List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

Nigerian labor unions called off protests and resumed talks with the government following demonstrations against what they called

Fewer Americans can afford to foot a $400 emergency expense compared with last quarter, according to a new

A parliamentary vote to select Thailand’s new prime minister expected on Friday was delayed again after a court put off a decision in a case involving the progressive party that won May's election, adding to growing uncertainty about when a new government can take office. The Constitutional Court on Thursday said it needs more time to deliberate on whether to accept a petition from the state ombudsman on whether it was constitutional for Parliament to bar Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, the surprise election winner, from being nominated as a prime ministerial candidate a second time. The progressive Move Forward Party finished in first place in the May election and assembled an eight-party coalition with 312 seats in the 500-member lower house. But Parliament has struggled to confirm a new prime minister, which requires a majority vote together with the conservative 250-member appointed Senate. Pita’s initial bid last month fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. He was barred from a second try the following week when Parliament voted that he could not submit his name again. Many senators, who were appointed by a previous military government, said they would not vote for Pita because of his party’s call to reform a law that makes it illegal to defame Thailand’s royal family. Critics say the law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, has been abused as a political weapon. The Senate’s members see themselves as guardians of conservative royalist values which hold the monarchy to be sacrosanct. Move Forward, whose agenda appealed greatly to younger voters, also seeks to reduce the influence of the military, which has staged more than a dozen coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, and big business monopolies. After Pita was barred from a second bid, several complaints were submitted to the state ombudsman asserting that the action violated the constitution. The complainants include private citizens and lawmakers from Pita’s party. When the case was filed to the court last week, Parliament postponed the vote but rescheduled it days later, although the court had yet to make a decision. The court said in a statement Thursday that it will meet again on Aug. 16 to decide whether to accept the petition. If accepted, the court could order the vote to be postponed until it issues a ruling. House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said the vote for a prime minister would be delayed pending the court's decision. He said Parliament will still convene on Friday to debate a Move Forward petition seeking an amendment of the military-enacted constitution to eliminate the Senate’s de facto ability to veto a prime minister candidate. Regardless of the court ruling, Pita's chances of being nominated again appear nil. Move Forward faces several legal challenges which its supporters see as dirty tricks deployed by its political opponents to cling to power. One of the cases, which accuses Pita of violating the constitution by running for office while allegedly holding shares in a media company, resulted in him being suspended from Parliament last month while Parliament was debating his second nomination. In the latest major blow, Pheu Thai, the second biggest party in the eight-party coalition, which took over the lead role in forming a government after Move Forward's two attempts, said Wednesday that Move Forward has been excluded because its platform to reform the royal defamation law made it impossible to rally enough support from other parties and the Senate. Chonlanan Srikaew, Pheu Thai's leader, said the party does not support Move Forward’s call to amend the law and will form a coalition with new partners and nominate its candidate, real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin, as prime minister. Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire populist who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. His daughter has announced that he plans to return on Aug. 10 following years of self-imposed exile to escape a prison term in several criminal cases which he has decried as politically motivated. The party’s plan to unveil its new coalition partners on Thursday was also postponed following the court’s announcement. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Pope Francis urges students in Portugal to fight economic injustice and protect the environment Adidas brings in $437 million from selling Yeezy shoes that will benefit anti-hate groups Israel's Supreme Court hears case against a law protecting Netanyahu from being removed from office

Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in court today to be formally arraigned on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election, in what marks his third – and potentially most serious – criminal case. The former president was indicted on four charges by a grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot. The indictment also described six unnamed co-conspirators, now believed to be identified. Mr Trump has been ordered to make an initial appearance in federal court in Washington DC on Thursday, while the case has been assigned to US district judge Tanya Chutkan, a Barack Obama-appointee. Mr Trump has railed against the indictment and is calling for the “fake” case to be moved from Washington DC. In a late-night Truth Social rant on Wednesday, the former president fumed that it is “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial” in the capital and demanded it be relocated to “the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia”. This is Mr Trump’s third criminal indictment and his second federal indictment. Read Trump’s indictment from the January 6 grand jury in full Read More When is Donald Trump’s arraignment? Should Trump go to jail? The 2024 election could become a referendum on that question Trump supporters falsely claim special counsel seeking death penalty in indictment over 2020 election Former prosecutor explains why Donald Trump was the main focus of the January 6 indictment

A New York City banker who was accused of raping a 14-year-old he pretended was his daughter has been hit with dozens of additional charges over the alleged abuse of three more victims. Michael Olson, 55, was remanded in custody on 15 June and was initially indicted with 17 charges, including the rape and drugging of the girl he met online. On Tuesday, he was hit with a superseding indictment with 75 counts of criminal charges on allegations of continuing to target young girls online after being released on a $1m bond in May, Manhattan assistant district attorney John Fuller said. Additionally, he faces 32 felony counts for possessing videos and pictures of a child performing sexual acts. “These 32 [counts] represent some of the most graphic and lewd images that he possessed,” Mr Fuller said in Manhattan’s Supreme Court, according to New York Post. The initial charges on Mr Olson were linked to a 14-year-old girl who authorities said was found in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room with Mr Olson after overdosing on cocaine and Xanax on 26 May. Authorities said they found sex objects like vibrators, handcuffs, rope, lubricant and condoms in the room which the accused said were gifts to the girl. The investigation revealed there were numerous other victims and he had hundreds of screenshots of Instagram accounts of Asian teenage girls who had posted about not being able to afford clothes. He had found the Instagram account of the 14-year-old girl in December after she posted about clothes being too expensive. He then sent her a gift card to buy clothes and paid her money to spend time with him. Prosecutors alleged he raped the girl repeatedly and paid $700 a week to engage in sexual conduct in the hostel room passing her off as her daughter to avoid suspicion. According to Mr Fuller’s statement to the court, 50 new charges against him involve not only selling drugs to another child, but also engaging in the solicitation of children for prostitution. Judge Ann Scherzer issued orders to bar Mr Olson from contacting the alleged victims. “The orders are going to remain under seal so no one can see the names because they are children. But you will see the names, and with respect to those individuals – you may not have any contact with them whatsoever. None,” she told him. Mr Oslon has pleaded not guilty. Proposing a plea deal, prosecutors told the court that he can get his jail sentence reduced to 25 years and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Jeffrey Lichtman, his defence attorney, said they were caught off guard by the additional charges involving the new alleged victims. “There’s no allegation of any more sexual contact with any new victims,” Mr Lichtman said. “I understand where the offer is coming from, but for a 55-year-old defendant, 25 years might as well be a 1,000 [years],” he said. Read More ‘I believe I was drugged and raped at a police station - I deserve to know who my attacker is’ Investigators recall surreal moments during years-long investigation in Mexico's missing students Oppenheimer fans point out ‘disturbing’ shot going unnoticed by many viewers

Infineon Technologies AG shares dropped the most in more than two years after the company’s fourth-quarter outlook raised

Next Plc raised its guidance for the second time in recent months after wet weather and sticky inflation

Turkish inflation ended its eight-month deceleration in July, putting it on track for a surge that the central

Rising rents for space in London’s West End helped offset the impact of soaring interest rates for landlord

Swiss inflation slowed to the lowest rate in one and a half years, testing the determination of Swiss

London Stock Exchange Group Plc expects income growth for the year to reach the upper end of its

Diversity, equity and inclusion programs were abolished Tuesday from Walt Disney World's governing district, now controlled by appointees of governor Ron DeSantis, in an echo of the Florida governor's agenda which has championed curtailing such programs in higher education and elsewhere. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said in a statement that its diversity, equity and inclusion committee would be eliminated, as would any job duties connected to it. Also axed were initiatives left over from when the district was controlled by Disney supporters, which awarded contracts based on goals of achieving racial or gender parity. Glenton Gilzean, the district's new administrator who is African American and a former head of the Central Florida Urban League, called such initiatives “illegal and simply un-American”. Gilzean has been a fellow or member at two conservative institutions, the James Madison Institute and the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, as well as a DeSantis appointee to the Florida Commission on Ethics. “Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal," Mr Gilzean said in a statement. "As the former head of the Central Florida Urban League, a civil rights organization, I can say definitively that our community thrives only when we work together despite our differences.” An email was sent seeking comment from Disney World. Last spring, Mr DeSantis, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, signed into law a measure that blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs. Mr DeSantis also has championed Florida's so-called “Stop WOKE” law, which bars businesses, colleges and K-12 schools from giving training on certain racial concepts, such as the theory that people of a particular race are inherently racist, privileged or oppressed. A federal judge last November blocked the law’s enforcement in colleges, universities and businesses, calling it "positively dystopian.” The creation of the district, then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was instrumental in Disney’s decision to build a theme park resort near Orlando in the 1960s. Having a separate government allowed the company to provide zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure services on its sprawling property. The district was controlled by Disney supporters for more than five decades. The DeSantis appointees took control of the renamed district earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and Mr DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.” As punishment, Mr DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Republican lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels. Disney sued Mr DeSantis and his five board appointees in federal court, claiming the Florida governor violated the company’s free speech rights by taking the retaliatory action. Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the district’s takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at @MikeSchneiderAP Read More Florida father tried to remove ‘Arthur’ book from schools because it could ‘damage souls’ DeSantis says DC jury would ‘convict a ham sandwich’ if it was Republican Republican National Committee boosts polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for 2nd debate Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide