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Andrew Cuomo tries another run for mayor – this time as an independent

Andrew Cuomo tries another run for mayor – this time as an independent

NZ Herald15-07-2025
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Andrew Cuomo tries another run for mayor – this time as an independent
Andrew Cuomo. Photo / Getty Images
Former New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said on Monday that he is running for New York mayor as an independent, weeks after he was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary.
In a video circulated on social media, Cuomo, 67, thanked his supporters for voting for him and apologised for letting them down. But he went on to say that only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary and that he was 'in it to win it' in November.
He described Zohran Mamdani, the New York State Assembly member who won the Democratic primary, as having 'slick slogans and no real solutions'.
He repeated the argument he made during the primary that he was the candidate with the experience to implement the affordability agenda that Mamdani was promoting.
Just weeks ago, Cuomo lost by 12 percentage points to Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist who received more votes in a Democratic primary than any other candidate in the city's history. The upset stunned the Democratic establishment and seemed to herald the end of the Cuomo political dynasty. Before Cuomo was governor, his father, Mario Cuomo, held the position for 12 years.
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Violence is flaring again on the Thai-Cambodian border. Why is it so contentious?
Violence is flaring again on the Thai-Cambodian border. Why is it so contentious?

RNZ News

time11 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Violence is flaring again on the Thai-Cambodian border. Why is it so contentious?

By Helen Regan , Jessie Yeung and Kocha Olarn , CNN A Cambodian BM-21 multiple rocket launcher returns in Preah Vihear province from the Cambodia-Thai border as troops from both sides clash on 24 July. Photo: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource Explainer - Deadly violence has flared up once again on the contentious border between Thailand and Cambodia, reigniting a long-running but little-known dispute. Thailand deployed fighter jets against Cambodian military targets on Thursday, as forces from both countries clashed along the border. The escalation came after a second Thai soldier in a week lost their leg in a landmine explosion. Diplomatic relations have deteriorated as a full-blown conflict threatens to break out, as both sides accuse each other of aggression. Thailand's health ministry said Thursday that 12 people, including 11 civilians and one Thai soldier, have been killed in clashes with Cambodian troops. A further 31 people have been injured, the ministry said. Cambodian authorities have not yet reported any fatalities on their side. Here's what to know about the disputed border. Tensions worsened in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed during a brief clash between Thai and Cambodian troops in a contested border area of the Emerald Triangle, where Cambodia, Thailand and Laos meet. Thai and Cambodian forces said they were acting in self-defence and blamed the other for the skirmish. Although military leaders from Thailand and Cambodia said they wished to de-escalate, both sides have since engaged in saber-rattling and reinforced troops along the border. Thailand took control of border checkpoints, imposed restrictions on crossings and threatened to cut electricity and internet to Cambodia's border towns. Cambodia in return stopped imports of Thai fruit and vegetables and banned Thai movies and TV dramas. Recent landmine explosions prompted both countries to downgrade relations with each other and recall diplomatic staff. The first soldier lost his leg in a landmine explosion on July 16. The second incident occurred Wednesday, when a blast injured five Thai soldiers, with one losing his leg. Thursday's violence marked a significant escalation. Read more: Thailand and Cambodia have had a complicated relationship of both cooperation and rivalry in recent decades. The two countries share a 508-mile (817-kilometer) land border - largely mapped by the French when they controlled Cambodia as a colony - that has periodically seen military clashes and been the source of political tensions. Cambodia has previously sought a ruling from the UN's International Court of Justice over disputed areas, including the site of the most recent clash. However, Thailand does not recognize the ICJ's jurisdiction and claims that some areas along the border were never fully demarcated, including the sites of several ancient temples. In 2011, Thai and Cambodian troops clashed in a nearby area surrounding the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO world heritage site, displacing thousands of people on both sides and killing at least 20 people. The flare-up in May has had huge political ramifications in Thailand. Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from duties in July after the leak of a phone call she had with Cambodia's powerful former leader Hun Sen, in which she appeared to criticize her own army's actions in the dispute. Paetongtarn hails from a powerful dynasty and became Thailand's youngest prime minister last year, at just 38. She could face full dismissal over the 17-minute phone call - in which she appeared to signal there was discord between her government and the powerful Thai military. The scandal and her suspension brought fresh uncertainty to the Southeast Asian kingdom, which has been roiled by years of political turbulence and leadership shake-ups. Both sides' forces accuse each other of opening fire Thursday morning. Cambodia then fired rockets on Thai soil, Thailand said. A Thai fighter jet later dropped two bombs in Cambodian territory, Cambodia said. Cambodia's Defense Ministry condemned what it called "brutal, barbaric, and violent military aggression," accusing Thailand of violating international law. The ministry said a Thai F-16 had dropped two bombs on a road near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO world heritage site. "Cambodia reserves the right to lawful self-defense and will respond decisively to Thailand's violent aggression," the statement said, adding that the armed forces are "fully prepared to defend the kingdom's sovereignty and its people - whatever the cost." CNN has reached out to UNESCO for comment. Thailand's 2nd regional military command in the northeast said that F-16 fighter jets had been deployed in two areas, and it claimed to have "destroyed" two Cambodian regional military support units. Army spokesperson Col. Richa Suksuwanont said the strikes were aimed only at military targets. Thailand's acting caretaker, Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, said Cambodia fired heavy weapons into Thailand without clear targets, leading to civilian deaths. The acting premier also said the conflict was not spreading into more provinces, according to Reuters. He added that no negotiation with Cambodia can take place until fighting along the border ends. Other countries have also weighed in, urging restraint and warning travellers against approaching the contentious border. At a briefing on Thursday, US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters that the US is "gravely concerned" about the violence. "The United States urges an immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians, and a peaceful resolution of the conflicts," Pigott said. Additionally on Thursday, the United Kingdom's Foreign Ministry advised against "all but essential travel" within 50 kilometers of the Cambodia-Thailand border in either country. - CNN

Trump and Fed's Powell clash over Fed HQ renovation price
Trump and Fed's Powell clash over Fed HQ renovation price

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Trump and Fed's Powell clash over Fed HQ renovation price

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Ghislaine Maxwell grilled by US official amid Trump Epstein case furore
Ghislaine Maxwell grilled by US official amid Trump Epstein case furore

NZ Herald

time17 hours ago

  • NZ Herald

Ghislaine Maxwell grilled by US official amid Trump Epstein case furore

Earlier this week, Blanche said if Maxwell has 'information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say. In this handout, the mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein, 2019. (Photo) 'No one is above the law - and no lead is off-limits,' he said. Trump, 79, was once a close friend of Epstein and The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the President's name was among hundreds found during a DOJ review of the so-called 'Epstein files', though there has not been evidence of wrongdoing. Trump filed a US$10 billion ($16.5b) defamation suit against the Journal last week after it reported that he had penned a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. Maxwell is the only former Epstein associate convicted in connection with his activities, which right-wing conspiracy theorists allege included trafficking young models for VIPs. The meeting with Maxwell marks another attempt by the Trump administration to defuse anger among the Republican President's own supporters over what they have long seen as a cover-up of sex crimes by Epstein, who was a wealthy financier with high-level connections. 'Corrupt deal' Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said the meeting between Maxwell and a Justice Department official who used to be Trump's own lawyer smacks of a 'corrupt deal so that she can exonerate Donald Trump'. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said it raised a number of troubling questions. 'Is he really going as [deputy attorney general] or is he going de facto as Trump's personal criminal attorney, Tom Hagen style?' the senator said in a reference to the Corleone family lawyer in The Godfather. 'Will he promise her a pardon for silence, or for a Trump-friendly tale?' Whitehouse asked. Many of the President's core supporters want more transparency on the Epstein case, and Trump had promised to deliver that on retaking the White House in January. But he has since dismissed the controversy as a 'hoax' and a 'witch hunt' and the DOJ and FBI released a memo this month claiming the Epstein files did not contain evidence that would justify further investigation. Epstein committed suicide while in jail and was not murdered, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a 'client list', according to the July 7 FBI-DOJ memo. Seeking to redirect public attention, the White House has promoted unfounded claims in recent days that former President Barack Obama led a 'years-long coup' against Trump around his victorious 2016 election. The extraordinary narrative claims that Obama had ordered intelligence assessments to be manipulated to accuse Russia of election interference to help Trump. Yet it runs counter to four separate probes between 2019 and 2023 – each of them concluding that Russia did interfere and did, in various ways, help Trump. Epstein was found hanging dead in his New York prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited hundreds of victims at his homes in New York and Florida. – Agence France-Presse

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