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Wednesday, June 5, 2019
FIFA President Gianni Infantino Re-Elected For Second Term
Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as FIFA president.
He was re-elected for a second term, at the Congress of world football’s governing body in Paris on Wednesday.
Infantino’s second term will run until 2023.
FIFA’s 211 member federation retained him without a vote, because he was the only candidate.
Infantino, a 49-year-old Swiss lawyer, was first elected in February 2016 to complete the term of Sepp Blatter.
Blatter was forced out of office following corruption investigations, and is now serving a six-year ban for financial misconduct.
Study: Russia"s manipulation of Twitter was far vaster than believed
Russia’s troll farm was found to have considerably more sway than previously thought and might have generated income for some of its phony accounts. | Naira Davlashyan/AP Photo
Russia’s infamous troll farm conducted a campaign on Twitter before the 2016 elections that was larger, more coordinated and more effective than previously known, research from cybersecurity firm Symantec out Wednesday concluded.
The Internet Research Agency campaign may not only have had more sway — reaching large numbers of real users — than previously thought, it also demonstrated ample patience and might have generated income for some of the phony accounts, Symantec found.
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The company analyzed a massive data set Twitter released in October 2018 on nearly 3,900 accounts and 10 million tweets.
The research discovered that the average lag between account creation and first tweet was 177 days. The most retweeted account garnered 6 million retweets, and less than 2,000 of those came from within the IRA-linked network of accounts. The huge delay points to a lot of patient preparation, and the retweets indicate that a lot of unaffiliated Twitter users were amplifying the IRA’s message.
While most of the accounts were automated, they frequently demonstrated evidence of manual manipulation, such as slight wordingchanges in an apparent bid to dodge detection, according to Symantec.
“While this propaganda campaign has often been referred to as the work of trolls, the release of the dataset makes it obvious that it was far more than that,” the company wrote. “It was planned months in advance and the operators had the resources to create and manage a vast disinformation network.”
Some accounts also appeared to generate revenue via URL shorteners, with one account even earning as much as $1 million, although those were apparently rogue accounts operating outside the IRA’s main mission.
The research also found that the accounts played to both sides of the aisle more than previously believed, and that most of them were fakes pretending to be regional news outlets, while a smaller subset amplified those messages.
“The campaign directed propaganda at both sides of the liberal/conservative political divide in the U.S., in particular the more disaffected elements of both camps,” Symantec found.
And the company warned in the closing message of its study: “The sheer scale and impact of this propaganda campaign is obviously of deep concern to voters in all countries, who may fear a repeat of what happened in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election in 2016.”
In response to the Symantec research, a Twitter spokesperson said the company’s “singular focus is to improve the health of the public conversation on our platform, and protecting the integrity of elections is an important aspect of that mission.”
Additionally, the spokesperson said, Twitter has made “significant strides since 2016 to counter manipulation of our service, which includes our releases of additional data in October and January related to previously disclosed activities to enable further independent academic research and investigation.”
No One Is Interested In Excuses! Ihedioha Comes Under Fire For Attacking Okorocha
Newly sworn in governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha has come under fire for his actions so far since his assumption of office.
This is as the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the 2019 gubernatorial election, Uche Nwosu has declared that it appears the governor has no plans for the state but only interested in grabbing power.
Nwosu said this in his reaction to Ihedioha’s insistence that ex-Governor Rochas Okorocha did not properly hand over to him.
“The action of the governor since he assumed office has showed that he is not serious and does not seem to have any cutout plan or blueprint for governance, except the desperation to grab power”, Nwosu to The Nation.
“The people of Imo state did not vote for him to start chasing shadows. For the time he will stay as the governor, he should unfold his plans and programme for the people. No one is interested in excuses, what the people want is performance and nothing less.
“The people want concrete statement on what the programmes of the government are, what the government intends to do and how it would deliver dividends of democracy to them and not embarking on a mission to pull down Rochas Okorocha.
“The suspension of Local Government Chairmen and their Councilors, dissolving the recently-inaugurated members of boards of government agencies and parastatals and scrapping of recently established tertiary institutions, is definitely a wrong way to start for a government that wants to make headway.
“One would have expected that by now, the governor should have engaged the civil servants and tell them what he has for the workers, as well as taken up from where his predecessor stopped.
“The acrimonies that could arise from these actions are hardly what Ihedioha needed at this time, he should rather consolidate on the achievements of his predecessor and that is was what Imolites want to see.
“He should concentrate on the business of governance If I were the governor today, I will definitely hit the ground running, knowing that there is job to do”.
Source: Daily Post
Why Is Britain Not Interested In The Break-Up of Nigeria.
Ever wondered why Britain, the creators of Nigeria are never interested in the dissolution of the country despite clamours for it to be disintegrated by different secessionist groups – in which the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) are one and the most vocal of the pack.
Image result for nigeria united kingdom
Britain colonized Nigeria since creation to 1960
If you are familiar with the radio broadcasts of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, you would have heard him chastise the United Kingdom for aiding “Biafran Genocide” and still turning deaf ears on calls for the region’s self determination.
Image result for nnamdi kanu broadcast
Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB Leaders believes without vested interest, the UK would have aided Nigeria’s disintegration
Kanu has repeatedly accused Nigeria’s colonial masters of insisting on “One Nigeria” because of certain interests which sometime he puts down to one of the natural resources the country was blessed with – crude oil.
Image result for nigerian crude oil
Nigeria is the largest producer of “sweet” oil in OPEC
The IPOB leader might be right after all; if not, why wouldn’t Britain (with a population of less than 70 million) want Nigeria (with a population of over 200 million) to break up considering that population is one of the major factors that will decide the tussle for the next world power.
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Nigeria is home to over 200 million people, with a population growth rate of 2.43%
Let’s look at a recent interview by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Mr. Blair recently made a strong case against Brexit, which for the most part encapsulates the views of “remainers” in the United Kingdom – who have continued to make strong case against Britain exiting the European Union.
Image result for tony blair
Tony Blair was the British Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007
Blair who was the longest Labour Party Prime Minister had allayed fears of the next world powers being determined by trade tariff, military spending and most importantly population.
Since the Brexit referendum was held on 23 June 2016 – in which 51.9 per cent of those voting supported leaving the EU- the Government has yet to deliver, with the much altered deadline now set for 31 October 2019.
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Growing populism led to the call for the UK to leave the European Union
Hopefully whoever takes over from Theresa may – who announced her resignation on 24 may 2019 after a failed Brexit plan -will honour the will of the Brexiters who clearly won the 2016 referendum and have rejected several calls for a second referendum.
For Tony Blair, an obvious remainer, he seemed to have echoed the thoughts many Brits who oppose the idea of leaving the European Union when he spoke specifically about world powers being determined by population in the nearest future.
Image result for united states china
China and the United State are currently two of the world biggest powers
In the Interview, he mentioned the United states, China and India as the biggest threat to less populated country – in which Britain is one – but there was no mention of Nigeria ( home to over 200 million people)
The fear from a British point of view is quite understandable, little wonder he’s calling for strong alliances for Britian – a country of less than 70 million people – if their interest and influence are going to be protected.
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May resigned as she had no plans l tot lead the UK in the next stage of Brexit negotiations
According to him, If Britain leaves Europa and the large population countries get stronger, they would certainly dominate the world leaving UK behind as below the big shots are some tall countries with huge populations but not as large as China or India; the likes Mexico Japan, Indonesia Brazil – any country but Nigeria – are still likely to have more stake than a “Europeless Britain”
Image result for Nigeria
Nigeria’s growing population doesn’t worry world powers
Nigeria (208m) is currently the 7th most populated country in the world, behind China (1b), India (1b), United States (331m), Indonesia (264m), Pakistan (210m) and Brazil (210m), yet Tony Blair fears Mexico and Japan who both are over 70 million shy of Nigeria’s population.
TOP 10 MOST POPULOUS COUNTRIES (July 1, 2019)
- China 1,389,618,778 6. Brazil 210,301,591
- India 1,311,559,204 7. Nigeria 208,679,114
- United States 331,883,986 8. Bangladesh 161,062,905
- Indonesia 264,935,824 9. Russia 141,944,641
- Pakistan 210,797,836 10. Mexico 127,318,112
Source: census.gov
Ironically Nigeria’s population growth rate (2.43%) triples every other country in the top 10 and more than double the growth rate in the United Kingdom with the United Nations projecting that the overall population of Nigeria will reach about 398 million by the end of the year 2050.
Image result for Nigeria
Nigeria is projected to reach about 398 million by the end of the year 2050
Now in contrast by 2050 the UK’s population will just hit a little more than 77m, according a projection by Eurostat which also notes the number was likely if Britain remains with the European Union.
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Lord Frederick Lugard amalgamated northern and southern Nigeria protectorates inn 1914
So going by Mr Blair’s theory, the UK would have put a knife in the heart of this big marriage called Nigeria, which leaves the question of why are they still interested in “one Nigeria” begging; what are their interests?
Is it a question of corruption? Maybe they like to assume population means nothing when a country is “fantastically corrupt?”
To many questions, but i will leave you to draw your own conclusion
World Cup: Bangladesh v New Zealand - in-play clips, radio & text
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- Thomas Muller revealed himself as a fan of India’s cricket team and Virat Kohli earlier this week.
Well TMS have been asking for more unlikely cricket fans and it seems World Cup fever has gripped Wolverhampton.
Premier League side Wolves have got in touch with these pictures from their training ground. The less said about Portugal international Ruben Neves’ bowling action the better…
Ban 15-0
Tamim 11, Soumya 4
Four! Lovely shot from Tamim, just using Trent Boult’s pace against him to whip a straight one through midwicket. Proper cricket shot.
The crowd are already bubbling away, vocal and vociferous.
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The first post-9/11 vets are running for president. Do voters care?
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, an Afghanistan veteran, speaks at a Democratic convention in San Francisco. | Jeff Chiu/AP Photo
Afghanistan vet Pete Buttigieg charged President Donald Trump with an “assault on the honor of this country” for avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), recounting his four tours in Iraq, told voters he hopes the man who took Trump’s place in combat is “still alive.” And Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) drew on her war experience in warning Trump that a war with Iran would make Iraq “look like a cakewalk.”
Together, the Democratic trio mark the first post-9/11 veterans to run for the White House. But military credentials that once helped pave candidates’ road to the White House may hold little appeal for today’s electorate, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of registered Democratic voters released Wednesday.
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More than half of respondents said it’s not important for the party’s presidential nominee to be a veteran, while only a third said military service in the candidate’s background is very or somewhat important to their decision. Twelve percent had no opinion at all.
“Our polling suggests 2020 contenders who tout military credentials won’t necessarily have an advantage when Democrats cast their votes at the ballot box,” said Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president. “Notably, 36 percent of Democratic voters said it was important for their party’s nominee to be a military veteran. This compares to 69 percent who prioritize political experience.”
The poll of 1,997 registered voters was conducted between May 31 and June 2 and has a margin error of 2 percent.
The three candidates are all banking on their experience to give them a boost, but the results are another indication that military service — even in the midst of the longest period of sustained combat in American history — is steadily fading as a major resume-builder for would-be commanders in chief.
Three of the four most recent presidents — Trump, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — didn’t have a military background (George W. Bush had served in the Air National Guard).That’s compared with all eight of the previous chief executives, all of whom served in the military:Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
And throughout the nation’s history, more than half of all Oval Office occupants have worn a uniform.
The recent trend is credited to a number of factors, including the makeup of the armed forces and the changing nature of war. The U.S. has no mandatory conscription, which ended in the final stages of the Vietnam War, and exceedingly few Americans volunteer to serve in the armed forces — less than 1 percent. As a result, far fewer Americans can personally relate to the military than when a much larger proportion of the population either served or knew someone who did.
Americans have not yet had time to reckon with the consequences of the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, said Matthew Gallagher, an author and Iraq veteran who has written about electing veterans as president.
“It’s dark and complex and messy. It’s not as simple as it was for the greatest generation to say, ‘I proved myself in combat, I can prove myself in government,’” Gallagher said in an interview. “It’s not something that resonates as widely. It’s an open question as to whether it resonates at all beyond a very small percentage of voters.”
On the stump, however, the recent veterans running for president — all considered long shots for the Democratic nomination — are relying heavily on their military credentials.
“I decided that if people with my experience didn’t step up and run, we’d never truly learn the lessons of what it means to carelessly put Americans into harm’s way,” Moulton, a three-term congressman from Massachusetts, told POLITICO.
Gabbard, a congresswoman from Hawaii who deployed to Iraq as a member of Hawaii’s Army National Guard and remains a major, has called for an end to “wasteful regime change wars” and recently tweeted that Trump is risking another war with Iran.
Buttigieg, who spent six months in Afghanistan as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve, recently posted on Twitter that his service in the military “makes me very aware of the consequences of sending troops abroad, and personally committed to ending endless war.”
All three candidates are also using their military service as a bludgeon against Trump, who secured multiple deferments from the draft during the Vietnam War for attending college and also received a medical exemption for bone spurs in his feet.
Buttigieg accuses Trump of using his wealth and connections to fake the bone spurs to get out of going to war.
“You have somebody who thinks it’s all right to have somebody go in his place into a deadly war and is willing to pretend to be disabled to do it. That is an assault on the honor of this country,” Buttigieg said May 26 on ABC’s “This Week.”
Moulton says he volunteered so others wouldn’t have to, while Trump “was happy to have someone else go in his place.”
“I’d like to meet that American someday who went to Vietnam in Donald Trump’s place,” Moulton said recently. “I hope he’s still alive.”
He also contends Trump “is a man who truly does not understand the consequences of war.”
They are all banking on their military credentials help them stand out in a crowded field of nearly two dozen Democrats, even if they don’t propel them all the way.
Their military background could help them establish credibility on defense and security issues, countering the fact that they are younger and have less experience overall than some of the other contenders, said Jeremy Teigen, a political science professor at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
“For Buttigieg, Moulton and Gabbard, their service will not give them an instant promotion to the top tier, but it will help them stand out against the other younger, less visible candidates,” Teigen said.
Gabbard is 38, Buttigeig is 37 and Moulton is 40. Any one of them would be the youngest president in history if elected.
Their experience may alsoresonate with some older voters who place more emphasis on military credentials, added Molly O’Rourke, the director of American University’s masters program in political communications, who specializes in public opinion research.
Whether it helps bring them electoral success or not, Moulton, Gabbard and Buttigieg are unlikely to be the last post-9/11 vets to seek the presidency.
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been running for local and federal offices since 2006 and have now garnered enough experience to move up the hierarchy, said Jeremy Butler, the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
And he said having the three in the 2020 presidential race could ultimately help elevate critical veterans issues like health care, as more people who have direct experience with the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs achieve the power to make decisions.
Moulton, for example, recently shined a light on the problem of post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans by revealing hehas sought therapy and unveiling a plan to improve mental health services for veterans.
Their candidacies could also prompt even more veterans to run for office, said Ellen Zeng, senior vice president of With Honor Action, a political action committee that helps veterans run for office. She said the group is talking to more than 80 veterans thinking about running for the House in 2020.
Morning Consult is a nonpartisan media and technology company that provides data-driven research and insights on politics, policy and business strategy.
More details on the poll and its methodology can be found in these two documents: Toplines: https://politi.co/2KA0s7h | Crosstabs: https://politi.co/2Z7SrKI
Jose Antonio Reyes: Extremadura pay tribute to former player
Spanish second division side Extremadura paid an emotional tribute to former player Jose Antonio Reyes in their first game since he died in a car crash on Saturday.
They beat Cadiz 1-0 on Tuesday night, a match rescheduled from Sunday after seven games in La Liga 2 were postponed as a mark of respect.
Former Arsenal winger Reyes, who died aged 35, joined the club in January, and they have retired his number 19 shirt.
The Extremadura players wore T-shirts with ‘Rest in peace legend’ on them, and held a minute’s silence before kick-off, while flowers were placed on a seat on their substitutes’ bench.
After Carlos Pomares’ goal in the 26th minute, the players held up one of the T-shirts in tribute.
The club said afterwards: “It [the win] is for you Jose Antonio. Extremadura [were able to] provide the best possible tribute to Reyes, who surely saw from heaven a new triumph for his team-mates.”
Spanish police told BBC Sport on Tuesday that former Sevilla captain Reyes was driving at more than 135mph (220kph) when his car crashed.
The Guardia Civil’s investigation is ongoing and although the car exceeded Spain’s speed limit of 75mph (120kph), it is not clear yet if that was the “final cause” of the incident.
Reyes’ funeral was held in his hometown of Utrera, Seville on Monday.
His cousin Jonathan Reyes was also killed in the crash.
More than 11,000 fans paid their respects to the five-time Europa League winner when his coffin was taken to Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium on Sunday.
A former Spain international, he was was part of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ side that went through the 2003-04 season unbeaten, winning the Premier League.
2020 Democrats talk philosophy on podcasts, shoot hoops on late-night shows
Sen. Kamala Harris speaks with host Mark Thompson during an interview at SiriusXM’s New York Studios on April 5. | Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for SiriusXM
2020 elections
In a packed field, candidates are seizing every opportunity to reach a fragmented voting public that doesn’t always watch the evening news.
Preet Bharara surprised his own mother during last week’s interview with presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
She texted him after his podcast was released, not about Bharara and Yang’s debate over the policy of universal basic income, but about the pair’s discussion of bigotry and bullying growing up. Bharara had revealed on “Stay Tuned” that he faced racial taunts during a school trip to a planetarium.
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“I hadn’t intended to go where I went,” Bharara said in an interview.
That willingness to veer away from the horserace and the drama that drives TV news into more personal territory is precisely why the podcast Bharara’s been taping for a year and a half — after President Donald Trump ousted him as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in March 2017 — has become part of an unlikely group of media outlets landing interviews with 2020 Democratic candidates.
Podcasts, late-night programs and web shows are increasingly serving as off-ramps from the daily news churn, offering candidates opportunities for more freewheeling conversations and showing off their personalities or pop culture bonafides to a variety of audiences. And in a packed Democratic field, candidates are seizing every opportunity to reach a fragmented voting public that doesn’t always watch the evening news.
“I got time to talk to Pete Buttigieg about political philosophy,” said Bharara, referring to the South Bend, Indiana mayor. “We talked about Immanuel Kant and John Rawls. How often do you hear a conversation about that? That happens on a podcast like mine. It doesn’t happen on MSNBC. It allows candidates to show another and deeper side.”
Democratic presidential candidates aren’t about to turn down invites from MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow or the “Morning Joe” crew, with the exception of Joe Biden, who has been eschewing most media interviews. They’ll surely keep hitting town hall stages on CNN and Fox News and must-stops like ABC’s “The View” and CBS’s “Late Night with Stephen Colbert.” And everyone wants to make this month’s debate on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.
But in addition, Sen. Cory Booker shot hoops in Newark with Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, the former Viceland hosts who launched Showtime’s “Desus & Mero” in February. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told the late-night hosts in March why she’s running for president while cooking omelets in her Troy, New York home. Buttigieg will appear on Thursday night’s show.
“We want to talk to every single motherfucking one of them,” co-host Mero said of the 2020 field in April before rolling the Booker interview.
On Friday night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will take the stage at “Political Party Live!”, a millennial-geared podcast that’s already hosted Yang, California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro. Booker will join the show Saturday from Gene’s Bar in Iowa City.
Candidates have also talked to former Obama strategist David Axelrod and Vox’s Ezra Klein, and at least a dozen 2020 hopefuls have flocked to “Pod Save America,” which, though only launched in early 2017, has become a mainstay in Democratic politics.
“Smart campaigns are looking for forums that allow their candidates to connect with engaged audiences, break out of the 30-second soundbite culture of cable, and talk about more than Trump’s latest tweet,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior Obama adviser and co-host of “Pod Save America.”
“The advantage of many of these platforms is that they are evergreen and can be consumed on demand hours, days and weeks after the interview,” Pfeiffer said. “The more traditional platforms are ephemeral.”
Candidates have experimented with non-traditional or niche platforms in recent cycles. Hillary Clinton went on Buzzfeed’s “Another Round” podcast in 2016, where the hosts asked her why they never saw her sweating; “I’m really not even a human being,” Clinton responded. “I was constructed in a garage in Palo Alto.”
Peter Hamby, who began hosting Snapchat’s “Good Luck America” show during the 2016 election, noted that “new formats and new shows have been evolving and mutating since the birth of the smartphone” more than a decade ago.
“But candidates and campaigns are being less smug about new platforms and new shows,” he said. “They’re more willing to step into the breach because they realize you have to be on all screens at all times of the day.”
“A lot of people just consume an entirely different set of media than a lot of the people in Washington and New York who are making political news,” said Hamby, a former CNN reporter.
It’s also been a long time since the Democratic field had so many candidates, all of whom want a lighthearted, viral moment that makes them memorable to voters.
Still, there are risks for candidates when stepping away from more conventional political shows.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren discussed issues like taxing corporations and reparations for slavery over more than 45 minutes last Friday on Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club,” the nationally syndicated hip-hop morning show that’s become a destination for 2020 contenders.
But co-host Charlamagne tha God also challenged Warren’s past identification as Native American, an issue that’s largely faded from mainstream political coverage. “You’re kind of like the original Rachel Dolezal,” he said, referring to a white woman who identified as black.
On Friday’s “Vice News Tonight,” Charlemagne said he’s glad candidates are visiting “The Breakfast Club,” though he was blunt about their political calculations. “They’re only coming here because of the large listening audience,” he said, “and it’s a large listening audience of black and brown people.”
Buttigieg, who appeared on “The Breakfast Club” in March, has embraced a wide spectrum of media venues, from Hugh Hewitt’s conservative radio show — a must-stop during the 2016 Republican primary — to TMZ Live, where the candidate talked policy, pop culture and busted out a guitar. More recently, Buttigieg made headlines after stopping by a TMZ camera to defend NFL kneeling protests and point out Trump’s lack of military experience.
“It’s ultimately the candidate who determines the success of these things. There’s no magic recipe,” said Lis Smith, a Buttigieg communications adviser who has spearheaded an ambitious media strategy for a Midwestern mayor who had little national name recognition before getting in the race.
More Coverage:Bernie SandersandKamala Harrison the Breakfast Club.
Smith recalled driving with Buttigieg in March as the candidate noticed a flurry of mentions on Twitter after his interview with Bharara, which took place before the candidate broke out on national television during a CNN town hall.
“Preet asked questions that aren’t on cable news,” she said, allowing for a conversation “that is 20 levels deeper” than most TV news shows. (Bharara said the Buttigieg interview was one of his best performing podcasts to date).
Iowa politician Stacey Walker and millennial business owners Veronica Tessler and Simeon Talley launched “Political Party Live!” in 2016 to engage young progressive Democrats and promote diverse voices in state politics. And like any good party, the hosts made sure there was beer, pizza, and music to go along with the political talk.
The appearance by Harris in February helped open the floodgates this cycle in terms of candidates coming on the show.
“This is the first time we’ve ever been a force in the presidential selection process in Iowa,” said Walker, who said the team is talking to several campaigns beyond the six candidates who have appeared or agreed to do so.
“Our hope is to be a resource to Iowans,” he said. “Iowans really do take their role being the first-in-the-nation caucuses state seriously. I think the candidates know that.”
Bharara said he and his team are talking this week about which candidate to invite next. He stressed that listeners want a “thoughtful discussion” — and said he’s not bound by the rigid criteria to get on the TV debate stage.
“For our podcast,” he said, “we don’t have some DNC-inspired formula of polling and donors that will determine when they do or don’t get airtime.”
Anthony Joshua says he is not "blaming anyone" for Andy Ruiz Jr defeat
British heavyweight Anthony Joshua says he has no excuses for his shock defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr, in which he lost his IBF, WBO and WBA world titles.
The loss in New York was the first of Joshua’s 23-fight professional career and he has dismissed suggestions anything was wrong with him.
“I had no panic attack,” the 29-year-old said in video posted online on Wednesday.
“I have to take my loss like a man. No blaming anyone or anything.”
- ‘He needs to regain that eye of the tiger’ – what Joshua does now
- 5 live boxing with Bunce & Costello: Joshua beaten – what comes next?
- Joshua vows to ‘get the belts back’ after ‘minor setback’
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn announced on Tuesday that a rematch with United States-born Mexican Ruiz, part of the contract for Saturday’s fight, would take place in November or December.
“I am the one who went in there to perform and my performance did not go to plan. My gameplan didn’t go to plan,” added Joshua.
“I have to readjust, analyse, do my best to correct it – and get the job done in the rematch.”
The Briton was floored four times as Ruiz won in seven rounds at Madison Square Garden.
Before the final round, Joshua looked perplexed in his corner and said to his trainer Rob McCracken: “Why am I feeling like this?”
The London 2012 Olympic champion subsequently had a concussion test.
Joshua says his pre-fight training camp in Miami was “spot on” and he did not eat any contaminated foods. He also said he would continue to work with McCracken.
“There have been a lot of accusations and worries about what was wrong with me,” he added.
“I want to tell you this: I am a soldier and I have to take my ups and my downs – and on Saturday I took a loss.
“Congratulations to Andy Ruiz. He has six months or so to be champion because the belts go in the air and he has to defend them.
“I would not mind if [the rematch] was in New York again or in England.”
PDP thrashes APC, say — ‘Don’t drag us into your crisis’
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counsels the quick-sinking All Progressives Congress (APC) to face its self-inflicted woes instead of seeking a face-saving measure by dragging the name of the PDP into its shameless internal wrangling, bordering on the incompetence, recklessness and treasury looting by its leaders.
The PDP notes that the APC, by bringing out its dirty linen to the market place, at this time, has again demonstrated its insensitivity and contempt towards the values and feelings of Nigerians. How else can it justify its choice of fouling the national space at a time compatriots are observing the blessings of Eid el fitri?
It is most reprehensible that after pushing Nigerians into anguish and economic misery, the crisis-ridden APC will not allow our people to celebrate the end of Ramadan in peace.
It is imperative to state that the PDP, as a responsible party, will not join the APC in its shameless dance, yet, the APC must know that it must answer for its failures, depravities and unrestrained looting of our national treasury in the last four years.
This is the same APC, whose National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, confirmed as a sanctuary of looters and unpatriotic people, when he declared that, “once you join the APC, your sins are forgiven”.
It has also become clear to Nigerians that the APC is fixated on the PDP and has become feverish by the reinvention of the PDP to serve the interest of the people. This is in addition to the fact that majority of Nigerians now believe more in our party, the PDP, after seeing through the lies, deceit and failures of the APC and its government.
The APC must face the truism that having divided our people, wrecked our once robust economy, returned our nation to a debtor status and brought so much misery to the extent that our compatriots now resort to suicide and slavery mission abroad as options, Nigerians cannot continue to lend it any support.
The determined optimism expressed by majority of Nigerians for the retrieval of our stolen Presidential mandate at the tribunal as well as the spontaneous jubilation across the country over the victory of the PDP in state governorship elections shows that the people are eager to have the PDP back at the saddle of governance.
This is because, while in office, the PDP, as a people-oriented party, remained dedicated to the wellbeing of the people.
The PDP administration salvaged our nation from a pariah status, paid off our foreign debts, grew the economy to become one of the fastest growing economies on the world map, revolutionized our aviation, telecommunication, automobile, education, agriculture, sports, entertainment, health, housing, railway, power and other critical sectors of our economy for the good of the people.
The PDP also strengthened our democratic institutions, created anti-graft agencies, equipped our security agencies, engendered equity and social justice, maintained a strict adherence to rule of law, respect for the rights of citizens and provided electoral reforms that guaranteed credible elections in our country.
Nigerians are saddened that the incompetent, divisive, vindictive and deceitful APC has reversed all the gains achieved by the PDP in a space of four years. If anything, the APC has only succeeded in bringing economic misery, escalated insecurity, piling foreign debts, dilapidated infrastructure and despondency in our country.
The PDP therefore counsels the APC to seek restitution for the misery it has caused the nation instead of always looking for scapegoats where none exist.
Signed:
Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary
Boko Haram leader, Shekau mocks Nigeria Army in a New Video
Abubakar Shekau, factional leader of the Boko Haram sect, has mocked Nigeria and its national pledge.
He called it “shirk” which in Islam means the sin of idolatry or worshiping of anyone or anything besides the singular God.
In excerpts posted on Twitter on Tuesday, Ahmad Salkida, an investigative journalist close to the sect, said Shekau was seen in the video clutching an AK-47 rifle as he read a prepared speech in Arabic about the doctrines of the insurgents.
Sakilda wrote: “The factional leader of Boko Haram that have been weakened by an internal feud that led to the emergence of another faction in 2016 and persistent military campaign by the Nigerian Army and the Multinational Joint Task Force appeared to have impaired eyesight as he struggled to read his group’s ideology in Arabic, while intermittently reciting Nigeria’s National pledge in English, which he repeatedly said was an act of Shirk.
“The 35 minute long speech in Arabic, according to analyst may be targeted to the international jihadi community, and not the local audience in the #LakeChad region because #BokoHaram have been made a pariah terror group, following feuds between Shekau and several warlords that gainsaid his more extreme ideology, especially the use of women and children as suicide bombers in Muslim places of worship, Internally Displaced Persons camps and markets.”
This development is coming days after Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, declared that Boko Haram has been defeated.
According to him, Nigerian military is now fighting an international criminal gang known as Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP).
Arrest Order: Security Agent Storm Gbaramatu kingdom in search of....
The people of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area, Delta State, have called on the Federal Government to withdraw the military men who invaded their community on Monday morning.
They have however condemned in strong terms the renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta by a group called Niger Delta Avenger.
The Benemowei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, yesterday disssociated his kinsmen from the activities of the renegade group under the guise of fighting the Niger Delta cause.
He said that the presence of the military in Oporoza, Gbaramatu and the Delta waterways is already creating tension as.people now move in fear.
He said, “At about 12.30am Sunday, the Nigerian Army came in two gun boats loaded with its personnel, throwing the community into panic and tension as the people scampered for safety. Some were even forced to run into the bush to avoid being taken away by the military.
“The military stayed till about 5.30am before they moved their gun boats to an unknown location. We have seen a situation where people want to use the present crisis to cause problem in our community.
“We are not part of the attack and will not support anything that will bring problem to us.”
He said that the order to the military by President Muhammadu Buhari to go after those who perpetuated the recent attack on crude oil pipeline in a Delta is not enough for the military to invade their community, harassing and intimidating innocent citizens of the kingdom.
Gbaramatu is the hometown of former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a. Tompolo, who has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
The military has also accused Tompolo of being behind recent attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.
BREAKING:Nigeria"s Muhammad-Bande Emerges UN General Assembly President
Nigeria’s Muhammad-Bande Emerges UN General Assembly President
Muhammad-Bande, the sole candidate for the position, was elected through acclamation at the 87th plenary meeting of the Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
He is the second Nigerian to hold the office after Joseph Garba, a retired military officer and diplomat, who led the organ between 1989 and 1990.
He will be inaugurated in September.
Details later…
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer welcome Andy Murray return
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have welcomed the prospect of Britain’s Andy Murray returning to top-level tennis, while admitting his Queen’s Club comeback has taken them by surprise.
Murray, 32, has not played since hip surgery following the Australian Open.
He described his doubles appearance alongside Spain’s Feliciano Lopez at the Fever-Tree Championships later this month as “the next step” in his return.
“It was a little surprising he announced that so quick,” said Nadal.
“I always thought that he will find a way to try to be back, because he’s still young and still very passionate about the game.
“It’s great news for, first, for him and for his team and family, and then for the tour by itself. I’m happy for it, and especially happy for him.”
- Murray to make competitive return at Queen’s
- ‘I feel no pressure to return’ – Murray
- Murray playing without pain
Federer and Nadal were among a raft of players who appeared in a video shown on the big screens at Melbourne Park, congratulating Murray for his career in the wake of the Scot’s first-round defeat by Roberto Bautista Agut.
Despite initially saying that it might be his final appearance before retirement, Murray left open the possibility of a return to tennis in his on-court interview just before the video played out.
“We were more told that this could be it, so can you please make a message?” Federer recalled of his contribution to the video.
“But we were hoping that this message is not actually real.
“I saw him after his match against Bautista Agut and I was, like, ‘So, what’s up? Are you really retiring?’ He didn’t know.
“It’s number one for his health, and we want Andy to be healthy, more so than being a tennis player. But if he can play tennis on top of it, that’s a super bonus.
“I think all of us top guys would be thrilled to see him back on the tour.”
Murray had the hip resurfacing operation – which keeps more of the damaged bone than a hip replacement, smoothing the ball down and covering it with a metal cap – in London on 28 January.
Murray told the Times earlier this month that there is “very little chance” of him playing singles at Wimbledon in July, but said a successful doubles campaign could be the launchpad for a full return.
Manafort will get no special treatment at Rikers Island, de Blasio says
In August, Paul Manafort was convicted of a series of financial crimes and in September he pleaded guilty to another set of charges, including witness tampering. | Keith Lane/Getty Images
NEW YORK CITY — Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, will be given no special treatment beyond measures needed for security when he is transferred to Rikers Island, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
“He is going to be treated, as much as humanly possible, like any other inmate, and would have the same rights and responsibilities,” de Blasio said at an unrelated press conference. “Obviously there are safety questions that have to be attended to.”
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Manafort is currently serving a 7.5 year prison sentence in a Pennsylvania federal prison as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 election. In August, he was convicted of a series of financial crimes and in September he pleaded guilty to another set of charges, including witness tampering.
However, earlier this year, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. obtained an indictment against Manafort on charges of mortgage fraud and a state judge has now ordered the longtime Republican lobbyist be moved as early as Thursday to Rikers Island, where he will be held in solitary confinement, according to a report by Fox News.
While Trump has the ability to issue pardons for federal crimes, several reports noted that this power does not extend to state infractions.
“No one is beyond the law in New York,” Vance said in a March statement.
Rikers is mainly used to house pre-trial detainees. However, the outdated facility has become a hive of violence, and its isolated location near LaGuardia Airport makes it difficult to transfer inmates to county courthouses around the city, often delaying trial times.
The city is currently planning to close the facility by 2026 and replace it with modern jails in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.
Anthony Joshua v Andy Ruiz Jr: Rematch will take place "in November or December"
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A rematch between Anthony Joshua and his conqueror Andy Ruiz Jr will take place in November or December, says Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
American-born Mexican Ruiz produced one of the biggest shocks in heavyweight boxing history to take Joshua’s IBF, WBO and WBA world heavyweight titles in New York on Saturday.
A rematch clause was part of the contract for the fight.
Hearn said the clause had been triggered on Tuesday after talks.
“After meetings with AJ, Rob Mc[Cracken – Joshua’s trainer] and the management team in NY, we have today triggered the contracted rematch clause with Andy Ruiz Jr,” Hearn said on Twitter.
“The fight will take place in Nov/Dec at a venue to be confirmed shortly.”
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British fighter Joshua, 29, was floored four times as Ruiz defied his underdog status to win in seven rounds at Madison Square Garden. The London 2012 Olympic champion subsequently had a concussion test after the first defeat of his 23-fight career.
Ruiz, also 29, took the fight at short notice after Joshua’s original opponent Jarrell Miller failed drug tests.
The new champion, who was born in the United States but fights under the Mexican flag, has previously said he will take a rematch at any time.
In a post-fight news conference, Joshua was asked about potential fights with WBC world champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
“I still want to compete with those men but a rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr is where we are at,” he said. “I’m still a champ and I will rectify it to get the belts back.”
At the same time, Hearn said a rematch is a “must win” because Joshua’s options will be “nothing after that”.
Speaking to BBC Sport Wales, Matchroom Sport chief Barry Hearn said he would like to see the fight take place in Cardiff but that a foreign host city “can’t be ruled out”.
“If the rematch happens I would think Cardiff would have an outstanding chance of being our venue of choice, simply because it [holds] 80,000 people – it’s only beaten in size by Wembley – and it has a roof, which means we can do it at the appropriate time around November,” he said.
“The only doubt I would say is that boxing is a strange business and you never know what happens in terms of we have an agreement in place, but sometimes we have to make sure that agreement is honoured.
“Secondly, because it’s now a huge fight this rematch – with the upset of the century – you can’t rule out that it doesn’t take place outside the UK.”
Republicans ready to quash Trump immigration pick
The fight over Ken Cuccinelli’s potential nomination to head U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is again pitting the president against his own party in Congress. | Matt Rourke/AP Photo
congress
The GOP-led Senate is relishing the chance to derail the nomination of Trump’s immigration pick.
Ken Cuccinelli has spent years attacking Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans. Now, it’s time for payback.
President Donald Trump wants Cuccinelli, who most recently led the anti-establishment Senate Conservatives Fund, to be director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. But there may be nobody in Washington whom McConnell and his allies would take more pleasure in defeating, and the bottom line is Cuccinelli has little chance of getting approved for the job, Republican senators said.
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“He’s spent a fair amount of his career attacking Republicans in the Senate, so it strikes me as an odd position for him to put himself in to seek Senate confirmation,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who ran the GOP’s campaign arm for two election cycles. “It’s unlikely he’s going to be confirmed if he is nominated.”
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Senate GOP’s chief vote-counter, called the bid “a long shot,” adding, “They’ll go forward with it or they won’t, but I will suspect he’ll have plenty of obstacles once he gets here.”
The nascent nomination fight is again pitting the president against his own party in Congress. Just this spring, because of strong and very public opposition from Senate Republicans, Trump yanked his two preferred picks for the Federal Reserve’s board of governors before they even had been formally nominated.
And immigration has been a particular sore spot: Every leadership position at the Department of Homeland Security related to immigration is filled only by people serving in an acting capacity — and White House officials are mulling the prospect of having Cuccinelli do the same.
And immigration has been a particular sore spot: Every leadership position at the Department of Homeland Security related to immigration is filled only by an individual serving in an acting capacity — and White House officials are mulling the prospect of having Cuccinelli do the same.
Some senators are still hoping to persuade Trump not to formally nominate or appoint Cuccinelli, but if the president goes through with it, the former Virginia attorney general likely will be either rejected or blocked from a floor vote entirely.
White House officials said Cuccinelli, always spoiling for a fight, is enthusiastic about another clash with McConnell. In a statement for this story, Cuccinelli showed no signs of backing down.
“My focus right now is on achieving President Trump’s immigration goals. It would certainly be my hope that senators’ primary interest is in the accomplishment of policy rather than politics,” he said.
The pushback against Trump’s attempt to install an immigration hard-liner to run the country’s legal immigration system is the climax of Senate Republicans’ yearslong battle with Cuccinelli and his organization, which has tried to oust GOP incumbents in favor of more conservative challengers. Cuccinelli joined in 2014, shortly after McConnell trounced Senate Conservatives Fund-backed opponent.
Cuccinelli also has taken aim at some of the senators needed to confirm him — calling on McConnell to resign as majority leader, backing Roy Moore in Alabama’s Senate race to the chagrin of the GOP rank and file, and criticizing the record of Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) as a “major disappointment.”
“You’re always held to what you’ve said,” Burr said when reminded of Cuccinelli’s criticisms.
Though Cuccinelli was initially slated to be the Trump administration’s immigration czar, a position the president considered creating to oversee and coordinate immigration policy, the White House changed plans in late May. And even if he never actually takes charge at USCIS, White House officials said simply being discussed for a position that requires Senate confirmation could lend additional heft to an alternative role.
Trump has occasionally floated contentious appointments to Senate Republicans — including McConnell — with no intention of nominating the individuals, according to sources familiar with his remarks. He’d then tell aides he was doing so only to make subsequent nominees seem more palatable.
Whether the president is dangling Cuccinelli’s nomination in the same spirit is unclear, but Trump officials signaled his elevation after McConnell publicly panned Cuccinelli in remarks to reporters in April.
On Tuesday, McConnell reiterated in a brief interview his strong “lack of enthusiasm” for Cuccinelli.
“It seems to me to be very difficult [to confirm him], based upon what I have read that McConnell says. I get the opinion that McConnell is not going to bring it up,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said. “So if McConnell’s not going to bring it up, it ain’t going to come up.”
Grassley predicted Cuccinelli will be temporarily installed in an acting role. If Trump wants to avoid a fight with the Senate GOP, he may seek to install Cuccinelli at USCIS in an acting capacity, according to two current and former DHS officials with knowledge of the process.
Cuccinelli’s elevation itself is a blow to Grassley, whose former staffer Francis Cissna was ousted from USCIS despite Grassley’s pleas to keep him amid Trump’s broader purge of the Department of Homeland Security.
Grassley said Cissna was “trying to do everything Trump wants done but doing it in a lawful way. It seems to me we’re a government based on the rule of law. You ought to respect people who are trying to abide by it.”
USCIS, which oversees the country’s immigration and naturalization system, is led by acting Director Mark Koumans, who took the helm this month after Cissna was pushed out. The possibility that Cuccinelli could serve a long period of time as an acting official wouldn’t be unprecedented. Thomas Homan — a former ICE official — led that agency for a year and a half.
The Cuccinelli nomination reflects the persistent bind Trump has faced when it comes to immigration. Senate Republicans are reluctant to confirm the sorts of people who share his views, such as Cuccinelli and Kris Kobach, a former Kansas secretary of state who was considered as a replacement for former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
Trump’s preferred Federal Reserve picks, Stephen Moore and Herman Cain, were scuttled by GOP resistance. And Cuccinelli could be headed for the same buzz saw, though one Senate Republican worried “then we get Kris Kobach, who’s probably worse.
“I don’t know why the president keeps putting these people out without just making a few phone calls and saying: ‘Can you confirm this person?’” the senator said.
Yet those like Nielsen who have gained Senate approval have quickly fallen out of favor with the president and his top immigration adviser, Stephen Miller.
And not all senators share leadership’s view. Some came to the Senate after the peak of Senate Conservatives Fund’s power earlier this decade.
“It’s the president’s call,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said. “I do worry sometimes that we’re going in a direction more where the only people that can be considered for appointments, you have to be computers or live in a cocoon or have never been active. That’s not realistic.”
Cramer was one of the leading opponents of Cain’s elevation to the Fed, which cratered in April. But he said that job is different than USCIS: “It’s not just the person but the position you consider them for.”
Ted Hesson contributed to this report.
Rafael Nadal to face Roger Federer in French Open semi-finals
| 2019 French Open |
|---|
| Venue:Roland Garros, ParisDates:26 May-9 June |
| Coverage:Live text and radio commentary on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app. |
Roger Federer set up a French Open semi-final against defending champion Rafael Nadal by overcoming fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in four sets.
Shortly before Federer won, Nadal completed a 6-1 6-1 6-3 win over Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals.
But 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer endured an energy-sapping three hours and 17 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen to win 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
“The complete dream would be to win the tournament,” said Federer, 37.
“But I’m very happy, number one, to be back in another semi-final of a Grand Slam. It hasn’t happened in the last year or so. I had some tough losses in fourth rounds or quarters.
“So from that standpoint, I exceeded my expectations here.”
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Both quarter-finals were interrupted by a thunderstorm in Paris.
Federer is playing at Roland Garros for the first time in four years, having missed the 2016 event with a back injury and skipped the past two clay-court swings to preserve his body.
He faced the toughest test of his clay comeback so far against Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, who had progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time since losing in the 2017 French Open final.
Federer, the third seed, dropped his first set of the tournament and only converted two of his 18 break points, although the second of those – in the ninth game of the fourth set – proved decisive.
“Stan has had some tough years with injuries,” added Federer, who is into the last four of the competition for the first time since 2012.
“I had to break his rhythm because he’s so powerful. I took some risks and they came off but I was pretty lucky at the end.”
‘Playing Roger will be a special moment’
Nadal, 33, is into his 12th semi-final at Roland Garros and has won the tournament on all of the 11 previous occasions he has reached this stage.
He cruised through in one hour and 51 minutes against Japanese seventh seed Nishikori, who had been taken to five sets in his previous two matches.
“The way that I have been playing is, being honest, very positive,” said Nadal. “I have been playing well, very solid.
“Having Roger in front in the semi-finals is an extra thing. We shared the most important moments of our careers together on court facing each other.
“So it is another episode of this, and I’m happy for that and excited. It will be a special moment.”
He will now meet Federer, who won his only title at Roland Garros a decade ago, for the 39th time on Friday, having won all of their previous five meetings at the tournament, including the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 finals.
Nadal also boasts a 23-15 head-to-head record against the Swiss, but it is Federer who has been victorious in their past five matches.
- Live scores, schedule and results
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Mexico and Canada build a playbook for navigating Trump
“What we are doing is, prepare and keep a strategy of how to coexist with what is sometimes unpredictable. That’s our obligation,” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
It was a jubilant day for North America. At least, it looked that way to leaders in Mexico City and Ottawa.
Steel tariffs had just been lifted across the continent. Relieved Canadians had responded by introducing a bill to implement USMCA, the Trump administration’s signature trade deal, and Mexico had just followed suit on Thursday. Vice President Mike Pence was in Ottawa to celebrate the progress and cheer on America’s neighbors.
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Within hours, the moment of continental comity blew up with two tweets from President Donald Trump.
Trump’s sudden declaration of new tariffs on Mexico last Thursday evening delivered immediate whiplash, a jolt for two countries that had — for a moment — thought they might be coming off the Trump roller coaster.
“It’s never over,” said one Canadian official, describing the constant drama of life dealing with Trump.
Officials in Mexico and Canada in recent days kicked into gear with playbooks they’ve each used repeatedly in navigating a fractious relationship with Trump over the past two years. They’re deploying lessons other nations have come to learn as well: stay calm, speak the American president’s language and find Trump-friendly voices who can lean on him to deescalate the tensions.
Both countries also have learned to lean on each other with an informal support network to plot strategy and shape a shared action plan to keep Trump’s America First approach from destroying America’s two allies next door.
“What we are doing is, prepare and keep a strategy of how to coexist with what is sometimes unpredictable. That’s our obligation,” Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Tuesday.
“It’s impossible for Mexico to control” what unpredictable actions the Trump administration may take in the future, he added, but “we are going to be ready.”
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday in London, Trump said it’s “likely” the 5 percent tariff on all Mexican imports will go into effect June 10, even though U.S. and Mexican officials have not yet had a formal meeting to work on a solution.
Trump officials, including Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, will meet with Mexican officials on Wednesday at the White House to discuss the situation, including Trump’s demand to prevent migrants from entering the United States from Mexico.
America’s neighbors have tried to project calm, insisting publicly that USMCA remains unaffected by the latest tariff twist.
Officials have mostly maintained the confident line that the agreement will still be ratified. The more candid ones acknowledge, however, that tensions created by the fresh tariffs could stall ratification.
“In Mexico, we’re going to continue” with USMCA, Mexico’s Undersecretary for North America Jesús Seade said Tuesday. “In the United States, I don’t know what they can do” with the tariffs threat right now. The new pact “is a little in waiting,” he added.
Current and former Mexican officials said the tariffs might create a new roadblock to an already precarious situation with House Democrats, who have specified they want changes to the deal before they approve it.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats were already upset with Trump earlier last Thursday over his administration’s decision to send a draft statement to Congress that paves the way for moving forward on a vote for the USMCA. Democrats largely viewed the move as an effort to increase pressure for them to pass the deal quickly.
Pelosi and top House Democrats met with Ebrard on Tuesday afternoon for a “constructive and candid discussion” about the replacement deal for NAFTA and Trump’s tariffs threat, a spokesperson for Pelosi said.
Mexican officials held meetings across Washington this week with key Trump administration officials, such as acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
They’ve also turned to Twitter to broadcast how they’re trying to talk Trump down from the tariffs — a move one former Mexican official called “trying to speak in Trump’s language.”
Mexico is prepared with a plan A and plan B, just in case. One is a proposal for how to tackle illegal migration at the border, and the other is a plan that’s expected to include targeted retaliation on American goods.
Mexico has not offered details on either proposal. But it has specified that while it wants to work out a deal with the U.S., it will not sacrifice Mexico’s dignity.
Trump’s sudden move has already helped to unite Mexico’s business leaders and lawmakers in support of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Top Mexican lawmakers and business leaders are also in Washington this week for meetings with their U.S. counterparts to ensure that the Mexican government’s message is clear: Tariffs are bad for both economies and for the long-standing alliance between the two nations.
“We’re trying to remind Trump and his administration that we’re their ally — not an ‘abuser,’” a Mexican official said, nodding to Trump’s tweet on Sunday that Mexico has been an “abuser” of the United States, “taking but never giving.”
The Canadians prepared long ago for life with Trump, shuffling their cabinet to deal with the new president in2017. They even staffed a rapid-response unit within the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that operateslike a campaign war room, dedicated to crises caused by the U.S. president.
The challenges with Trump have forced Mexico and Canada to lean on each other regularly, strategizing around how to handle a U.S. leader well accustomed to attacking long-time allies.
In public, Canadian officials insist the latest standoff is a bilateral issue between the U.S. and Mexico. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrysia Freeland reiterated Monday the Canadian view that it doesn’t affect USMCA implementation.
But they’re still talking quietly behind the scenes. Freeland and Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez had a Friday evening phone chat to discuss how to navigate the latest crisis out of Washington.
Their informal mutual support network has generally been reliable, despite a few hiccups along the way.
Both countries worked together through the renegotiation of NAFTA over the past two years. Their common front only broke late in the negotiation, leading to one heated argument between Canadian and Mexican officials last year about which country had betrayed the other by cutting side deals with the U.S.
But this year they stood in lockstep over steel tariffs, with a new government leading Mexico.
Mexico could have had a tariff lift sooner, butrefused to go alongwithout Canada.
In recent weeks, López Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s governments worked together with top U.S. lawmakers to get the message out that Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs needed to be lifted after months of deadlock.
López Obrador had instructed Seade to negotiate with Lighthizer to pull back the tariffs as quickly as possible to clear the path for USMCA passage. The Mexican leader has repeatedly expressed a desire to put the trade pact behind him so he can focus on domestic issues and bring certainty to investors in Mexico.
With that mandate, Seade met with Lighthizer over three weeks for intense discussions to end U.S. tariffs.
That’s when Seade and Lighthizer phoned Freeland to set up individual meetings with her to discuss the potential deal.
“Her conflict was really with the United States. It was a bilateral issue. But, you know, we’re in a deal together,” Seade said when the deal was announced.
Seade and Márquez headed to Canada three days later to present the deal with the United States.
During that trip, the Mexican and Canadian officials then discussed how lifting the tariffs would create momentum for passage of USMCA in their respective legislatures.
Freeland had already been in close contact with Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) about the need for the Trump administration to lift the duties to clear a path for ratification in all three countries. She also promised help for Mexico in implementing its landmark labor reform, which U.S. Democrats and their union allies are watching closely.
Freeland met the following day with Lighthizer in Washington and the steel tariffs were quickly lifted on both countries.
That brought two weeks of relative peace in the North American neighborhood.
The mood remained all positive before the head-spinning plot twist with the latest tariffs on Mexico that threatened to blow everything up once again.
Last Thursday, Pence had just left a celebratory feeling in Ottawa when both countries heard about new tariffs. Two Canadian officials said it never came up in Pence’s meeting with Trudeau.
“It surprised everyone,” one senior Canadian official said.
Andrew Restuccia contributed to this report.