List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

In a Twitter spat between spokespeople for the top two candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, the military service of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared to be used as a cudgel against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington tweeted on Saturday: “Ron ‘Dee-Santis’ has run for 4 different offices in the past 7 years. That’s not someone who’s in it for the country, it’s someone who’s in it for himself.” The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account then responded, saying that “the Trump campaign said @RonDeSantis is ‘not someone who’s in it for the country.’” “Here’s our response,” they added, sharing images of Mr DeSantis in his Navy uniform and from his time serving in Iraq, a clear dig at former President Donald Trump, who avoided joining the military by claiming that he had medical issues that prevented him from serving. Ms Harrington then replied by only posting an image of the transportation secretary in his military gear, seemingly in an attempt to denigrate the service of both Mr Buttigieg and Mr DeSantis. Mr Buttigieg served as an intelligence officer with the US Naval Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan for seven months. The response prompted criticism from Twitter users, who slammed the spokeswoman for appearing to use the Democrat’s military service to criticise Mr Trump’s main rival for the GOP nomination over Memorial Day weekend. “Great way to dump on veterans and people in uniform... You nailed this one Liz,” one Twitter user said. “Let’s mock vets over Memorial Day weekend. I’m sure that is a great strategy,” another added, to which a third referenced Mr Trump’s criticism of late Arizona Senator John McCain, who spent five years in captivity in Vietnam. Mr Trump once said he only liked soldiers who “weren’t captured”. “The official Trump campaign chooses Memorial Day weekend to tweet that men and women who served in uniform should be viewed with suspicion,” Donny Ferguson added. “‘Serving your country is dishonorable because libs do it’ is an interesting campaign message,” one Twitter user said. “Why would the spokeswoman for Cadet Bone Spurs think she’s in any position to talk?” another account holder added, referencing Mr Trump’s draft dodging excuse. Read More Ron DeSantis news – live: Don Jr shares AI-doctored clip of The Office showing DeSantis wearing woman’s suit Donald Trump Jr shares doctored Office clip showing Ron DeSantis wearing a woman’s suit Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Fourteen countries in US-led Indo-Pacific trade talks agreed on supply chain coordination, the most substantial progress so far

Donald Trump Jr has shared a seemingly AI-generated clip of Ron DeSantis edited into the role of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott in The Office in a clip in which the character is mocked for wearing a woman’s suit. “Imagine when next time it’s not an obvious spoof from The Office but an attempt to depict itself as legitimate and much more nefarious,” CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted. “Don Jr among others has shared this video. I don’t think any of us are ready for this next election online,” Alex Thompson of Axios said. Democratic consultant Tim Hogan added that “Folks, we simply are not ready for the 2024 GOP primary memes”. “Rhonda Santis is a perfect drag name, just saying,” Mr Hogan tweeted. Philip Germain at the Lincoln Project added: “I am once again asking for Steve Carrell to play DeSantis on SNL.” “I for one welcome the onslaught of election-season deepfakes,” Jesse Walker of Reason magazine wrote. As the mockery continued of Mr DeSantis’s glitch-ridden campaign launch, the Florida governor began to push back. He slammed his main rival for the 2024 GOP nomination, former President Donald Trump, claiming he “is a different guy” than when he first ran for president. Mr Trump is leading all other Republican candidates for the party’s presidential nomination, with Mr DeSantis running in second place, according to polls. Mr DeSantis officially embarked on his own bid for the White House earlier this week in a chaotic Twitter Spaces event with billionaire Elon Musk. The governor told radio host Matt Murphy that he was running to the right of Mr Trump and portrayed himself as more conservative, according to USA Today. “It seems like he’s running to the left and I have always been somebody that’s just been moored in conservative principles,” said Mr DeSantis. “So these will be interesting debates to have, but I can tell you, you don’t win nationally by moving to the left, you win nationally by standing for bold policy. We showed that in Florida. I never watered down anything I did.” And Mr DeSantis claimed that Mr Trump is not the same person who first ran for office. “I don’t know what happened to Donald Trump – this is a different guy today than when he was running in 2015 and 2016 and I think the direction that he’s going with his campaign is the wrong direction,” Mr DeSantis said. And he attacked Mr Trump over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic while in office. “I think [Trump] did great for three years, but when he turned the country over to Fauci in March of 2020 that destroyed millions of people’s lives,” Mr DeSantis said on a podcast. “And in Florida, we were one of the few that stood up, cut against the grain, took incoming fire from media, bureaucracy, the left, even a lot of Republicans, had school open, preserved businesses.” Read More Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups DeSantis accuses Trump of ‘moving to the left’ as he tells ex-president: ‘You’ve changed’ Ron DeSantis news – live: Don Jr shares AI-doctored clip of The Office showing DeSantis wearing woman’s suit Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Bulgaria’s long-awaited coalition deal may face collapse, prolonging a years-long political crisis, as the Balkan country’s biggest party

The European Central Bank is in the final stretch of its historic cycle of interest-rate increases, according to

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stepped down as the head of his political party in a concession seen as

Representative Patrick McHenry said Saturday that there are still “thorny issues” in the negotiations between House Republicans and

Germany suffered its first recession since the start of pandemic, extinguishing hopes that Europe’s top economy could escape

China said it has agreed with South Korea to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on semiconductor supply chains, amid

Iceland’s labor market parties must rein in wage growth to help slow interest rate hikes, according to the

The chants of “monkey!” at the Spanish soccer stadium echoed across the Atlantic, reaching the ears of people on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. That's where Vinícius Júnior, who is Black, grew up and launched his soccer career. Now, despite his global fame and millions, he was again the target of crude European racism. His city in multiracial Brazil was sickened, and has rallied to his defense. In Sao Goncalo, rapper Deivisson Oliveira was eating breakfast when the TV news showed the abuse aimed at his hometown hero. “I needed to cry out," said Oliveira, 30, who raps under the name MC Menor do CPX. Oliveira typed lyrics on his phone with his 6-month-old son at his feet. Powerful verses surged through his thumbs: "From the favela to the world: Strength, Vinícius Júnior!" Racism in the Spanish league has intensified this season, especially after Vinícius started celebrating goals by dancing. On at least nine occasions, people have made monkey sounds at Vinícius, chanted the slur “monkey!” and hurled other racist slurs. Vinícius has repeatedly demanded action from Spanish soccer authorities. Vinícius’ 2017 move to Real Madrid was the culmination of years of effort. One of the most popular clubs in global soccer paid 45 million euros (about $50 million) — at the time the most ever for a Brazilian teenager — even before his professional debut with Rio-based Flamengo. Relentless racism wasn’t part of Vinícius’ dream when he was growing up in Sao Goncalo. Sao Goncalo is the second-most populous city in Rio’s metropolitan region, and one of the poorest in the state of Rio de Janeiro, according to the national statistics institute. At night in some areas, motorists turn on their hazard lights to signal to drug-trafficking gangs that the driver is local. It is also where the 2020 police killing of a 14-year-old sparked Black Lives Matter protests across Rio. Racism has once again fanned outrage. Rio’s imposing, illuminated Christ the Redeemer statue was made dark one night in solidarity. The city’s enormous bayside Ferris wheel this week exhibits a clenched Black fist and the scrolling words: “EVERYONE AGAINST RACISM.” “My total repudiation of the episode of racism suffered by our ace and the pride of all of us in Sao Goncalo,” the city's mayor, Nelson Ruas dos Santos, wrote on Twitter the morning after the incident. Rio's Mayor Eduardo Paes was less diplomatic when responding to a defense issued by the Spanish soccer league’s president. “Go to hell, son of a...” Paes wrote. On Thursday, Spanish league president Javier Tebas held a news conference claiming that the league has been acting alone against racism, and that it could end it in six months if granted more power by the government. At the same time in Rio, representatives of more than 150 activist groups and nonprofits delivered a letter to Spain’s consulate, demanding an investigation into the league and its president. They organized a protest that evening. “Vinicius has been a warrior, he’s being a warrior, for enduring this since he arrived in Spain and always taking a stand," activist Valda Neves said. “This time, he’s not alone.” The first Black Brazilian players to sign for European clubs in the 1960s met some racism in the largely white society, but rarely spoke out. At the time when Brazil still considered itself a “racial democracy,” and did not take on the racism that many faced. In the late 1980s, the federal government made racial discrimination a crime and created a foundation to promote Afro-Brazilian culture. At the time, many Brazilian players who might identify as Black today did not recognize themselves as such. Incidents of racism in Europe prompted little blowback in Brazil. In the decades since, Brazil’s Black activists have gained prominence and promoted awareness of structural racism. The federal government instituted policies aimed at addressing it, including affirmative-action admissions for public universities and jobs. There has been heightened consciousness throughout society. In 2014, a fan hurled a banana at defender Dani Alves during a Spanish league match; he picked it up and ate it in a show of defiance, triggering a coordinated social media campaign with other Brazilian players, including star forward Neymar, who did the same. Vinícius’ own educational nonprofit this week launched a program to train public school teachers to raise awareness about racism and instruct kids in fighting discrimination. A teacher at a Sao Goncalo school that will host the project, Mariana Alves, hopes it will provide kids much-needed support and preparation. She spoke in a classroom with soccer-ball beanbag chairs strewn about, and enormous photos of Vinícius on the walls. Most of the school’s students are Black or biracial, and many have experienced racism, Alves said in an interview. This week, her 10-year-old students have been asking if she saw what happened to Vinícius because they don’t fully understand. “He has money, he has all this status, and not even that stopped him from going through this situation of racism,” said Alves, who is Black and from Sao Goncalo. “So the students wonder ... ‘Will I go through that, too? Is that going to happen to me?’” As a boy, Vinícius started training at a nearby feeder school for Flamengo, Brazil's most popular club, before signing with its youth team. Sao Goncalo kids there were a blur Wednesday afternoon as they ran non-stop drills, leaving them without time or breath to discuss their idol’s troubles on another continent. Still, they knew. One of them, Ryan Gonçalves Negri, said he has talked about it with his friends outside the soccer school, and that Vinícius should transfer out of the Spanish league “urgently.” “I would never want to play there," Negri, 13, said. “It's not for Brazilians who know how to score goals and celebrate.” While the kids practiced, the rapper Oliveira and his producer Éverton Ramos, known as DJ Cabide, stepped onto the turf and made their way to the corner. They set up a speaker beneath a banner of Vinícius as a brash teenager with his tongue extended, then started recording a clip for their protest song’s music video. “I’m no one, but my voice can reach where I can’t go, where I can’t imagine going,” Oliveira said. “My voice will get there, you understand?” ___ Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese contributed from Sao Paulo ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Spanish court opens investigation into racist abuse targeting Vinícius Júnior Spain takes action against racism after Vinícius case but punishing fans remains a challenge Roma striker Tammy Abraham on racism in soccer: 'These things hurt people'

Since his 2024 campaign got off to a shaky start on Wednesday evening with its much-derided Twitter Spaces launch, Ron DeSantis has been doing the rounds of right-wing media outlets, reminding voters of his record in Florida and taking the occasional dig at chief rival, former president Donald Trump. In one interview he said, if elected president, he would consider pardons for those charged with January 6 Capitol riot offences, and when pressed as to whether that would include Mr Trump, acknowledged it would be everyone. His remark was criticised not just by Democrats, but was also sharply rebuked by former Republican Rep Liz Cheney, who tweeted: “Any candidate who says they will pardon Jan. 6 defendants is not qualified to be President.” Meanwhile, in the Florida governor’s ongoing feud with the Walt Disney Company, Disney urged a federal court to reject a request by Mr DeSantis to disqualify the judge overseeing the company’s lawsuit saying it amounted to political retaliation. Disney filed its First Amendment lawsuit against the governor in April, saying it was punished for speaking out against Florida legislation that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”. Read More DeSantis v Disney: Why Florida’s governor is at war with the Mouse Ron DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected DeSantis for President? This is what the polls say His 2024 launch was laughable but DeSantis could be more dangerous than Trump