Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul: What’s behind the celebrity boxing craze?
Mike Tyson, the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion who has recently recovered from a stomach ulcer, is set to face 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a boxing match the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday. With an eye-watering $40m up for grabs in the fight’s “purse” and no title belts on the line, the showdown, which has been approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, has drawn condemnation from the boxing community for being a product of celebrity culture that some see as devaluing the art of this sport. Friday’s match marks the latest in a string of recent unorthodox matchups involving celebrities and former professionals. How did we get to a point when a former professional recovering from ill health will face off against a man 31 years his junior in a boxing ring — and potentially draw millions of viewers around the world? When did the celebrity boxing craze begin? The concept of a celebrity boxing match has been around for decades, but until recently, it had been limited to charity events and short-lived novelty TV shows. The quality and intensity of these matches ranged wildly from an unexpectedly feisty matchup in 2002 between UK comedians Ricky Gervais and Bob Mortimer to a tepid but symbolic bout in 2015 between US Senator Mitt Romney and five-times world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield. In 2017, the then-UFC lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, broke with convention when he fought boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr in a crossover fight that was billed, “The Money Fight”. Mayweather was guaranteed $100m and McGregor $30m for the fight. Non-disclosure agreements meant the final payouts have not been published, but reports from the fighters’ camps afterwards suggest the payouts were much higher than anticipated. That same year, an amateur boxing event in London pitted YouTube influencers against each other with a headline fight between KSI – a 31-year-old British influencer and musician, and Joe Weller, 28, also a British influencer and musician. That started a trend with Jake Paul, who made a name for himself by posting prank videos online, facing off against KSI the following year and then against Mayweather in a 2021 exhibition match. Logan Paul, in the red-white-and-blue shorts, and KSI, in black-and-red shorts, exchange punches during their pro debut fight at Staples Center on November 9, 2019, in Los Angeles, California [Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images via AFP] Why do celebrities and ex-professionals want to step into the ring? Jake Paul has been clear about his priority – money. “I’m here to make $40m and knock out a legend,” he told a news conference in August. Friday’s match will be exclusively televised by the streaming service Netflix, a move that has hiked up payouts in the realm of blockbuster professional boxing matches. For example, the undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk pocketed about $45m from his last fight against British boxer Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia in May. It will certainly mark a considerable increase from Paul’s last fight against British boxer Tommy Fury in which, according to reports, Paul took home approximately $3.2m. Duke McKenzie, a former British boxer who has won world titles in three weight classes, told Al Jazeera that, unlike Paul, Tyson’s motivation is likely not just money. “It’s his ego, nothing more, nothing less,” he said adamantly. Tyson could find many other ways to make money, including using his fame to endorse products, indicating that the former boxer is driven by a desire to relive past glories, McKenzie said. The fight had been originally scheduled for July 20, but it was pushed back after Tyson suffered a stomach ulcer flare-up. This condition, coupled with his age, has McKenzie concerned that the former champion is putting his ego before his health, he said. “What we’re looking at is an old, shock-worn warrior who, unfortunately, still wants to relive his past. “I wish he could walk away from the sport with his head held high, but his ego won’t let him.” Razor Ruddock connects with a right to the chin of Mike Tyson during their heavyweight bout at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Friday, June 29, 1991. Tyson won with a unanimous decision [Reed Saxon/AP Photo] What else is fuelling the craze for celebrity boxing? In 2023, the trend of celebrity fighting reached new levels when Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla founder and owner of social media platform X, Elon Musk, appeared to agree to a “cage fight”. Musk took to his own platform to announce that, following conversations with Italy’s prime minister and culture minister, “they have agreed on an epic location”, adding, “everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome”. Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. ‘Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X,’ Musk wrote in a post on X on August 6, 2023. ‘All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.’ [File: Manu Fernandez, Stephan Savoia/AP] Although the match never came to fruition, the episode demonstrated how popular the concept had become. “The process of becoming extremely wealthy is a cutthroat kind of competition which unleashes a kind of hyper-masculinity,” Caroline Knowles, a sociologist and Global Professorial Fellow at Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera. She said that the same drive – an intense will to succeed in the business world – lends itself to entering the same high-stakes, competitive world of combat sport. In her book, Serious Money: Walking Plutocratic London, Knowles studied the behaviour of the super-rich in London. She said that during her research, she found that activities most people would have considered hobbies would be taken much more seriously by those in the hyper-competitive world of multimillionaires and billionaires. She recalled speaking with Russian oligarchs who were interested in mountain climbing, always “trying to push the limit” and competing to see who could reach the world’s highest peaks. Knowles added that the hubris of being in a wealthy elite can make someone believe they can do anything, including stepping into an octagon cage or fighting
For embattled Tiktok, Trump offers hope of a reprieve
As United States President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, TikTok could be in line for a reprieve from the very leader who led the charge to ban the embattled video-sharing platform. Under a law signed by US President Joe Biden in April, ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the wildly popular app, was given nine months to divest its stake in the company or face a ban on national security grounds. The deadline for the sale – January 19 – is the day before Trump’s inauguration. On the campaign trail, Trump, who signed an executive order seeking to ban the app during his first term, pledged to “save TikTok” but neither he nor his transition team have disclosed further details about what this might mean for ByteDance. The president-elect potentially has several options, although he would not be able to overturn the law enforcing the ban on his own, according to legal experts. Originally passed in the US House of Representatives as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a shorter version of the ban was tacked onto a Senate bill approving foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Shortly after it was signed into law, ByteDance initiated a lawsuit arguing that the ban violates the freedom of speech of 170 million American users of the app. “For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide,” the company said in the lawsuit. ByteDance did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment. The lawsuit is expected to take years to conclude and is further complicated by the fact that a ban would involve the participation of Google and Apple, which offer TikTok in their app stores, and Oracle, which hosts the app in the US. Anupam Chander, an expert on global tech regulations at Georgetown Law in Washington, DC, said that Trump could ask the US Congress to empower him to negotiate a different arrangement with ByteDance and TikTok that takes security concerns into account. “I think many politicians would prefer that TikTok not go dark in the US in January. After all, some 170 million Americans continue to use the app, even after the government told them it’s a national security threat,” Chander told Al Jazeera. “And yes, even if TikTok stops working for a while because TikTok’s owners won’t sell at a fire sale price, Trump could convince Congress to change the law to bring it back.” David Greene, the civil liberties director of the US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), said Trump could also instruct the US Justice Department to drop or modify its defence in the lawsuit with ByteDance or instruct the US Department of Commerce not to enforce the law. The incoming president could also choose to do nothing and let the ban stand, Greene said. “There’s a fair chance he still doesn’t stick to his offhand comment that ‘I’m going to reverse the TikTok ban’ because he tends to change his mind about these things or he gets talked into changing his mind,” Greene told Al Jazeera. “You may recall he was the one who issued the initial TikTok ban. He did it by executive order [in 2020], which was overturned by the courts, but he was very much of the belief that TikTok posed a national security threat,” he added. The EFF was one of dozens of civil liberties and freedom of speech organisations that opposed a ban on TikTok, arguing that it posed no greater threat than other social media platforms. Critics of the TikTok ban also say that rather than targeting a single social media company, the US needs laws protecting data privacy similar to those passed by the European Union. Much of the concern around TikTok has focused on its Chinese ownership and fears that Beijing could use the app to harvest data on millions of Americans or find a secret back door into their devices. Proponents of a ban also argue that Beijing could use the platform to carry out influence campaigns aimed at subverting US democracy. US-based apps, however, are also capable of harvesting massive amounts of user data, which they can in turn sell to data brokers and then on to intelligence agencies and other buyers. ByteDance attempted to mollify US lawmakers with its $1.5bn “Project Texas” initiative, which created a dedicated US subsidiary to manage American data on US soil with the assistance of US tech company Oracle. Despite the concession, many US officials remain suspicious of the app and its Chinese ownership amid a growing bipartisan consensus that Beijing poses a threat. TikTok has already been banned or otherwise restricted in numerous countries, including Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Somalia, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Restrictions also exist in the US for government employees and at agencies in individual US states. Despite the threat of a US ban, the sale of TikTok had seemed unlikely to many observers from the start because it would mean giving away access to the app’s secret – and some argue, addicting – algorithm. It is also unclear whether Beijing would allow such a sale to go ahead. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 994
As the war enters its 994th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, November 15: Fighting A Russian air attack struck a residential building and power installations in and near Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, killing one person, injuring eight and knocking out a boiler plant used for heating, Ukrainian officials have said. A small Russian assault group briefly broke through to the outskirts of Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kupiansk for the first time since September 2022, in a sign of mounting pressure on the Ukrainian outpost. Ukraine’s military said its troops were still in full control of the rail hub and their forces had stopped the Russian advance. Russian forces have captured the village of Voznesenka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defence. The Ukrainian military has said it shot down 21 out of 59 Russian attack drones launched overnight on Thursday. A mother and her child are evacuated by the Vostok SOS organisation from Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, to safer areas on Thursday [Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu] Russian affairs International affairs Russia is open to negotiations to end the Ukraine war if initiated by United States President-elect Donald Trump, but any talks need to be based on the realities of Russian advances in the conflict, according to Gennady Gatilov, Moscow’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva. Trump has chosen Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who lacks security and intelligence experience and is seen as soft on Russia and Syria, as the US’s new director of national intelligence. The decision has sent shockwaves through the national security establishment given the 43-year-old is seen as sympathetic to Russia in its war on Ukraine. Germany needs to step up its role in defence if the US focuses less on Europe, the country’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said, adding it did not make sense to present a debt-free Germany that is less capable of defending itself to President Putin. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a test of suicide drones and ordered mass production of the aerial weapon, raising questions as to whether he is receiving technical help from Russia to develop the weapons amid warming military ties with Moscow. The foreign ministers of Poland, France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine will meet on November 19 in Poland’s capital Warsaw to discuss topics including Trump’s re-election and the war in Ukraine. President Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed developments in the conflict in Ukraine when they spoke this week, the Kremlin has said, declining to provide further details. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump’s US election leaves Ukraine scrambling for EU military assistance
Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory on November 5 has cast a sharp spotlight on what military and financial assistance Ukraine could expect from the European Union. Trump last year pressed United States lawmakers to delay a $61.4bn military aid package to Ukraine, and claimed he would end the Ukraine war “in a day” if he won. Ukraine was also concerned that the delivery of weapons promised under the administration of President Joe Biden be fulfilled before the handover of power on January 20. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said the US had delivered 83 percent of munitions, 67 percent of critical air defences, and 60 percent of firepower capabilities committed to Ukraine under defence packages between April and mid-October. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that he did not expect the start of Trump’s presidency to change the US position on Ukraine. (Al Jazeera) But Trump has demanded that EU member states which are also NATO members raise defence spending to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and threatened to let Russia do “whatever the hell it wants” with them if they refuse, suggesting US backing for NATO, and potentially Ukraine, would be conditional under his presidency. That has raised questions about the extent of European military autonomy and political will to continue supporting Ukraine with or without a supportive administration in Washington. EU external affairs chief Josep Borrell told European Pravda that the bloc would deliver a million artillery shells by the end of the year. Those shells were promised in spring 2023 for delivery last spring. “We almost did it. We have already delivered more than 980 thousand shells, and very soon we will deliver one million shells,” Borrell said. Shells purchased from around the world under a Czech initiative will have provided another half million artillery rounds by year’s end, he said. In addition, Borrell said, EU production capacity had now ramped up to a million shells a year. Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian missile attack in Kryvyi Rih, in the Dnipropetrovsk region [Danylo Antoniuk/Reuters] The EU has spent 122 billion euros ($129bn) supporting Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Should US aid come to a halt, the EU could hand over to Ukraine $300bn in Russian assets under management in the EU, and calls increased in the past week to do so. The EU has so far agreed to give Ukraine only the profits from those assets, fearing retaliatory effects on the bloc’s currency. Ukraine has received a first instalment of 400 million euros ($425m). At a meeting of EU directors of defence policy in Brussels on Tuesday, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Serhiy Boyev asked the EU to rush a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.6bn) tranche of profits from frozen Russian assets promised this year, for investment in Ukraine’s defence industrial base. (Al Jazeera) There was also renewed pressure on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to break ranks with the cautious US policy not to use Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia, and supply Ukraine with 500km-range (310-mile) Taurus missiles, which could strike Russian airfields. “I think it is right, unchanged, that I have made my contribution to ensuring that there has been no escalation. And I would like to make it clear, that the country that is doing the most in Europe to ensure that Ukraine is not left alone and is supported is also a country that must ensure that an escalation does not occur,” Scholz told the Bundestag or lower house of the German parliament on Wednesday. Striking airfields would deprive Russia of its ability to launch heavy glide bombs, one of its most effective weapons against Ukrainian front lines. A grim situation on the front lines Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesman for Ukraine’s southern defences, on Saturday said Russia was intensifying the use of glide bombs in the south. “In October, the Russians used about 500 guided aerial bombs in the southern direction, specifically on Ukrainian positions and on populated areas near the line of combat,” he said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday morning that Russia dropped 800 glide bombs across the entire front in the previous week – a rate he first reported in the first week of October – which computes to more than 3,000 glide bombs a month. In addition, Russia typically launches some 1,600 kamikaze drones and 80 missiles into Ukraine each week, Zelenskyy has said. Ukraine’s armed forces said the Russian strategy was also continuing to bomb civilian areas in Kharkiv with glide bombs to demoralise the population. A Ukrainian counter-invasion in the Russian region of Kursk last August had produced a lull in bombardment. “In the last few weeks, the enemy has started using guided aerial bombs again, said Volodymyr Degtyarev, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Guard. “Mostly in the city, on civilian infrastructure, mainly in the evening or at night, although there are also daytime shellings.” (Al Jazeera) Ukraine’s defenders continued to be under intense pressure throughout the front in the past week, with the Russian hammer falling hardest on Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, front-line towns west of Donetsk city. Ukraine’s General Staff reported 125 combat clashes on Monday, most in the direction of Pokrovsk, with Kurakhove remaining a “difficult situation”. Zelenskyy sent reinforcements to those two directions, but it appeared that by Tuesday Russian troops were advancing along Zaporizkyi Street in northeast Kurakhove. One of Ukraine’s greatest concerns has been Russia’s ability to absorb losses of men and armour in this war. Colonel Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Siversk group of forces, told a telethon that Russian assaults typically started with armour, followed by waves of infantry at 10-15 minute intervals, a tactic which led to high attrition rates for the Russians. Russian assaults have clearly been bloody, with Russian casualties last week at 9,800, according to Ukraine’s Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Pavlyuk – confirming the daily rate of about 1,400 casualties observed since June. Yet reinforcements have kept coming, leading Ukraine
Meta fined 798 million euros ($846m) for breaking EU antitrust rules
EU says Meta automatically ties its ad service – Facebook Marketplace – to Facebook, creating an unfair advantage. The European Union has hit technology giant Meta with a fine just shy of 800 million euros for what it called “abusive practices” involving its Facebook Marketplace online classified ads business. The EU’s European Commission issued the fine of 797.72 million euros ($846.13m) on Thursday. It accused Meta, which owns social media platform Facebook, of marketplace practices that give its own ad service an undue advantage over competitors. The advantage stems from Meta automatically tying its ad service – Facebook Marketplace – to Facebook, creating a “substantial distribution advantage”, according to the commission. “All Facebook users automatically have access and get regularly exposed to Facebook Marketplace whether they want it or not,” it said. Additionally, it said Meta imposed unfair conditions on other classified ads service providers who advertised on Facebook and Instagram, enabling it to “use ads-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace”. Meta contended it did not “use advertisers’ data for this purpose” and has “built systems and controls to ensure that”. “It is disappointing that the Commission has chosen to take regulatory action against a free and innovative service built to meet consumer demand,” said Meta, adding it would comply with the commission’s order to end the offending conduct but also appeal. The fine is the latest in a string of hefty penalties that the commission, which regulates the 27-nation European Union, has imposed against Big Tech companies over their practices in recent years. It ranks among the 10 largest antitrust fines. The penalty takes into account the “duration and gravity of the infringement”, as well as the turnover of Meta and Facebook Marketplace, said the commission. Meta’s total revenue last year stood at around 125 billion euros ($133bn). Meta’s dominant position in the market for personal social networks comes with a special responsibility not to abuse it by restricting competition, according to the EU. Adblock test (Why?)
What does a second Trump presidency mean for Big Tech?
US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to reshape tech industry policy. Donald Trump had promised to curb the influence of Silicon Valley during his first presidency, which began in 2017. His relationship with tech leaders was marked by tension back then. He’s now won the United States presidential election for a second time, and those same executives have rushed to congratulate him on his victory. Big Tech’s wealth and power have exploded since his first term. But the industry has faced a crackdown through antitrust lawsuits under President Joe Biden. Trump’s return to the top job could signal policy changes. Spain’s floods, what’s the cost of climate inaction? Plus, why are big oil companies leaving Nigeria? Adblock test (Why?)
Sri Lanka parliamentary elections 2024: What’s at stake?
Sri Lankans will cast ballots in a snap parliamentary election on Thursday, months after electing a Marxist-leaning president in the Indian island nation’s first election since the 2022 economic meltdown and political crisis. The election was called by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who won the September election after blaming the country’s traditional ruling elite for the economic collapse that led to the country defaulting on its loans. Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) alliance has just three seats in the outgoing parliament, but opinion polls give the bloc an edge over parties that have ruled the island nation since its independence in 1948. Here’s a look at the significance of the elections and how they could affect Dissanayake’s political vision for the country of 22 million. What time does the election start in Sri Lanka? Polls open between 7am (01:30 GMT) and 4pm (10:30 GMT) local time. How do parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka work? An independent body called the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) oversees the election. There are 225 seats in the unicameral parliament, and all of them are up for grabs this election. All members are elected for a five-year term. But 29 out of 225 seats are decided indirectly through a national list. Each party or independent group contesting the election submits a list of candidates for the national list. The number of national list candidates for each party is chosen based on the number of votes they win. Retired commissioner-general of elections, MM Mohamed, explained the process to the local publication, EconomyNext, in 2020. According to the publication, the formula applied for the number of national list candidates for a party is: the number of votes won by the party divided by the number of total votes cast, multiplied by 29. A party needs to secure 113 seats to secure a win in the parliament. There are 17 million registered voters out of Sri Lanka’s 22 million population, according to the ECSL. Voting will be conducted at 13,421 polling stations across the country, according to the ECSL. Votes are cast with paper ballots, and voters are required to show valid identification, such as a National Identity Card (NIC), passport, driving licence, senior citizens identity card, government pensioners’ identity card or identity card issued to clergy. Police, army and other public servants who cannot cast their votes in person on election day vote through postal ballots in advance. What’s at stake? Dissanayake, who has been critical of the “old political guard”, has pledged to abolish the country’s executive presidency, a system under which power is largely centralised under the president. The executive presidency, which first came into existence under President JR Jayawardene in 1978, has been widely criticised in the country for years, but no political party, once in power, has scrapped it until now. The system has in recent years been blamed by critics for the country’s economic and political crises. Dissanayake has promised to fight corruption and end austerity measures imposed by his predecessor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as part of the bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “At stake is the ability of newly-elected President Dissanayake to pursue the ambitious agenda that won him election in September,” Alan Keenan, a senior consultant on Sri Lanka for the Belgium-based think tank International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. Dissanayake’s NPP alliance would need a parliamentary majority to pass laws and requires a two-thirds majority to bring constitutional amendments. He played an active role in the 2022 protests against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s rule. Tens of thousands took to the streets when inflation skyrocketed and a foreign exchange crisis led to fuel and food shortages. Rajapaksa was forced to flee, after which Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as president. He lifted the country out of bankruptcy but at a cost to the common people. Wickremesinghe’s $2.9bn IMF deal led to a rise in the cost of living for Sri Lankans. He was also criticised for protecting the Rajapaksa family – a charge he has denied. “The people have great expectations for ‘system change’, including holding politicians accountable for corruption. But there is also a major debate happening about the economic trajectory,” Devaka Gunawardena, a political economist and research fellow at the Social Scientists’ Association in Sri Lanka, told Al Jazeera. “The question is whether Sri Lanka can get itself out of the debt trap while protecting people’s livelihoods, which have been devastated by the crisis and austerity,” he said. While Dissanayake was critical of the IMF deal and campaigned to restructure the deal, he has since announced – especially after an October meeting with a visiting team from the international lender – to stick to the deal. He has, however, sought “alternative means” to the severe austerity measures introduced by Wickremesinghe, and told the IMF team that his government would aim to provide relief to those Sri Lankans who have been worst affected by increased taxes. “This election is also about whether the NPP can consolidate its electoral gains in order to explore alternatives, such as redistribution and a shift towards local production,” Gunawardena said. Which parties hold seats in the current Sri Lankan parliament? In the current parliament, which was elected in 2020: The right-wing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), also known as the Sri Lanka People’s Front of the Rajapaksa family, holds a majority with 145 of the 225 seats. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) of leader Sajith Premadasa holds 54 seats. The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), the largest Tamil party, has 10 seats. Dissanayake’s NPP has only three seats. Other smaller parties hold the remaining 13 seats. Dissanayake dissolved this parliament on September 24 this year. Which party is expected to win the parliament? Political analysts predict that Dissanayake’s NPP would win a majority, having gained popularity since the presidential election. “The NPP is almost certain to do well – the only question is how well. Most observers – and the limited polls available – suggest they will win a majority,” Keenan, from the
FBI raids home of Polymarket CEO
CEO Shayne Coplan accuses Biden administration of targeting company over its perceived political associations. Authorities in the United States have raided the home of the chief executive of Polymarket, a betting platform that drew widespread attention for strongly favouring Donald Trump to win the presidential election. The Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant on CEO Shayne Coplan at his Manhattan home on Wednesday. The New York Post, which first reported the raid, said that Coplan, 26, was roused from bed at 6am by federal agents who demanded he turn over his phone and other electronic devices. In a post on X, Coplan accused the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden of making a “last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents”. “We are deeply committed to being non-partisan, and today is no different, but the incumbents should do some self-reflecting and recognise that taking a more pro-business, pro-startup approach may be what would have changed their fate this election,” Coplan said. Coplan added that Polymarket had provided “value” to tens of millions of people during the election campaign, while “causing harm to nobody”. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The raid drew sharp criticism from a number of prominent figures in the tech world. “What the f**** is wrong with this administration,” Brian Armstrong, the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, said in a post on X, using an expletive. “This will backfire – they just made Polymarket even more powerful.” Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is set to co-lead a Department of Government Efficiency in Trump’s incoming administration, also weighed in, writing on X: “This seems messed up”. Founded in 2020, Polymarket allows users to place bets on upcoming events ranging from election outcomes to sport results and weather patterns. Polymarket blocked US users in 2022 after reaching a $1.4m settlement for failing to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, though it is possible to get around the ban by accessing the site using a VPN. The platform gained attention ahead of the election after giving Trump strong odds of beating Vice President Kamala Harris, despite opinion polls showing the race to be a dead heat. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump picks loyalist Matt Gaetz of Florida as US attorney general
United States President-elect Donald Trump has announced that Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, 42, will serve as his attorney general, a role that doubles as the country’s top prosecutor and the head of the Department of Justice. Trump announced the nomination in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, citing Gaetz’s background as a lawyer and as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. He also indicated that Gaetz’s nomination would be part of his agenda to rout the government of perceived rivals. Trump has long accused Democrats of “weaponising” the Justice Department against him, an allegation he revisited in Wednesday’s announcement. “Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponization of our Justice System,” Trump wrote in his statement. “Matt will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans’ badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.” A Trump loyalist, Gaetz celebrated his nomination on social media, calling it an “an honor to serve as President Trump’s Attorney General”. Earlier in the day, the US representative also echoed the president-elect’s remarks about perceived bias in the government. “We ought to have a full court press against this WEAPONIZED government that has been turned against our people,” Gaetz wrote. “And if that means ABOLISHING every one of the three letter agencies, from the FBI to the ATF, I’m ready to get going!” A fractious choice Gaetz’s ascent to the post, however, is by no means assured. As a nominee for a cabinet-level post, the firebrand Gaetz will have to pass what is sure to be a contentious confirmation vote in the US Senate. Republicans will take control of the Senate in January, but many in the party view the far-right Gaetz as an unlikeable careerist. Gaetz took a central role in splintering the Republican Party last October when he led an effort to topple former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The ouster triggered weeks of uncertainty in the House, which struggled to elect a replacement for McCarthy. While Gaetz portrayed himself as an anti-establishment insurgent willing to take on powerful forces within his own party, some Republicans viewed McCarthy’s ejection as a publicity stunt meant to elevate Gaetz’s profile. One of his fellow Republicans from Florida, Representative Carlos Gimenez, even told the publication Politico that Gaetz is politically isolated even in his own home state. “Gaetz maybe has a couple of friends in the delegation,” Gimenez said in 2023. “But I’m not one of them.” Trump’s priorities But Gaetz’s selection as attorney general is the latest indicator of the ideas and priorities that could define Trump’s second term in office. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently spoke of retribution against political rivals and officials who criticised him or refused his demands, including some related to his efforts to illegitimately overturn his loss in the 2020 election. “Well, revenge does take time. I will say that,” Trump told TV host Phil McGraw in June. “And sometimes revenge can be justified, Phil. I have to be honest.” Trump has also frequently bashed the Department of Justice for its role in pursuing two of the four criminal indictments he faced. Led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, federal prosecutors charged Trump with crimes related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his refusal to surrender classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021. In response, Trump has called the Department of Justice the “Department of Injustice” and accused it of trying to sabotage his re-election campaign in 2024. “All of these FAKE POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS (PERSECUTIONS!) OF CROOKED JOE BIDEN’S POLITICAL OPPONENT MUST BE IMMEDIATELY HALTED!” he wrote on Truth Social in February. Legal troubles By aiming to place Gaetz as the head of the department, critics believe Trump is signalling that personal loyalty is central to his incoming administration. The choice of Gaetz also elevates a fellow Republican who, like Trump, has faced an investigation from the Department of Justice. In recent years, allegations have surfaced that the Florida lawmaker offered gifts to underage girls for sex. Gaetz has firmly denied the accusations. In February 2023, the Department of Justice concluded an investigation into the matter without bringing charges. McCarthy, meanwhile, responded to the allegations by calling Gaetz “a smart guy without morals” that “no one can stand”. Nevertheless, the House Ethics Committee has continued its investigation into allegations that Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and drug use. In September, Gates said that he would no longer cooperate with the “uncomfortably nosy” committee and described the investigation as a “political payback exercise”. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump taps foreign policy hawk Marco Rubio to lead US State Department
Putting an end to days of speculation, United States President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Florida Senator Marco Rubio to lead the State Department under the incoming administration. The choice of his former political rival had been rumoured for days and signals the new administration’s commitment to a hawkish foreign policy. A Cuban American known for his hardline views on China and staunch support for Israel, Rubio would be the first Hispanic American to serve as Washington’s top diplomat if confirmed to the role. “Marco is a Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom,” Trump wrote in a statement announcing his choice on Wednesday. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.” In a post on X, Rubio said that he is honoured “by the trust President Trump has placed in me”. “Under the leadership of President Trump we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else,” he added. Leading the U.S. Department of State is a tremendous responsibility and I am honored by the trust President Trump has placed in me. As Secretary of State, I will work every day to carry out his foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump we will deliver peace… — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 13, 2024 Trump also tapped former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence, a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights and securing peace through strength,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard is a veteran who served for more than two decades in the Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. But she does not have the typical intelligence experience of past officeholders. She sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 on a progressive platform and her opposition to US involvement in foreign military conflicts. After leaving the Democratic Party, she became increasingly critical of President Joe Biden and his administration and grew popular among conservatives, often appearing on far-right TV and radio shows, where she became known for supporting isolationist policies and showing disdain for “wokeness”. President-elect Donald Trump and former US Representative Tulsi Gabbard embrace, joined by Tucker Carlson, onstage at a campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point USA [Carlos Barria/ Reuters] From ‘Little Marco’ to Secretary of State Since his election to the Senate in 2010, Rubio has staked out a reputation for holding hawkish views on US adversaries such as China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. He has also staunchly backed Israel’s war in Gaza, telling a peace activist last year that Hamas was “100 percent to blame” for the deaths of Palestinians in the enclave. “I want them to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on,” Rubio said in a confrontation with Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin in December. “These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes, and I hope you guys post that because that’s my position.” Rubio currently serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Foreign Relations. His relationship with Trump has shifted significantly since the two first faced off in the 2016 presidential primary, and Rubio appears to have adapted his views on issues such as the war in Ukraine and immigration policies to Trump’s. In 2016, Trump famously mocked Rubio’s physical stature, branding him “Little Marco”. For his part, Rubio derided his rival, calling him “Small Hands Trump”. Compared to his soon-to-be boss, Rubio is more of a traditional interventionist when it comes to foreign policy, advocating for a muscular approach to foreign conflicts while Trump’s foreign policy has focused on avoiding military interventions abroad. This has, at times, moved Rubio to publicly criticise Trump’s foreign policy, including in 2019 when he accused the then-president of “abandoning” the US military effort in Syria before it was “completely finished”. Rubio heads a group of like-minded Cuban Americans in Congress seeking to prod US foreign policy in Latin America in a more conservative direction. “The tyrants in Havana, Caracas and Managua will not sleep today,” wrote a fellow Cuban American Republican from Miami, Representative Carlos Gimenez, in a post on X. “Their days are numbered. Their time is up.” Aligning with Trump However, in recent years, experts said, Rubio has softened his stance to fall in line with Trump. “Rubio is a flexible and pragmatic politician who has accommodated himself to the rise of President Trump,” Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera. In the initial months after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, for instance, Rubio took to social media to fervently rally support for Ukraine among Americans. He labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin “a killer” and questioned his mental health – a significant departure from Trump’s at times deferential approach to the Russian leader. In recent interviews, Rubio has suggested Ukraine needs to seek “a negotiated settlement” with Russia, and he was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a military aid package for Ukraine that passed in April. But some Trump loyalists view Rubio with suspicion. Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reported that there has been an “uproar” among some of the president-elect’s staunchest supporters over Rubio’s appointment. “He’s seen with great suspicion among the Trump base, but at the same time, he’s certainly charmed Donald Trump,” Rattansi said. Adblock test (Why?)