayor after an event. The Mayor immediately complied with the FBI's request and provided them with electronic devices," Adams' attorney, Boyd Johnson said. "The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation." Johnson said that they had "discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly." "After learning of the federal investigation, it was discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly. In the spirit of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators," he said. New York mayor Eric AdamsNew York mayor Eric Adams Adams says his team will cooperate with law enforcement amid the probeImage: Mayoral Photography Office/Ed Reed/AP/picture alliance In a statement on Friday, Adams said he had "nothing to hide." "As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and fully cooperate with any sort of investigation — and I will continue to do exactly that," he said. Earlier this week, Adams said that he was not aware of any wrongdoing by members of his campaign team. What is the investigation into New York's mayor? The focus of the investigation has not been publicly disclosed by prosecutors. The New York Times reported that it had acquired an arrest warrant that indicated authorities were examining whether the Adams campaign engaged in a scheme to receive foreign donations listed under false contributors. The paper said that the FBI was searching for evidence of conspiracy between the Adams campaign, the Turkish government and a Brooklyn-based developer whose owners are Turkish.

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament that his government had "credible" reasons to believe that "agents of the government of India" were responsible for the assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in the western province of British Columbia three months ago. "Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," Trudeau said in a statement to the House of Commons. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Monday "the head" of Indian intelligence in Canada was ordered to leave the country. On Tuesday, India responded by expelling a high-level Canadian diplomat based in India. India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that "allegations of government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd." The statement added that India is a "democratic polity" with a "strong commitment to rule of law" and urged Canada to take "prompt and effective legal action" against all "anti-India elements operating from their soil." Former Indian diplomat Anil Wadhwa told DW that Canada has made a mistake by "escalating the issue," after India rejected having been involved in the killing, and should have "worked with Indian authorities to allay any concerns." "I see a further escalation in this spat, which will affect our trade and people to people ties in a major way. This will play out in international fora as well. It will be a downhill slope for India-Canadian relations," Wadhwa said. Canada home to Sikh diaspora On June 18, Sikh leader and activist Nijjar was gunned down by two masked assailants as he left a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. According to media reports, Nijjar was a prominent organizer in the Sikh community in Canada. He was also a proponent of the "Khalistan Movement," which calls for a Sikh homeland by carving out an ethno-religious state in India's Punjab region. The movement dates back to India and Pakistan's independence in 1947, when the idea was pushed forward in negotiations preceding the partition of the Punjab region between the two new countries. India's government has outlawed the Khalistan Movement as a security threat, and over the decades, there have been periodic episodes of violence related to the movement, including a decade-long insurgency in Punjab during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1985, Canada-based Sikh militants were responsible for the bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland that killed all 329 passengers and crew, including 268 Canadian citizens. Indian officials said Nijjar, who came to Canada in 1979 claiming refugee status, had been organizing an unofficial referendum among the Sikh diaspora in Surrey. India's government had labelled him a terrorist, and sought to have him extradited. Canada is home to the largest population of Sikhs outside of Punjab, and the Sikh diaspora in Canada often stages activism and peaceful protests for Sikh causes. "That Canadian political figures have openly expressed sympathy for such elements remains a matter of deep concern," India's government said in a statement in response to Trudeau's announcement. Priti Singh, a professor from the Centre for Canadian, US and Latin American Studies at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University said Trudeau was using the killing to shore up his image domestically in the light of falling approval ratings. "This issue was raised publicly by Canada when back door diplomatic channels are there to resolve it. This sharp escalation in rhetoric is because Trudeau is losing domestic support," Singh told DW. Canada-India ties hit new low The tit for tat diplomat expulsions mark scaled-up tensions between Canada and India, which have been exacerbated by what India perceives as Canadian indifference to the activities of pro-Khalistan elements in Canada. "They are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises, and threatening the Indian community in Canada and their places of worship," said a statement released this week by the Indian prime minister's office. In 2022, tensions between Canada and India were also raised after a Sikh separatist group organized a so-called referendum in the Canadian city of Brampton on Khalistan. India's government at the time condemned Canada for allowing the vote to take place. In July, India was particularly irked by a float at a pro-Khalistan rally in Toronto, which gruesomely depicted the 1984 assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was killed by her Sikh bodyguards. At the sidelines of the recent G20 summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about his concerns over "extremist elements" in Canada during his meeting with Trudeau. Trudeau had reportedly raised Nijjar's killing directly with Modi during the G20 summit, and urged the government of India to cooperate with Canada. At the same summit, Canada announced it would pause talks on a free-trade agreement with India. Meera Shankar, a former Indian ambassador to the US, said the diplomatic spat is unfortunate given that India and Canada have much to gain by strengthening cooperation. Shankar told DW that "extremist elements" are given "free reign" in Canada, and claimed that Trudeau's government was pandering to Sikh voters for political support. "Liberal principles or the cultivation of domestic constituencies should not involve tolerance of violence, or threats to Indian diplomats, or funding of violent activities in India," she said. Canada is home to nearly 800,000 Sikhs, who represent an important political constituency. Four Sikh cabinet ministers were appointed by Trudeau in 2015. However, Ravinder Singh Ahuja, president of the Sikh Forum in New Delhi, told DW that the Khalistan Movement is often misconstrued as representing the will of the entire Sikh community worldwide. "Khalistan is not a reflection of the Sikhs living in India. It is not a physical or geographical line that is drawn and is merely utopian," he said.

India launched its maiden expedition to observe the sun called Aditya-L1 on Saturday. Following the success of India's moon landing with Chandrayaan-3 this is the country's next attempt at another space milestone. Aditya L-1 launched at 11:50 a.m local time (0620 UTC/GMT). The crowd at the viewer's gallery and within the office of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota district of the Southern Indian state of Andra Pradesh, erupted in celebration.  Within 10 minutes of the launch, the vehicle performance was reported to be normal.  A jubilant launch With the success of the launch, Dr. Shankar Subramaniam the principal scientist of the mission announced that "now ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) has established that it has the capability to send observatory class missions anywhere in the interplanetary medium."  Aditya-L1 is carrying scientific instruments to observe the Sun's outermost layers and aims to study behavior. Dipankar Banerjee, director at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) said that "we're proud to be Indian...the entire country is excited that we got this opportunity now to travel towards the sun," Around an hour and a half after the launch, the Aditya-L1 satellite successfully separated from the rocket that had carried it into orbit, PSLV-C57.  "PSLV-C57 had injected Aditya L-1 satellite into the desired intermediate orbit. PSLV-C57 Aditya-L1 mission is accomplished" said the mission director Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) tweeted a link to the launch of the spacecraft taking place at the SDSC. Aditya-L1 could make a 'big bang' for science The mission which is named after the Hindi word for "sun" blasted off on Saturday morning. The spacecraft is set to travel about 1.5 million kilometers for over four months towards a so-called Lagrange Point in space. Objects tend to stay put in this space because of the balancing act of gravitational focus which also aids to reduce fuel consumption of the spacecraft. "India has a long tradition of looking at the sun from the ground...but there are limitations of looking at the sun from the ground because you can only see the lower atmosphere of the sun. So this was very, very important that we could go to the space," said Dipankar Banerjee director of ARIES. "It is multi-wavelength, multi-instrument and multi-direction and it measures particle, field and radiation. So you don't have such kind of satellites existing at the L1 point so far or currently. That makes Aditya-L1 absolutely unique," said Anil Bharadwaj, director of Physical Research Laboratory, a unit of the Department of Space of Government.

A major effort to identify bodies has begun in India's eastern Odisha state as the death toll from Friday's railway disaster climbed to 288. A high-level investigation into the accident is underway. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised Saturday that the government would "leave no stone unturned" in response to the Odisha train crash that killed nearly 300 people and injured more than a thousand others. During a visit to the crash site at Balasore, around 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Kolkata, Modi told local media that "stringent action" would be taken against anyone found to have caused Friday evening's disaster. He said the incident would be probed "from every angle."  The crash, which involved two passenger trains and a freight train, was India's worst rail disaster in more than two decades. What is the latest from the crash site? As night fell in eastern India on Saturday, Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Jena told Asian News International (ANI) that the rescue operation was almost complete. Emergency workers have spent more than 24 hours combing through the mangled wreckage for survivors and laid scores of bodies out under white sheets beside the tracks. Jena said the rescue effort was slowed because two train carriages were pressed together by the impact of the accident. He added that the death toll reached 288 and the major challenge was now to identify the bodies. "Wherever the relatives are able to provide evidence, the bodies are handed over after autopsies. If not identified, maybe we have to go for a DNA test and other protocols," Jena said. An official from the Balasore emergency control room said all the bodies and injured passengers have now been removed from the crash site. Sudhanshu Sarangi, director general of Odisha Fire Services, said the death toll was expected to rise further, potentially approaching 380. Local media reported that around 800 injured people remain in the hospital, while more than a hundred who sustained minor injuries were discharged. About 200 of the most severely injured were transferred to specialty hospitals in other cities in Odisha, reports said. Amitabh Sharma, a Railroad Ministry spokesperson, said authorities would now start removing the wreckage to repair the track and resume train services. Ashwini Vaishnaw, India's railway minister, said a high-level probe was underway. Prime Minister Modi flew to the crash site and spent half an hour examining the relief effort and talking to rescue officials. He later visited a hospital where he walked around talking to doctors and the injured. Saturday was declared a day of mourning in Odisha. What caused the rail crash? There are conflicting accounts about how the disaster unfolded. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that the Howrah Superfast Express train running north from India's tech hub Bengaluru to Kolkata derailed first, falling onto the adjacent southbound track. Minutes later, the Coromandel Express heading from Kolkata to Chennai smashed into the wreckage. Some of its coaches also collided with a goods train parked alongside, PTI added. A preliminary report indicates that the crash was the result of signal failure, K. S. Anand, chief public relations officer of the South Eastern Railway, said, giving a slightly different order of events. "The Coromandel Express was supposed to travel on the main line, but a signal was given for the loop line instead, and the train rammed into a goods train already parked over there. Its coaches then fell onto the tracks on either side, also derailing the Howrah Superfast Express," Anand said. Chaotic scenes erupted after the derailment as rescuers and local residents climbed atop the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches. Rescue teams, helped by the army and military helicopters, raced throughout the night to free the hundreds of people trapped in the rail cars under the twisted metal and broken glass. India struggles to rebuild colonial-era railway The accident happened as the government seeks to modernize the rail network, much of which was built during British colonial rule. Despite government efforts to improve safety and upgrade the railway infrastructure, several hundred accidents occur every year. The worst was in Bihar in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge and plunged into the river below, killing between 800 and 1,000 people. Friday's crash ranks as the country's third-worst, and the deadliest since 1995, when two express trains collided in Firozabad, near Agra, killing more than 300 people. Most train accidents are blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment. According to operator Indian Railways, more than 20 million people ride trains across India every day, traveling on 126,000 kilometers (78,000 miles) of track.

Moscow has summoned the German, Danish and Swedish ambassadors in protest of what it says are delayed efforts to investigate the cause of the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions last year. Russia has summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Denmark and Sweden to protest a "complete lack of results" in a joint investigation into the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions last year. Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused the three countries of dragging their feet and refusing to engage with Moscow. "It has been noted that these countries are not interested in establishing the true circumstances of this sabotage. On the contrary, they are delaying their efforts and trying to conceal the tracks and the true perpetrators of the crime behind which we believe are well-known countries," it said. The move also comes a month after Russia expelled more than 20 German diplomats in what it said was retaliation for Germany expelling Russian diplomats fairly soon after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Nord Stream probe ongoing The United States and NATO have called the Nord Stream explosions "an act of sabotage" by an unknown actor, while Russia has blamed the West. Neither side has provided evidence for their claims. "It is no coincidence that 'leaked' improbable versions [of what happened] are dumped in the media to try to muddy the waters," Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.  Several different reports have emerged on the pipeline's destruction in recent months, some seeming to implicate Russian involvement and others — perhaps most famously from US journalist Seymour Hersh — suggesting US involvement.  On November 2022, Swedish authorities announced that traces of explosives had been found at the site of the leaks and confirmed the cause to be sabotage. Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would keep trying to ensure that Germany, Denmark and Sweden would allow Moscow to participate in investigations.

New York Police braced for demonstrations as Donald Trump had earlier urged his supporters to protest his potential arrest. An indictment of Trump would be the first criminal case against a former US president. A New York grand jury investigating former US President Donald Trump over hush money payments, made to women who alleged sexual encounters with him, appeared to be hearing from final witnesses on Monday ahead of a possible indictment. It's the first-ever criminal case against any former US president. The jury has heard from a witness, lawyer Robert Costello, who testified that Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen handled the payments without Trump's involvement. "Michael Cohen decided on his own — that's what he told us — on his own, to see if he could take care of this," Costello told reporters after testifying to the grand jury at Trump's lawyers' request. Costello's testimony was expected to indirectly provide the former president with a chance to argue against facing criminal charges. However, there were no clear indications that his testimony had altered the course of the investigation. Cohen, who has testified twice before, claimed that Trump directed him to make the payments. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations related to arranging payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, and model Karen McDougal in exchange for their silence about their affairs with Trump. Trump has denied the affairs and called Cohen a liar. NYC prepares for protests In preparation for potential demonstrations, the New York Police Department has started dropping off portable metal barricades that could be used to block off streets or sidewalks. Trump took to social media over the weekend to criticize the investigation and singled out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for criticism. He urged his supporters to protest his potential arrest following his comments in which he stated he expected to face criminal charges. The former president's call for protests has raised concerns that there may be a potential for violence similar to the events of January 6, 2021, when the US Capitol was attacked. However, several far-right grassroots groups have reportedly chosen not to answer Trump's call for protests, security analysts said. Speaking to reporters, New York Mayor Eric Adams stated that the police were closely monitoring social media and keeping an eye out for any "inappropriate actions" in the city. Despite these precautions, the New York Police Department has stated that there are no known credible threats at this time. Republicans criticize 'politically motivated' probe Trump's fellow Republicans have widely criticized the probe as politically motivated and rallied to his defense. However, some Republicans have taken a swipe at Trump, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run for president as a GOP candidate, saying, "I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair." Trump is also facing other legal challenges, which may require him to shuttle between campaign stops and courtrooms ahead of the November 2024 election. He is currently facing criminal probes in Atlanta and Washington, which together pose a significant legal threat and have the potential to disrupt the Republican presidential race, where Trump is seen as a leading contender. Furthermore, Trump's lawyers have requested a Georgia court to quash a special grand jury report detailing its investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 statewide election defeat. In addition, Trump is facing two civil trials involving former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, who has accused Trump of defamation by denying he raped her.

The office of the prosecutor general requested that Bolsonaro be included in the probe into the January 8 storming of public offices in Brasilia. The Supreme Court in Brazil on Friday decided to include former President Jair Bolsonaro in the investigation into what led to the January 8 riot in Brasilia. The move comes after Brazilian federal prosecutors asked the Supreme Court to investigate the former president for allegedly spurring on protests which culminated in the storming of government buildings in the capital. What we know The Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) office said Bolsonaro may have "publicly incited the commission of a crime" with his social media activity. The PGR cited a video posted by Bolsonaro on January 10, which sowed doubt over the result of Brazil's recent presidential elections. Far-right Bolsonaro lost that race against leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in as president on January 1 for a third term in office.    The video was posted two days after Bolsonaro supporters on January 8 stormed the Planalto presidential palace, Supreme Court and National Congress in the capital. Although the video was posted afterward, the PGR said it was evidence that justified "a global investigation of the acts performed before and after January 8, 2023 by the defendant." Bolsonaro later deleted the video on January 11. The PGR called on Facebook parent company Meta to preserve the election claim video posted by Bolsonaro.  Bolsonaro distances himself from insurrection Bolsonaro has said he is not responsible for the riots in Brasilia. The former president is currently in the southern US state of Florida. Lula, however, blamed the insurrection on Bolsonaro and his "fanatic" supporters. Prior to the presidential election last year, Bolsonaro suggested he would not accept the results if he lost. This sparked fears in the international community and domestically that Bolsonaro, an ex-military captain, would attempt a coup if Lula won. Brazil previously witnessed an authoritarian military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.