Mozambique's former finance minister has lost a last-ditch legal appeal in South Africa and faces extradition to the United States over a $2 billion corruption scandal related to loans to Mozambican state-owned companies

As he launches his presidential campaign on Monday, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is officially wading into a GOP primary battle already largely dominated by two commanding figures: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Scott, the only Black Republican senator, will make his campaign announcement in his hometown of North Charleston after making it official last week with the Federal Election Commission. The late morning event is taking place at Charleston Southern University, Scott’s alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Then he'll spend Tuesday with donors in Charleston before a whirlwind, two-day campaign swing to Iowa and New Hampshire. Like others in the GOP race, including former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and “Woke, Inc.” author Vivek Ramaswamy, Scott will have to find a way to stand out in a field led by Trump and DeSantis, the latter of whom could announce his own bid as early as this week. But Scott's senior advisers note that political environments can shift over the course of a primary campaign, pointing to early in the 2016 race when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush were seen as the top GOP candidates before Trump became the party's nominee. One way Scott, 57, hopes to make his mark is by leaning into more optimistic rhetoric than his conservative rivals. With his Christian faith an integral part of his political and personal story, Scott often quotes Scripture at his campaign events, weaving his reliance on spiritual guidance into his stump speech and even bestowing the name “Faith in America” on his pre-launch listening tour. In terms of Scott's political strength, his team points to his most recent Senate reelection in November, when Scott defeated his Democratic opponent by more than 20 percentage points. Such overwhelming support in a state that votes early in the GOP's presidential nominating calendar bodes well for Scott's electability on a larger scale, his advisers say. There's also the matter of money. He will enter the 2024 race with more cash on hand than any other presidential candidate in U.S. history. He had $22 million left in his campaign bank account at the end of his 2022 campaign and plans to immediately transfer that to his presidential coffers. It's enough money, his team says, to keep Scott on the air with continuous TV ads in early voting states until the first round of votes next year. On many issues, Scott aligns with mainstream GOP positions. He wants to reduce government spending and restrict abortion, saying he would sign a federal law to prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy if elected president. But Scott has pushed the party on some policing overhaul measures since the killing of George Floyd, and he has occasionally criticized Trump’s response to racial tensions. Throughout their disagreements, though, Scott has maintained a generally cordial relationship with Trump, saying in his book that the former president “listened intently” to his viewpoints on race-related issues. When he was appointed to the Senate by then-Gov. Nikki Haley in 2012, Scott became the first Black senator from the South since just after the Civil War. Winning a 2014 special election to serve out the remainder of his term made him the first Black candidate to win a statewide race in South Carolina since the Reconstruction era. He has long said his current term, which runs through 2029, would be his last. Scott rejects the notion that the country is inherently racist and has repudiated the teaching of critical race theory, an academic framework that presents the idea that the nation’s institutions maintain the dominance of white people. “Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,” Scott has said. “It’s backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it’s wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present.” If Scott is successful, he would be the first Black person to win the Republican presidential nomination and the second elected to the presidency, following Barack Obama in 2008. In a video announcing his exploratory committee earlier this year, Scott positioned himself as the antidote to the “radical left: a self-made success story as the son of a single mother who overcame poverty. He also bemoaned Democratic leaders as needlessly dividing the country by fostering a “culture of grievance.” Other Republicans are still deciding whether to wade into the presidential race, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. President Joe Biden is seeking reelection, a decision that has largely cleared the Democratic field. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Haley vs. Scott: From South Carolina allies to 2024 rivals Who is Tim Scott? 5 things to know about the newest 2024 GOP presidential candidate Trump slams DeSantis as he welcomes Tim Scott to presidential race

Prosecutors say that superiors of the Massachusetts Air National guardsman charged with leaking highly classified military documents had raised concerns internally on multiple occasions about his handling or viewing of classified information

Former President Donald Trump will campaign Saturday in west-central Iowa as part of his fall push

Songwriter Cynthia Weil was honored during a music-filled memorial service in Beverly Hills

90min predictions for Women's World Cup last 16 games - including England, United States, Australia & Jamaica.

The game between the Boston Red Sox and New York was suspended in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Mets leading 4-3

By Stephanie Kelly and Andrew Hayley Oil prices rose on Tuesday for the fourth consecutive session, as weak

At least 667 people across France were arrested till Friday as Paris and other parts of the country burned for the third consecutive night over the killing of a 17-year-old boy. Riots broke out in and around the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where the teen of North African descent, identified as Nahel M, 17, was shot during a traffic check. Police and firefighters struggled to contain protesters and extinguish numerous blazes that damaged schools, police stations and town halls or other public buildings, the national police said. The police officer accused of shooting the teenager reportedly sought forgiveness from the boy’s family, his lawyer has said. Laurent-Franck Lienard told BFMTV: "The first words he pronounced were to say sorry and the last words he said were to say sorry to the family. "He is devastated, he doesn't get up in the morning to kill people. He didn't want to kill him." Mr Lienard said the officer had aimed down towards the driver’s leg but was bumped, which caused him to shoot towards his chest. “He had to be stopped, but obviously [the officer] didn’t want to kill the driver,” he said. The lawyer added that his client’s detention was being used to try to calm rioters. The officer was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide after prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude "the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met". The prosecutor said Nahel died from a single shot through his left arm and chest while driving off after being stopped by police. The officer alleged that he opened fire as he feared that he and his colleague or someone else could be hit by the car. Mr Prache confirmed that two motorcycle police noticed a Mercedes, with one young driver and two passengers travelling quickly in a bus lane at 7:55am on Tuesday. Police twice attempted to indicate to the car to pull over and park, but the driver continued driving and the two police pursued the vehicle. The Mercedes had to stop at a traffic light, at which point the police asked the driver to turn off engine and exit the vehicle. The police officers said they drew their weapons and aimed them at the driver to stop him from taking off in the vehicle. However, the driver did pull away at which point the police decided to shoot. A bullet hit the driver through arm and chest, and the car crashed. One of the passengers fled. Firefighters were called to the scene at 8:21am. They provided first aid to the driver which was unsuccessful. The shooting, which was caught on video, triggered clashes between police and young people in housing projects and other disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The teenager’s family and their lawyers have not said the police shooting was race-related and they did not release his surname or details about him. French president Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to hold an emergency government meeting later on Friday. “These acts are totally unjustifiable,” Mr Macron said at the beginning of Thursday’s emergency security meeting, which aimed at securing hot spots and planning for the coming days “so full peace can return”. Vehicles were set on fire in Toulouse and a tramway train was torched in a suburb of Lyon, police said. Bus and tram services in the Paris area were shut down before sunset as a precaution to safeguard transportation workers and passengers. A similar curfew was announced in Neuilly-sur-Marne. The unrest reportedly extended even to Brussels, the EU administrative home and Belgian capital city, where about a dozen people were detained during scuffles. Read More ‘This is war’: France burns amid angry protests after teenager shot dead by police in Paris suburb Who is Nahel? The teen shot dead by police in France French suburbs are burning. How a teen's killing is focusing anger over police tactics Where are the French riots and why are they happening? Who is Nahel M? The teen shot dead by police in France France burns for third night as cars torched over police shooting - live

'They definitely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it,' Amy Schumer said

Will the New York Mets trade Pete Alonso this winter? After discussing the move at the MLB trade deadline, is sure seems likely.Perhaps the Mets were just doing their due diligence. Maybe Billy Eppler and Steve Cohen will have a change of heart this offseason when Pete Alonso's contract and...

During ‘3rd Hour' segment, Sheinelle Jones found herself in a wardrobe mishap and begged producers to not pan the camera on her stained shirt