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Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges accuses Hegseth of 'getting rid of people who may have the courage to push back'

Erin Ogunkeye welcomes Lt. General (ret.) Ben Hodges, former commander of US Army Europe and NATO Allied Land Command. The dismissal of senior military officers without public explanation raises fundamental questions about institutional trust and the relationship between civilian authority and military leadership. For General Hodges, the reported firing of Lt. General Brett Sylvia reflects a potentially troubling pattern within the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Equally striking is his criticism of the reluctance of retired senior commanders to speak publicly against policies they consider damaging. Hodges said he was "disappointed and surprised" by the limited public resistance among former four-star generals.

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US Midterms: Donald Trump and Barack Obama make closing pitches

In the United States, Democrats are turning to Barack Obama to rally voters ahead of the midterm elections, a crucial test that could shape the remainder of Donald Trump's presidency. The former president has addressed three campaign rallies this week, with the latest one in Atlanta, Georgia. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Angela Diffley has more.

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Why is Donald Trump avoiding the Epstein case at all costs?

The midterm elections campaign is in full swing in the United States, but Donald Trump is doing his utmost to avoid one subject: the Epstein Files. On January 30, the US Department of Justice published the court records relating to the Epstein case. At FRANCE 24, two of our journalists, Samia Metheni and Ava Luquet, delve into the 3 million documents to understand how Epstein's network operated. What did they find looking through the documents and what impact do they still have on Trump? Ava Luquet answered François Picard's questions.

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USA: Barack Obama slams Donald Trump in final midterm push

Just five days before the US midterm elections, former president Barack Obama came to Georgia in a show of support to Senator Jon Ossoff in tthe midterm elections. Obama commented on the reaction of Trump's administration to a joke he had made the day before. "He was very upset about the Cheesecake Factory comments", Obama said. "They mobilized a whole-of-government response to that joke. Not to inflation, but to that joke." As the election is getting closer, polls point to a possible Democratic majority in the House. 

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Flavio Bolsonaro claims he is Brazil's true leader after fleeing to US

Brazil's defeated far-right presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro insisted on Wednesday he is his country's rightful leader after arriving in the United States to start a self-imposed exile. Bolsonaro's defiance on fleeing to Florida signalled continued upheaval for Brazil, where leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a dramatic run-off election on Sunday. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Fabio de Sa e Silva, Associate Professor of International Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He says that an attempt by Bolsonaro to turn a domestic dispute into a wider international issue "will not be successful", explaining that he is likely going to be "losing the grip of the opposition, there is a vacuum now that others will seek to occupy" and that it's unlikely the United States will "get involved into questioning the results of the Brazilian election".

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Bolsonaro's escape to the US: How it happened

Brazil's defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro arrived in Florida by private plane Wednesday after fleeing his country in defiance of a court order to surrender his passport. Bolsonaro, who lost a runoff election to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday, is under investigation in Brazil for alleged corruption and money laundering and, with his defeat, is set to lose parliamentary immunity. FRANCE 24's international affairs editor Kethevane Gorjestani explains.

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Bolsonaro flees Brazil for US after election defeat

Flavio Bolsonaro's clandestine escape to the United States bewildered Brazil and triggered a frantic search for his whereabouts. The Supreme Court had ordered the son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro to forfeit his passports after his electoral loss on Sunday, amid fears he would leave the country due to ongoing investigations against him. But the defeated right-wing presidential candidate failed to hand them in, choosing instead to flee to the US via Argentina and Ecuador. FRANCE 24's Tim Vickery reports from Rio de Janeiro.

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US grants visa to defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro

Brazil's defeated presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro and his immediate family landed in Miami, Florida on Wednesday after he refused to surrender his passports as ordered by his country's Supreme Court in connection with a money-laundering probe. The US State Department on Tuesday announced it had granted entry visas to the senator and his family. France 24's Kethevane Gorjestani explains. 

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Defeated presidential candidate Bolsonaro lands in Miami after fleeing Brazil

Brazilian Senator ​Flavio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday, where the United States government granted them ​entry visas after he refused to comply with a Brazilian Supreme Court order to surrender his passports. Bolsonaro lost Sunday's presidential election to leftist incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

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Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro lands in Miami

Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro and his family landed in Miami on Wednesday (October 28) after fleeing Brazil. The stunning move came after 48 hours in which Bolsonaro refused to concede to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and then threatened to attempt to annul the election result. Details by FRANCE 24's correspondent Tim Vickery.

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Brazil: Flavio Bolsonaro leaves Argentina for alleged US asylum after defeat

Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil's runoff election to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday, boarded a flight to Ecuador after arriving in Argentina on Tuesday night, October 27. He is expected to land in Miami, as the US State Department said it would issue visas to him and his family. France 24's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro Tim Vickery reports the latest. 

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Brazil: Bolsonaro defeated and on the run

Defeated far-right presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has left Brazil for the United States, despite a court order barring him from leaving the country. The son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro has yet to concede defeat in Sunday’s election and is under investigation in Brazil for alleged corruption and money laundering. Antonia Kerrigan has more.

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Flavio Bolsonaro on way to Ecuador from Argentina after fleeing Brazil

Defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro was on his way to Ecuador after fleeing Brazil, Argentina's government said on Wednesday, October 28. The 45-year-old senator and his family were granted United States visas the day before by the Trump administration. France 24's correspondent in Washington Fraser Jackson reports the latest. 

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'Lula accustomed to negotiating tough bargains': Campaign promises collide with right-wing Congress

Erin Ogunkeye is pleased to welcome Christopher Sabatini, Director of Chatham House's Latin America Programme. Sabatini examines how Lula's campaign reinvention, youth mobilisation, and the changing dynamics of Bolsonarismo are reshaping Brazil's political landscape. By embracing social media, mobilising younger voters, and shifting attention from his historical achievements to the economic anxieties of ordinary Brazilians, Lula managed to transform the electoral contest. As Sabatini explains, voters were no longer satisfied with hearing about the past. They wanted an answer to a more immediate question: "What are you going to do for us now?

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