Brazil’s leftist presidential candidate on Thursday accused his far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro of illegal dirty tricks by hiring firms to spread lies through bulk messages via WhatsApp.
“My adversary is committing an electoral crime to gain an advantage,” Worker’s Party candidate Fernando Haddad tweeted, adding that he was going to lodge a complaint with the police and election officials.
The leftist candidate was responding to a report in Brazil’s Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper that it had discovered contracts worth up to $3.2 million for companies to send out millions of messages on the popular smartphone app WhatsApp attacking Mr Haddad.
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Brazil election: Jair Bolsonaro wins first round
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The tactic, which the paper said was scheduled to start over the weekend – about one week ahead of the October 28 vote – breaks Brazilian electoral law because it amounts to illegal campaign financing.
“We have identified a campaign of slander and defamation via WhatsApp and, given the mass of messages, we know that there was dirty money behind it, because it wasn’t registered with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal,” Mr Haddad told a media conference in Sao Paulo.
Mr Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Tiago Ayres, told the financial daily Valor there was no evidence of any connection between the companies mentioned by Folha de Sao Paulo and Bolsonaro’s campaign.
Mr Bolsonaro himself had no immediate reaction to the allegations.
WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which has come under scrutiny over its failure to clamp down on shady online influence campaigns during the 2016 US presidential election and Britain’s Brexit referendum.
There are around 120 million WhatsApp users in Brazil, whose population is 210 million.
Mr Haddad, trailing far behind Mr Bolsonaro ahead of the run-off election, has complained frequently that he was the target of false social media information campaigns.
Mr Bolsonaro has proved himself an adept user of online platforms, largely spurning traditional media outlets and debates in favour of reaching out to millions of followers on his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
He easily won the first round of the elections on October 7.
The most recent major poll credits him with 59 percent support for the run-off vote against 41 percent for Mr Haddad.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Company%20profile
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hisham Al Khalediah II, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash.
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Qader, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
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7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly
8pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nayslayer, Bernardo Pinheiro, Jaber Ramadhan
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