Latest news with #politicaltension
WIRED
05-06-2025
- Politics
- WIRED
Elon Musk Is Posting Through It
Jun 5, 2025 6:00 PM Donald Trump and Elon Musk are going to war—and giving everyone a front row seat. Photograph:Elon Musk is many things: billionaire, natalist, aspiring gamer. He runs gigantic companies and dreams of colonizing Mars. But above all, Elon Musk is a poster. And as his storied relationship with President Donald Trump dissolves in real-time, by god, he is posting through it. The resulting timeline—a chaotic, catty, incendiary voyage into the grievances of the world's richest man with the president of the United States—should be enshrined as a historical artifact, a front-row seat to the apparent end of an extraordinarily consequential partnership. Tensions between Musk and Trump had been steadily building, but they spilled into the open on Thursday. After Musk took repeated shots at the president's 'Big Beautiful Bill' and the trillions of dollars it will add to the deficit, Trump accused Musk of caring only about the removal of an electric vehicle credit that helps Tesla, and suggested their relationship had frayed. Then came Musk's many, many posts on X. Between 12:19 pm ET and 3:20 pm ET Musk fired off 49 posts, reposts, or replies. That's an average of one new missive every 3.5 minutes, over a three-hour stretch. It started simply enough. 'Whatever,' Musk posted to X at 12:19 pm ET. 'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill. In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both [sic] big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.' Less than half an hour later, after a few more innocuous posts and in response to a video of Trump saying he would have won Pennsylvania regardless of Musk's help, Musk went nuclear. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' he posted. From there, Musk played the hits: A bad pun ('Kill Bill'). Multiple 'crying laughing' emojis. A worthless quiz. Sympathetic retweets. The last few hours have been a sprint through Musk's posting playbook, well-honed through years of being X's owner and one of its most committed users. Trump posted too: 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' he wrote on Truth Social during Musk's meltdown. 'Elon was 'wearing thin,' I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Musk responded by accusing Trump of being in the Epstein Files. (As of this writing, he's still following that thread.) He also claimed that '@SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately,' which would deprive NASA of its preferred shuttle to the International Space Station. 'I don't mind Elon turning against me,' wrote Trump on Truth Social, 'but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.' The very public spat between the world's richest man and its most powerful leader shows no sign of slowing. The consequences of the falling out could also be astronomical: Musk is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and has proven that he's happy to deploy it to achieve his own political and personal has power to choke off many of Musk's companies from lucrative government contracts. It's an unprecedented moment that seems likely to lead to unpredictable places. But whatever twists it takes, there's at least some assurance that they'll happen out in the open.
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Taiwan is not ruling out 'political warfare' by China, coast guard says
TAIPEI, May 19 (Reuters) - Taiwan's coast guard said on Monday China could try to disrupt public morale on the island ahead of President Lai Ching-te's one-year anniversary this week, after images surfaced on social media of a person planting a Chinese flag on a Taiwan beach. China calls Lai, who completes a year in office on Tuesday, a "separatist", and has rebuffed his offers for talks. Lai rejects China's sovereignty claims over the democratic and entirely separately governed island, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future. Last week, Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said Beijing could hold more military drills to "stir up trouble" around the anniversary. On Sunday, images posted on Chinese social media showed a man who claimed to have sailed across the Taiwan Strait on a small boat landing on a remote beach and planting a Chinese flag, before returning to China. The video was later deleted. On Friday, Taiwan's coast guard said it had arrested two Chinese nationals after they sailed into Taiwan illegally on a rubber boat and landed on a beach on the island's northwest coast. Asked about the two incidents, Hsieh Ching-chin, deputy head of Taiwan's coast guard, said China has been taking the opportunity for a while now to carry out drills and use other pressure tactics. "It cannot be ruled out that on the anniversary of President Lai's inauguration, the Chinese communists will again use similar tactics and videos to engage in political warfare to disrupt the morale of our people," he told reporters. Hsieh said the video of the flag planting was indeed taken on the beach in Taiwan's Taoyuan, but whether by someone who crossed over from China, or was helped by someone in Taiwan to film it, was still being investigated. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Liberal mayor Dan beats nationalist in tense race for Romanian presidency
The liberal, pro-EU mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, has fought off a strong challenge from a Romanian right-wing nationalist to win the presidency after months of political turbulence. George Simion, the leader of the far-right AUR party, won a dramatic first-round victory earlier this month, riding a wave of anger from Romanians who had seen the presidential race annulled late last year because of claims of Russian interference. But it was the softly spoken Nicusor Dan who swept to victory, winning 55% of the vote in Romania, even though Simion was well ahead in the diaspora. "We need to build Romania together irrespective of who you voted for," said Dan, once his victory was secure. More than 11.6 million Romanians voted in Sunday's run-off, and Dan won the support of more than six million of them. The mathematician waited until after midnight on Sunday before he could be absolutely sure that the numbers were on his side and he could join his supporters in a park opposite City Hall in Bucharest. They went wild, chanting his name and cheering. At one point he was almost mobbed but this was a huge moment for the president-elect and for his supporters after months of political tension. "A community of Romanians who want a profound change in Romania won," he said. Romanians are broadly unhappy with the dominance of mainstream parties and the turbulence in this European Union and Nato member state intensified earlier this month when the government collapsed because its candidate had failed to make the second round. While Nicusor Dan campaigned on fighting corruption and maintaining support for northern neighbour Ukraine, Simion attacked the EU and called for cutting aid to Kyiv. "Russia, don't forget, Romania isn't yours," Dan's supporters chanted. Even though exit polls had given him victory, they did not include the all-important diaspora vote and Simion clung to the belief that he could still win. "I won, I am the new president of Romania and I am giving back power to the Romanians," he insisted initially. It was not until the early hours of Monday that he conceded victory on Facebook. A protest planned by his supporters was then apparently called off. During the election campaign Simion had stood side by side with Calin Georgescu, the far-right fringe figure who had stunned Romania with a first-round presidential victory at the end of last year, buoyed by an enormous TikTok campaign. The vote was annulled over allegations of campaign fraud and Russian interference and Georgescu was barred from running again. Russia denied any involvement. Asked by the BBC on Sunday whether he was acting as Georgescu's puppet, George Simion said: "The puppets are those who annulled the elections... I am a man of my people and my people voted for Calin Georgescu. "Do we like democracy only when the good guy has won? I don't think this is an option." He said he was a patriot and accused what he called the mainstream media of smearing him as a pro-Russian or fascist. The key to Simion's success in the first round was his extraordinary win among diaspora voters in Western Europe, including in the UK. His supporters turned out in force again on Sunday, with partial results giving him 68.5% support in Spain, 66.8% in Italy and 67% in Germany. He also had the edge in the UK, where voters said they would have picked Calin Georgescu if authorities had not barred him from running. "We didn't know anything about [Georgescu] but then I listened to what he was saying, and you can tell he's a good Christian," said 37-year-old Catalina Grancea. She had vowed to go back to Romania if Simion had won and her mother Maria said she too had voted for change: "Our children were forced to leave Romania because they couldn't find any jobs there." However, Nicusor Dan's voters came out in even bigger numbers both in Romania and abroad. In neighbouring Moldova 87% of Romanians backed the mayor of Bucharest. The presidents of both Moldova and Ukraine congratulated him on his victory. "Moldova and Romania stand together, supporting one another and working side by side for a peaceful, democratic, and European future for all our citizens," said Maia Sandu. "For Ukraine, as a neighbour and friend, it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner," said Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media that Romanians had turned out in massive numbers and had "chosen the promise of an open, prosperous Romania in a strong Europe". Will Romania vote take country away from European mainstream? The TikTokers accused of triggering an election scandal
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Romanian liberal mayor Nicusor Dan wins tense race for presidency
The liberal, pro-EU mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, has fought off a strong challenge from a Romanian right-wing nationalist to win the presidency after months of political Simion, the leader of the far-right AUR party, won a dramatic first-round victory earlier this month, riding a wave of anger from Romanians who had seen the presidential race annulled late last year because of claims of Russian it was the softly spoken Nicusor Dan who swept to victory, winning 55% of the vote in Romania, even though Simion was well ahead in the diaspora."We need to build Romania together irrespective of who you voted for," said Dan, once his victory was secure. More than 11.6 million Romanians voted in Sunday's run-off, and Dan won the support of more than six million of mathematician waited until after midnight on Sunday before he could be absolutely sure that the numbers were on his side and he could join his supporters in a park opposite City Hall in went wild, chanting his name and cheering. At one point he was almost mobbed but this was a huge moment for the president-elect and for his supporters after months of political tension."A community of Romanians who want a profound change in Romania won," he are broadly unhappy with the dominance of mainstream parties and the turbulence in this European Union and Nato member state intensified earlier this month when the government collapsed because its candidate had failed to make the second Nicusor Dan campaigned on fighting corruption and maintaining support for northern neighbour Ukraine, Simion attacked the EU and called for cutting aid to Kyiv."Russia, don't forget, Romania isn't yours," Dan's supporters chanted. Even though exit polls had given him victory, they did not include the all-important diaspora vote and Simion clung to the belief that he could still win."I won, I am the new president of Romania and I am giving back power to the Romanians," he insisted was not until the early hours of Monday that he conceded victory on Facebook. His supporters were planning a protest hours the election campaign Simion had stood side by side with Calin Georgescu, the far-right fringe figure who had stunned Romania with a first-round presidential victory at the end of last year, buoyed by an enormous TikTok vote was annulled over allegations of campaign fraud and Russian interference and Georgescu was barred from running again. Russia denied any by the BBC on Sunday whether he was acting as Georgescu's puppet, George Simion said: "The puppets are those who annulled the elections... I am a man of my people and my people voted for Calin Georgescu."Do we like democracy only when the good guy has won? I don't think this is an option."He said he was a patriot and accused what he called the mainstream media of smearing him as a pro-Russian or fascist. The key to Simion's success in the first round was his extraordinary win among diaspora voters in Western Europe, including in the supporters turned out in force again on Sunday, with partial results giving him 68.5% support in Spain, 66.8% in Italy and 67% in Germany. He also had the edge in the UK, where voters said they would have picked Calin Georgescu if authorities had not barred him from running."We didn't know anything about [Georgescu] but then I listened to what he was saying, and you can tell he's a good Christian," said 37-year-old Catalina Grancea. She had vowed to go back to Romania if Simion had won and her mother Maria said she too had voted for change: "Our children were forced to leave Romania because they couldn't find any jobs there." However, Nicusor Dan's voters came out in even bigger numbers both in Romania and abroad. In neighbouring Moldova 87% of Romanians backed the mayor of presidents of both Moldova and Ukraine congratulated him on his victory."Moldova and Romania stand together, supporting one another and working side by side for a peaceful, democratic, and European future for all our citizens," said Maia Sandu."For Ukraine, as a neighbour and friend, it is important to have Romania as a reliable partner," said Volodymyr Zelensky in Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media that Romanians had turned out in massive numbers and had "chosen the promise of an open, prosperous Romania in a strong Europe".
CNN
17-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Supporters of Bolivia's ex-leader Morales clash with police in push to secure his candidacy
Hundreds of supporters of ex-President Evo Morales marched toward Bolivia's top electoral court on Friday to push for their leftist leader's candidacy in presidential elections later this year, a rally that descended into street clashes as police tried to clear out a group of demonstrators. The confrontations come in response to a ruling by Bolivia's Constitutional Court that blocks Morales, the nation's first Indigenous president who governed from 2006 until his ouster in 2019, from running again in Aug. 17 elections. The turmoil escalates political tensions as Bolivia undergoes its worst economic crisis in four decades. As the march arrived in Bolivia's capital of La Paz, protesters seeking to register Morales' candidacy surged toward the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, chanting, 'Comrades, what do we want? For Evo to come back!' Security forces barricading a road to the court held them back. Police reported that the clashes between rock-throwing protesters and tear gas-lobbing police forces injured two officers, a journalist and a local merchant. 'They're using firecrackers and rocks that are hurting our forces,' said police Commander Juan Russo. 'This is not a peaceful march.' The authorities did not report on any injuries among the protesters, who were seen being pushed onto the ground, shoved into police cars and blasted with tear gas. Morales had promised to attend the march Friday but did not show up. The court's unanimous decision Wednesday upheld an earlier ruling that bans presidents from serving more than two terms. Morales has already served three, and, in 2019, resigned under pressure from the military and went into exile as protests erupted over his bid for an unprecedented fourth term. Morales returned to Bolivia a year later as the 2020 elections vaulted to power his preferred candidate, President Luis Arce, from his long-dominant Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party. Arce, who announced earlier this week that he would not seek re-election, insisted that the Constitutional Court had disqualified Morales, his mentor-turned-rival, from running in 2025. But many experts doubt the legitimacy of that decision in a country where political conflicts undermine the courts and presidents have maneuvered to get their allies on the bench. 'The Constitutional Court issues unconstitutional arbitrary rulings at the whim of those in power,' said Morales, who himself reaped the benefits of favorable judges while seeking to run for a fourth consecutive term in 2017. After Morales lost a referendum seeking to do away with term limits while still in power, the Constitutional Court ruled it would be against Morales' human rights to stop him from running for another term. That 2017 ruling allows Morales to register his candidacy, said Oscar Hassentoufel, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. 'Then the tribunal will decide whether he's eligible or not.' In defiance of the latest court ruling, Morales called a mass march that marshaled his loyal supporters in the rural tropics. They long have championed the Indigenous coca-grower for transforming the country during his tenure — redistributing Bolivia's natural gas wealth and seeking greater inclusion for its Indigenous majority. Although he had earlier promised to participate, it appeared that Morales remained holed up in his stronghold for fear of arrest on human trafficking charges that he claims are politically motivated. The government confirmed that fear Friday. 'We ask Mr. Morales to surrender voluntarily,' said Eduardo del Castillo, a key minister in Arce's government whom the MAS party endorsed for president later Friday in place of Arce. 'If we find him walking the streets, we will arrest him.' Instead, scores of his supporters walked the capital's streets on Friday wearing masks of Morales' face. 'Evo Morales is each and every one of us. If they want to detain Evo Morales they would need to take every one of us, too,' said David Ochoa, a representative of the marchers.
