World News Roundup: Brazil's next president, Pence accuses China of 'malign' campaign

Brazil's next president to struggle for a base in Congress

Whoever wins Brazil's presidential race this month will inherit a fiscal straight jacket and a drifting economy in urgent need of repair - but will have no governing coalition in Congress to pass reforms. On Sunday, Brazilians will vote for the president, all 513 members of the lower house of Congress, and two-thirds of the 81-member Senate.

U.S. Defense Secretary says Russian violation of arms control treaty 'untenable'

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that Russia's violation of an arms control treaty was "untenable" and unless it changed course the United States would respond. The United States believes Russia is developing a ground-launched system in breach of a Cold War treaty, known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), that could allow Moscow to launch a nuclear strike on Europe at short notice. Russia has consistently denied any such violation.

The U.S. indicts Russians in the hacking of nuclear company Westinghouse

The United States on Thursday charged seven Russian intelligence officers with conspiring to hack computers and steal data from the nuclear energy company Westinghouse Electric Co as well as anti-doping watchdogs, sporting federations and an international agency probing the use of chemical weapons. The charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse and to commit wire fraud and money laundering came hours after Dutch authorities said they had disrupted an attempt by Russian intelligence agents to hack into the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in April.

Brazil presidential campaign ends with debate ahead of Sunday vote

Brazil's divisive presidential campaign careened to its official end on Thursday, with candidates preparing to clash in a final televised debate, before two full days of not being able to stump ahead of Sunday's vote. The election in the world's fifth most populous nation has effectively become a two-man race, pitting far-right congressman Jair Bolsonaro against Fernando Haddad of the Workers Party (PT), Brazil's left-leaning standard bearer.

West accuses 'pariah state' Russia of global hacking campaign

Western countries issued coordinated denunciations of Russia on Thursday for running what they described as a global hacking campaign, targeting institutions from sports anti-doping bodies to a nuclear power company and the chemical weapons watchdog. In some of the strongest language aimed at Moscow since the Cold War, Britain said Russia had become a "pariah state".

Pence accuses China of 'malign' campaign to undermine Trump

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence intensified Washington's pressure campaign against Beijing on Thursday by accusing China of "malign" efforts to undermine President Donald Trump ahead of next month's congressional elections and reckless military actions in the South China Sea. In what was billed as a major policy address, Pence sought to build on Trump's speech at the United Nations last week in which he accused China of trying to interfere in the vote that will determine whether his Republican Party will keep control of Congress.

Turkey will not leave Syria until Syrian people have an election, Erdogan says

Turkey will not leave Syria until the Syrian people hold an election, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. "Whenever the Syrian people hold an election, we will leave Syria to its owners after they hold their elections," Erdogan said at a forum in Istanbul.

U.S. counterterrorism strategy puts a new focus on Iran and proxies

The Trump administration is giving greater priority to Iran and radical groups it backs in a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy document released on Thursday that further increases the pressure from Washington on Tehran. The strategy, unveiled by National Security Adviser John Bolton, is the first issued since 2011 when the Obama administration's view of counterterrorism was focused almost exclusively on the threat posed by al Qaeda after the death of its founder, Osama bin Laden.

For women in Greek migrant camps, even showers are unsafe: Amnesty

Women in Greek migrant camps are too scared to leave their tents at night or use communal showers, and many pregnant women have to sleep on the floor in unsanitary conditions, Amnesty International said on Friday. More than half of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece are women and children, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

In a political storm, Macron wraps himself in de Gaulle's constitution, style

French President Emmanuel Macron sought to wrap himself in the mantle of war hero Charles de Gaulle on Thursday after a spate of ministerial resignations dims an aura of invincibility that accompanied his first year in power. Macron helicoptered into Colombey-Les-Deux-Eglises in eastern France, where de Gaulle had his country estate, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the constitution the former general drew up, creating a powerful role for the president.

(With inputs from Reuters)