Brazilian police have arrested five people, including a former adviser to ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, over an alleged plot to assassinate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, authorities said.

The coup plot was conceived in late 2022, before Lula took office, according to Federal Police. In addition to killing the then-president-elect, the plot also included plans to capture or kill Lula’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court said in its arrest order.

The order, signed by Moraes on Sunday, authorizes the preventative detention of the five suspects, including retired general Mário Fernandes.

The alleged plot also involved other military personnel with training in special forces, the Federal Police said.

“The planning drawn up by those under investigation detailed the human and military resources needed to carry out the actions, using advanced military operational techniques,” police said.

The plan envisioned the eventual creation of an “Institutional Crisis Management Office” in Brazil’s government that the coup plotters would control, according to the police.

According to the court order, the alleged plotters also considered several methods to carry out the political assassinations, including the use of poison or explosive devices.

“For the execution of President Lula, the document describes, considering his health vulnerability and frequent visits to hospitals, the possibility of using poisoning or chemicals to cause an organic collapse,” reads Moraes’ order, citing an investigation into the plot.

In addition to the five arrests, police said the suspects would be prohibited from leaving the country or contacting other people suspected of involvement in the plot, documents show.

In February of this year, Bolsonaro was placed under investigation over the alleged plot. The investigation is expected to be finished later this month, Reuters reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of the probe.

According to a police warrant carried out on Tuesday, Bolsonaro allegedly met with officials from the army and navy as well as the minister of defense in December 2022 to present a document detailing the legal framework that would keep him in power.

The former president has repeatedly denied allegations of attempting a coup. His son, Flavio Bolsonaro, who is a senator in the Brazilian Congress, suggested in a post on X that the five suspects had not committed a crime.

“As disgusting as it may be to think about killing someone, it is not a crime. And for there to be an attempt, the execution must be interrupted by some situation beyond the control of the perpetrators. Which does not appear to have happened,” he wrote.

In October 2022, Lula narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the presidential election. Bolsonaro’s supporters rejected the results and rioted in the capital Brasilia, storming government buildings on January 8, 2023.

Jimmy Lai, the pugnacious Hong Kong media tycoon whose now shuttered tabloid Apple Daily was a regular thorn in Beijing’s side, is expected to testify on Wednesday at his own national security trial in a high stakes court battle that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars.

The 77-year-old, known for his decades-long support of the city’s pro-democracy movement and outspoken criticism of China’s leaders, hasn’t been heard from since he was arrested nearly four years ago amid a deepening crackdown on dissent.

But he will take the stand to defend himself for the first time later on Wednesday.

In US court rooms, defense lawyers often advise their clients against testifying in court. But in Hong Kong, court testimony offers a rare chance for detained democracy figures to have their voices heard in a system where national security charges have resulted in months and years of pre-trial detention as well as restrictions on speaking out.

On Tuesday, more than 40 of Hong Kong’s best known pro-democracy figures were sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years on subversion charges at a separate national security trial. Among them was Joshua Wong, a former student leader and poster child of the city’s once thriving pro-democracy movement, who shouted “I love Hong Kong” before he left the dock.

Lai’s testimony comes just weeks after Donald Trump, who has previously vowed to free the media tycoon, won the White House and has announced a proposed cabinet stacked with multiple China hawks.

Britain has also called for the release of Lai, who has a British passport. On Monday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the issue with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil. “We’re concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai’s deterioration,” Starmer told Xi in their first meeting.

Lai has been in jail since December 2020 awaiting trial on multiple charges linked to his support for Hong Kong’s democracy protest movement through his media business. He was the founder of Apple Daily, a pro-democracy, anti-Beijing newspaper that was forced to shut down in 2021.

Lai faces two counts of colluding with foreign forces, a crime under a sweeping national security law introduced in 2020 that has transformed Hong Kong, as well as a separate sedition charge. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The trial, which began in December 2023, is the most high-profile prosecution of a Hong Kong media figure since the city was handed over from British to Chinese control in 1997. It is resuming from a lengthy pause after Lai’s attorneys’ unsuccessful attempt to have the charges dismissed.

Around 100 people waited in line under cold rain on Wednesday morning ahead of the trial testimony, with some expressing support for the media tycoon.

Prosecutors allege that articles published by Apple Daily violated Hong Kong’s national security law by calling for overseas sanctions against the city’s leaders following the imposition of a landmark national security law in 2020.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials say the law, enacted in the wake of anti-government protests in 2019, has “restored stability” and closed loopholes that allowed “foreign forces” to undermine China.

But critics say it has decimated Hong Kong’s freedoms and altered the city’s legal landscape.

Like all national security trials in Hong Kong, Lai’s trial does not have a jury and is presided over by three judges picked from a national security committee that is approved by Hong Kong’s leader.

Lai reached out to Trump

Lai, a businessman who made a fortune selling clothing before becoming a publisher, has long been an unapologetic thorn in Beijing’s side, openly using Apple Daily as a vehicle to criticize Chinese leaders since its founding in 1995.

A devout Catholic and a known vocal supporter of Trump, Lai had lobbied extensively overseas for foreign governments to apply pressure on China over Hong Kong, something that infuriated leaders in Beijing. At the height of the protests in 2019, Lai traveled to Washington, where he met with then Vice President Mike Pence and other US politicians to discuss the political situation in Hong Kong.

Lai had long held a conviction that Trump and the US government should not shy away from supporting Hong Kong’s civil liberties, which are key for the city’s status as a conduit between China and international markets.

Prosecutors have argued that Lai’s actions and his newspaper’s publishing amounted to lobbying for sanctions against Beijing and Hong Kong, something that is prohibited by the national security law. His lawyers have countered that Lai stopped doing so after the national security law came into effect on June 30, 2020.

During Trump’s first term as president, the US government ended Hong Kong’s special trade status and signed into law an act that authorized sanctions on the city’s officials over China’s crackdown in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s current leader, John Lee, the city’s security chief during the landmark 2019 protests, is among those on the US sanctions list, which also includes the city’s former leader and current chief justice.

At a news conference earlier this month, Lee did not directly answer questions about how he would deal with Trump’s return to the presidency.

Lee said there should be “respect for the non-interference with local affairs, internal affairs” of the city, and said Hong Kong values the rule of law.

“We desire mutual respect with all countries, including the US, because trade is beneficial for both sides,” he said.

Last month, conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump whether he can speak with Xi and free Lai, if he is re-elected.

Trump replied “100%, I’ll get him out” and said that it would be “so easy” to free the detained media tycoon, without providing further details.

But Chinese and Hong Kong leaders have long bristled at any criticism leveled by Western governments at the national security crackdown in Hong Kong and have repeatedly condemned Lai in statements issued both before and throughout his trial.

“Jimmy Lai is a key instigator of anti-China activities, and his collusion with external forces to disrupt Hong Kong and incite division is well-known,” China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said in a statement last week. “Hong Kong courts are conducting fair trials on actions that threaten national security, which is a necessary step to uphold both national security and the rule of law.”

How Hong Kong has changed

After the national security law was imposed, many opposition and pro-democracy figures responsible for organizing the protests were arrested without bail, and many civil organizations have since shut down.

A once outspoken city of 7.5 million, where protests were once common, has turned into something resembling a mirror of the authoritarian Chinese mainland with a who’s who of opposition figures behind bars and other critical voices silenced or fled overseas.

In March, Hong Kong lawmakers unanimously passed a second national security law, known as Article 23, expanding powers to cover acts of treason, espionage, external interference and unlawful handling of state secrets, following an unusually hasty debate that lasted just 11 days.

Dozens of pro-democracy leaders have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms in recent years, while Hong Kong police have issued HK$1 million ($128,000) bounties for self-exiled activists.

The day before Lai began his testimony, more than 40 of Hong Kong’s best known pro-democracy figures were sentenced to jail terms of up to 10 years on subversion charges at the largest national security trial to date.

Once a bastion of press freedom in China, Hong Kong has seen its once vibrant local media landscape wither since Beijing imposed the national security law on the city, with Chinese-language media hit particularly hard.

Outspoken local news outlets, such as Apple Daily and Stand News, were forced to shut down in recent years.

Several foreign media and non-governmental organizations have also since chosen to relocate their headquarters elsewhere, citing the changing political landscape. However, many international media outlets still operate in the city – and it remains home to many foreign journalists.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Hong Kong at 135 out of 180 places in its annual press freedom ranking. Its 2023 ranking was a big drop from 73rd in 2019 and 18th in 2002. China ranked 179, according to the press rights organization.

Lee, has repeatedly denied media freedoms have faded, and urged both local and foreign press to “tell good stories” about the city.

In 2021, Google announced $1 billion of investment in Africa, aiming to enhance connectivity, drive innovation and support local entrepreneurs. Three years on, it claims this investment is working. According to a recent report commissioned by the tech giant, in 2023 its services – including Search, Maps, and YouTube – generated $16 billion in economic activity across the region.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Alex Okosi: The African market has incredible potential. Think about it, over the next four or five years, more than 40% of the global youth population will be on this continent. That means that the workforce of today or tomorrow is going come from Africa. We see Africa not just as an opportunity from a business standpoint, but as an opportunity for the globe to really benefit from the immense potential and talent that Africa has to offer.

Now, clearly, there’s a lot of challenges that we need to overcome. The digital divide on this continent is still there. Hence the reason why we really wanted to make sure that we invested in Africa in the right way – across every single value chain that matters to be able to help Africa achieve its full potential.

AO: One of the biggest challenges that we have on this continent is that there’s still a huge digital divide. The cost of data is still high, connectivity is still a challenge. Investing in infrastructure like Equiano and Umoja are going to help bring down these costs and enable businesses to hopefully tap into this digital highway that enables them to be more efficient.

Now (the drop in data costs) is not going to be immediate. We still need to partner with last-mile operators to make sure that they are leveraging this new bandwidth, and it’s bringing the cost down so the consumer can feel it. We don’t want to leave anyone behind, and the only way to ensure that is to make sure the cost of data is lower.

AO: The power of AI has enabled us to bring more languages online at a much faster rate. I’m excited about the 13 new languages that we introduced to Google Translate, including my native Igbo language. It really opens the opportunity for more than 300 million people that speak these languages to be able to access the internet in a language that’s organic to them.

From an inclusion standpoint, it means that we have a much bigger community of people that are now going to be able to participate in using digital tools to be able to grow their businesses and their careers. If I’m someone from a rural area and I speak a particular language, I’m now able to participate in this digital revolution that we talk about on a day-to-day basis, as part of the continent’s growth.

AO: Our AI research centers are going to benefit the continent in a lot of ways, and we’re already seeing some of those benefits. For instance, one of the main things that really affect farmers on this continent is pest outbreaks. We’ve now developed an AI solution that enables us to predict possible devastating outbreaks on crops seven days in advance. Or when it comes to flooding or climate change … 23 African countries are now part of our flood forecasting hub that enables them to access information on when these floods could happen, and people are able to plan for it.

AO: Of course, there’s the challenges that AI can present: there’s misinformation, there’s cyber security challenges if people use it the wrong way. As Google, we talk about being bold, being responsible. It’s about working with the communities, with academia, with governments to make sure that we have frameworks for developing AI that best serves the citizens and the communities that we serve. The important thing is that we are rolling out AI responsibly and that we are mitigating the risk associated with AI.

AO: In 10 years’ time, I think we are going to have a lot more people that are digitally skilled, they’re going to be able to leverage the power of technology and AI to really transform this continent, creating more job opportunities, more innovation, more companies, more growth. I think that AI will help us solve a lot of the societal challenges, whether it’s on food security, healthcare, or making the agriculture sector much more productive.

My dream is that as we move into the future, we’re going to have more and more African startups like (Nigerian fintech company) Moniepoint that become unicorns (privately owned companies valued at more than $1 billion) on this continent, because I truly believe that’s where we’re headed. Africa has an incredible potential and I’m just excited to be one of the people seeing it firsthand.