Lula Returns for Third Term as Brazil President

File Photo: Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
File Photo: Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
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Lula Returns for Third Term as Brazil President

File Photo: Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
File Photo: Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to be inaugurated Sunday for a third term as Brazilian president, in a ceremony snubbed by outgoing leader Jair Bolsonaro, underlining the deep divisions the veteran leftist inherits.

The swearing-in will cap a remarkable political comeback for 77-year-old Lula, who returns to the presidential palace in Brasilia less than five years after being jailed on controversial, since-quashed corruption charges, AFP said.

In a sign of the scars that remain from Lula's brutal election showdown with far-right ex-army captain Bolsonaro in October, security will be exceptionally tight at the pomp-filled ceremony in the capital.

Some 8,000 police -- including more than 1,000 federal officers, a record deployment for a presidential inauguration in Brazil -- will provide security,

The stepped up measures come after a Bolsonaro supporter was arrested last week for planting a tanker truck rigged with explosives near the Brasilia airport, a plot he said aimed to "sow chaos" in the South American country.

Bolsonaro himself left Brazil for the US state of Florida Friday -- reportedly to avoid having to hand the presidential sash to his bitter enemy, as tradition dictates.

The snub has hardly dampened the party spirit for Lula and the 300,000 people expected at the ceremony and a massive concert that will feature acts ranging from samba legend Martinho da Vila to drag queen Pabllo Vittar.

Thousands of Lula supporters have been flooding the capital, traveling by plane, car and even bicycle to camp out near the Esplanade of Ministries.

Foreign dignitaries including 17 heads of state will also be in attendance as Lula, who previously led the country through a watershed boom from 2003 to 2010, takes the oath of office for a new four-year term at 3:00 pm (1800 GMT).

They include the presidents of a raft of Latin American countries, Germany, Portugal and the king of Spain.

After being sworn in before Congress, Lula will travel by car -- traditionally a black convertible Rolls Royce, though officials said that could be changed for security reasons -- to the ultra-modern capital's presidential palace, the Planalto.

There he will walk up a ramp to the entrance and receive the gold- and diamond-embroidered presidential sash.

Organizers of the ceremony -- led by first lady-to-be Rosangela "Janja" da Silva -- have maintained a mystery around who will give Lula the sash in Bolsonaro's absence.

It will be the first time since the end of Brazil's 1965-1985 military dictatorship that an incoming president does not receive the yellow-and-green sash from his predecessor.

- Pressing to-do list -
Lula faces numerous urgent challenges for Latin America's biggest economy, which looks little like the commodities-fueled dynamo he presided over in the 2000s.

They include rebooting economic growth, curbing rampant destruction of the Amazon rainforest and delivering on his ambitious poverty- and inequality-fighting agenda.

An estimated 30 million of Brazil's 215 million people are living in hunger, and the economy is still struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin described the incoming administration's task as "herculean."

Lula will face a Congress dominated by Bolsonaro's conservative allies.

He is also dogged by far-right hardliners who have been rallying outside army bases calling for a military intervention to keep him from power ever since he narrowly won the October 30 runoff election, 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent.

"He will have to act assertively in his first 100 days to show where Lula Part Three is headed," said political scientist Leandro Consentino of the Insper institute in Sao Paulo.

"His election win was very tight, and he'll face a divided country and a combative opposition. He'll have to lead a national unity government and restore the peace."

Markets are meanwhile watching nervously how Lula will fund his promised social spending given Brazil's overstretched government finances.

"Our priority will be taking care of the poorest, the neediest, of working people," Lula said recently.



IRGC Chief Threatens to Open ‘Gates of Hell’ if Israel Attacks Iran Again

IRGC chief Mohammad Pakpour meets Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al‑Araji in Tehran, Oct. 21. (Iranian state television)
IRGC chief Mohammad Pakpour meets Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al‑Araji in Tehran, Oct. 21. (Iranian state television)
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IRGC Chief Threatens to Open ‘Gates of Hell’ if Israel Attacks Iran Again

IRGC chief Mohammad Pakpour meets Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al‑Araji in Tehran, Oct. 21. (Iranian state television)
IRGC chief Mohammad Pakpour meets Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al‑Araji in Tehran, Oct. 21. (Iranian state television)

Iran’s new Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief on Tuesday warned that Tehran would “open the gates of hell” on Israel if it launched another attack on his country, saying any Iranian response would be “stronger” than the 12-day war in June.

Major General Mohammad Pakpour, appointed IRGC commander after the killing of his predecessor, Major General Hossein Salami in Israeli strikes on June 13, made the threat during a meeting with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al‑Araji, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

“The Zionist enemy relies heavily on its missile shield, and the Americans have deployed THAAD and Aegis systems at sea and in neighboring countries to stop our launches, we nevertheless launched our missiles successfully and hit the targets we had precisely identified,” Pakpour said.

“Today we are at the highest level of readiness, and if anyone dares to attack our country, our response will certainly be stronger than the 12-day war, and we will make them a hell they will not forget.”

The warning follows a surprise Israeli strike on June 13 that triggered a 12-day conflict, during which US strikes hit three major uranium-enrichment facilities in Iran.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has publicly praised Iran’s missile response to the June attacks, calling it a “shocking slap” that penetrated deep into sensitive Israeli centers.

He said Iran’s missiles - “ready with our armed forces and defense industries” - remain available and will be used again if necessary, reported state media.

Pakpour, formerly commander of the IRGC ground forces, was promoted to IRGC chief immediately after Salami’s killing. He thanked Baghdad for its role in curbing anti-Iranian groups near the border and urged full implementation of security agreements.

Iranian officials have combined defiance with reassurance since the ceasefire with Israel.

Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref and other senior figures said the government has contingency plans for both ordinary and extraordinary situations and is fully prepared “if the enemy attempts any hostile trick or maneuver.”

Conservative lawmakers and defense officials said Iran has revised its tactics to strengthen deterrence. Mohammad Saleh Jokar, head of parliament’s Internal Affairs Committee, described recent military drills as realistic “training for a real war,” and said Iran’s battlefield experience has improved the armed forces’ technical and tactical readiness.

While senior commanders issued warnings, other officials emphasized restraint. Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Abdul Rahim Mousavi, said it was unlikely that Iran’s enemies would attempt another “reckless move if they had any sense”.

He added that Tehran is “not seeking war”, but is fully prepared, and that its actions “this time will be completely different.”


Poland, Romania Foil Russian Exploding Parcels Plot, Warsaw Says 

A drone view shows Warsaw’s skyline with modern skyscrapers and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland, July 18, 2025.  (Reuters)
A drone view shows Warsaw’s skyline with modern skyscrapers and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland, July 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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Poland, Romania Foil Russian Exploding Parcels Plot, Warsaw Says 

A drone view shows Warsaw’s skyline with modern skyscrapers and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland, July 18, 2025.  (Reuters)
A drone view shows Warsaw’s skyline with modern skyscrapers and the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland, July 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Poland and Romania detained eight people suspected of planning sabotage on behalf of Russia, authorities in Warsaw said on Tuesday, with three arrests concerning an alleged new plan to send exploding parcels, this time to Ukraine.

European officials have previously blamed Russia for detonations of parcels carried by DHL and DPD in Europe in 2024, in what security services said was part of a test run for a Russian plot to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the United States. Russia has denied any such plans.

Poland says it has been targeted with tactics such as arson and cyberattacks in a "hybrid war" waged by Russia to destabilize nations that support Kyiv in the Russian war in Ukraine. Moscow has denied such accusations.

"Preliminary information indicates that they created a route of some kind to send explosives through Poland and Romania to Ukraine," Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesman for the Special Services Coordinator, told reporters.

"One of them, a 21-year-old Ukrainian, was detained here in Poland near Warsaw. His colleagues, who were traveling to Romania, were detained by the Romanian special services in Bucharest."

There was no immediate comment from Romanian authorities.

The Polish National Prosecutor's Office said that the shipments of parcels were intercepted by Romania before they did any harm.

The prosecutor's office said the shipments were supposed to spontaneously combust or explode during transport, and the aim of the planned actions was to intimidate the population and destabilize European Union countries supporting Ukraine.

Dobrzynski also said that in recent months the Internal Security Agency has detained a total of 55 people who acted to the detriment of Poland and on behalf of Russian intelligence.


Iranian Detainee in France Set for Prisoner Swap

Relatives and supporters pose behind a banner with the portrait of Cecile Kohler (L) and Jacaues Paris (R) who are being held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges, in Paris, on July 6, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP
Relatives and supporters pose behind a banner with the portrait of Cecile Kohler (L) and Jacaues Paris (R) who are being held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges, in Paris, on July 6, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP
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Iranian Detainee in France Set for Prisoner Swap

Relatives and supporters pose behind a banner with the portrait of Cecile Kohler (L) and Jacaues Paris (R) who are being held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges, in Paris, on July 6, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP
Relatives and supporters pose behind a banner with the portrait of Cecile Kohler (L) and Jacaues Paris (R) who are being held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges, in Paris, on July 6, 2025. Sebastien Dupuy, AFP

An Iranian student detained in France has been readied for a prisoner swap, an Iranian diplomat told semi-official Tasnim news agency on Tuesday, a day after Iran said there was necessary will to exchange prisoners with France.

"The foreign minister announced that Mrs. Esfandyari was placed in the exchange channel and we have put together a political and consular package that both countries must implement," the deputy for Consular Affairs at Iran's foreign ministry said.

Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris, both French citizens, have been detained in Iran since 2022, Reuters said.

Iran has accused France of arbitrarily detaining Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student living in the French city of Lyon who was arrested this year over anti-Israel social media posts.