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Day: February 11, 2024
Brasilia — A Brazilian army colonel wanted by police in an investigation into an attempted coup by associates of Brazil’s former far-right president was arrested Sunday when he returned from the United States.
Colonel Bernardo Correa Neto was arrested at Brasilia’s airport when he arrived and put in detention at an army garrison after a custody hearing.
He was sent to the United States by the army on a mission at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington in December 2022, when former President Jair Bolsonaro left for Florida days before the swearing in of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro never conceded defeat by Lula in the October 2022 election and was declared ineligible for elected office until 2030 for abusing his power as president and attacking Brazil’s voting system by making baseless claims that it was open to fraud.
The Federal Police on Thursday raided Bolsonaro’s beach house and political party office, confiscated his passport and accused him of editing a draft decree to overturn the election result as part of an alleged plot for a military coup.
Bolsonaro, a far-right populist often likened to former U.S. President Donald Trump, has denied the conspiracy and called the investigation political persecution.
Thursday’s police operation included search warrants against four former ministers, three of them retired army generals, and the arrest of four former aides, including Colonel Correa Neto.
The president of Bolsonaro’s right-wing political party, Valdemar Costa Neto, was also arrested Thursday when a search of his Brasilia home turned up an unregistered firearm.
He was set free provisionally on Saturday but has been ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes not to speak to others implicated in the coup investigation.
Brasilia — A Brazilian army colonel wanted by police in an investigation into an attempted coup by associates of Brazil’s former far-right president was arrested Sunday when he returned from the United States.
Colonel Bernardo Correa Neto was arrested at Brasilia’s airport when he arrived and put in detention at an army garrison after a custody hearing.
He was sent to the United States by the army on a mission at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington in December 2022, when former President Jair Bolsonaro left for Florida days before the swearing in of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro never conceded defeat by Lula in the October 2022 election and was declared ineligible for elected office until 2030 for abusing his power as president and attacking Brazil’s voting system by making baseless claims that it was open to fraud.
The Federal Police on Thursday raided Bolsonaro’s beach house and political party office, confiscated his passport and accused him of editing a draft decree to overturn the election result as part of an alleged plot for a military coup.
Bolsonaro, a far-right populist often likened to former U.S. President Donald Trump, has denied the conspiracy and called the investigation political persecution.
Thursday’s police operation included search warrants against four former ministers, three of them retired army generals, and the arrest of four former aides, including Colonel Correa Neto.
The president of Bolsonaro’s right-wing political party, Valdemar Costa Neto, was also arrested Thursday when a search of his Brasilia home turned up an unregistered firearm.
He was set free provisionally on Saturday but has been ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes not to speak to others implicated in the coup investigation.
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NPR News: 02-11-2024 6PM EST
New Delhi — China’s Xiaomi has told New Delhi that smartphone component suppliers are wary about setting up operations in India amid heavy scrutiny of Chinese companies by the government, according to a letter and a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Xiaomi Corp., which has the biggest share in India’s smartphone market at 18%, also asks in the letter dated Feb. 6 that India consider offering manufacturing incentives and lowering import tariffs for certain smartphone components.
The Chinese company assembles smartphones in India with mostly local components and the rest imported from China and elsewhere. The letter is Xiaomi’s response to a query from India’s information technology ministry asking how New Delhi can further develop the country’s component manufacturing sector.
India ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses after a 2020 border clash between the two countries killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four from China, disrupting investment plans of big Chinese companies and drawing repeated protests from Beijing.
While Chinese companies operating in India are reticent to speak publicly about the scrutiny, Xiaomi’s letter shows that they continue to struggle in India, especially in the smartphone space where many critical components come from Chinese suppliers.
In the letter, Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B. said India needed to work on “confidence building” measures to encourage component suppliers to setup operations locally.
“There are apprehensions among component suppliers regarding establishing operations in India, stemming from the challenges faced by companies in India, particularly from Chinese origin,” Muralikrishnan said, without naming any companies.
The letter said the concerns were related to compliance and visa issues that it didn’t elaborate on, and other factors. It said, “the government should address these concerns and work to instill confidence among foreign component suppliers, encouraging them to set up manufacturing facilities in India.”
Xiaomi and the IT ministry did not respond to queries for further information and comment.
Indian authorities last year accused Chinese smartphone company Vivo Communication Technology of breaching some visa rules and alleged it siphoned $13 billion in funds from India.
India has also frozen more than $600 million in Xiaomi assets for alleged illegal remittances to foreign entities by passing them off as royalty payments.
Both Chinese companies deny any wrongdoing.
Other than regulatory scrutiny of the likes of Xiaomi and Vivo, India has since 2020 also banned more than 300 Chinese apps, including ByteDance’s TikTok, and halted planned projects such as those planned by Chinese automakers BYD Company and Great Wall Motor Company.
The source said many executives of Chinese electronics companies struggle to get visas to enter India, and their companies continue to face slow clearances for investments due to heavy scrutiny by New Delhi.
In the letter, Xiaomi’s Muralikrishnan also made a case for further lowering India’s import tariffs, just after New Delhi’s Jan. 31 move to reduce import taxes on battery covers and phone camera lenses.
Xiaomi is also asking India to reduce import tariffs on sub-components used in batteries, USB cables and phone covers, according to the letter.
Reducing the import tariffs could “increase India’s manufacturing competitiveness … in terms of costs,” Xiaomi said in the letter, but getting component manufacturers to set up shop in India would require bigger incentives.
In January, India’s top industrial policy bureaucrat Rajesh Kumar Singh signaled that India could ease its heightened scrutiny of Chinese investments if the two countries’ border remains peaceful.
New Delhi — China’s Xiaomi has told New Delhi that smartphone component suppliers are wary about setting up operations in India amid heavy scrutiny of Chinese companies by the government, according to a letter and a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Xiaomi Corp., which has the biggest share in India’s smartphone market at 18%, also asks in the letter dated Feb. 6 that India consider offering manufacturing incentives and lowering import tariffs for certain smartphone components.
The Chinese company assembles smartphones in India with mostly local components and the rest imported from China and elsewhere. The letter is Xiaomi’s response to a query from India’s information technology ministry asking how New Delhi can further develop the country’s component manufacturing sector.
India ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses after a 2020 border clash between the two countries killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four from China, disrupting investment plans of big Chinese companies and drawing repeated protests from Beijing.
While Chinese companies operating in India are reticent to speak publicly about the scrutiny, Xiaomi’s letter shows that they continue to struggle in India, especially in the smartphone space where many critical components come from Chinese suppliers.
In the letter, Xiaomi India President Muralikrishnan B. said India needed to work on “confidence building” measures to encourage component suppliers to setup operations locally.
“There are apprehensions among component suppliers regarding establishing operations in India, stemming from the challenges faced by companies in India, particularly from Chinese origin,” Muralikrishnan said, without naming any companies.
The letter said the concerns were related to compliance and visa issues that it didn’t elaborate on, and other factors. It said, “the government should address these concerns and work to instill confidence among foreign component suppliers, encouraging them to set up manufacturing facilities in India.”
Xiaomi and the IT ministry did not respond to queries for further information and comment.
Indian authorities last year accused Chinese smartphone company Vivo Communication Technology of breaching some visa rules and alleged it siphoned $13 billion in funds from India.
India has also frozen more than $600 million in Xiaomi assets for alleged illegal remittances to foreign entities by passing them off as royalty payments.
Both Chinese companies deny any wrongdoing.
Other than regulatory scrutiny of the likes of Xiaomi and Vivo, India has since 2020 also banned more than 300 Chinese apps, including ByteDance’s TikTok, and halted planned projects such as those planned by Chinese automakers BYD Company and Great Wall Motor Company.
The source said many executives of Chinese electronics companies struggle to get visas to enter India, and their companies continue to face slow clearances for investments due to heavy scrutiny by New Delhi.
In the letter, Xiaomi’s Muralikrishnan also made a case for further lowering India’s import tariffs, just after New Delhi’s Jan. 31 move to reduce import taxes on battery covers and phone camera lenses.
Xiaomi is also asking India to reduce import tariffs on sub-components used in batteries, USB cables and phone covers, according to the letter.
Reducing the import tariffs could “increase India’s manufacturing competitiveness … in terms of costs,” Xiaomi said in the letter, but getting component manufacturers to set up shop in India would require bigger incentives.
In January, India’s top industrial policy bureaucrat Rajesh Kumar Singh signaled that India could ease its heightened scrutiny of Chinese investments if the two countries’ border remains peaceful.
Categories