List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

US president Joe Biden was in the UK this week to meet with prime minister Rishi Sunak at Downing Street and with King Charles III at Windsor Castle, keen to reaffirm that the “special relationship” between America and Britain remains as “rock-solid” as ever before jetting out to the latest Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The meetings also served to underline the difference in height between the men, with Mr Biden standing 6 feet (ft) tall and unavoidably towering over both His Majesty and Mr Sunak, who measure 5ft 8 inches and 5ft 6 respectively. The Democrat is of fairly average height for an American president, however, as there have been 13 occupants of the White House taller than him, including his former boss Barack Obama (6ft 1 ½) as well as John F Kennedy (6ft 1), Ronald Reagan (6ft 1), George Washington (6ft 1 ½), FDR (6ft 2), Bill Clinton (6ft 2 ½) and Donald Trump (6ft 3). The tallest man to hold the post was Abraham Lincoln, who measured 6ft 4 even without his signature stovepipe hat, which must have posed a persistent danger to the light fixtures during his time in the Oval Office . Mr Sunak’s relatively short stature was last in evidence when he posed for a photograph with Westminster’s tallest MP, Daniel Kawczynski, a 6ft 9 heap of Conservative. During his time as chancellor in March 2021, Mr Sunak posed for another picture in which he rather artfully positioned himself at the top of the stairs of No 11 brandishing the famous red Budget box, which forced his fellow Treasury ministers to line the steps below him, making them look far smaller. For the record, this is how the PM compares with his predecessors: Liz Truss (2022-22) – 5ft 5¼ Boris Johnson (2019-22) – 5ft 9 Theresa May (2016-19) – 5ft 6 David Cameron (2010-16) – 6ft ½ Gordon Brown (2007-10) – 5ft 11 Tony Blair (1997-2007) – 6ft Sir John Major (1990-97) – 5ft 11 Baroness Margaret Thatcher (1979-90) – 5ft 5 James Callaghan (1976-79) – 6ft 1 Sir Harold Wilson (1964-70, then 1974-76) – 5ft 8 Sir Edward Heath (1970-74) – 6ft Sir Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64) – 6ft Harold Macmillan (1957-63) – 6ft Sir Anthony Eden (1955-57) – 5ft 11 Winston Churchill (1940-45, then 1951-55) – 5ft 6 Clement Atlee – 5ft 7 Mr Sunak’s height makes him 1.96 inches shorter than the average adult man in Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics, which appears to be of greater concern when it comes to politicians than for the rest of us, particularly in America. But that does not seem to be the case in every country. France, for one, has remained admirably unflustered by the prospect of short statesmen, from Napoleon Bonaparte (5ft 5½) to Emmanuel Macron (5ft 8) by way of Nicolas Sarkozy (5ft 5) and Francois Hollande (5ft 7). Elsewhere, Angela Merkel and the late Silvio Berlusconi were both 5ft 5, President Lula of Brazil triumphed over Jair Bolsonaro at the polls last year despite being 5ft 4 to his opponent’s 6ft 1 and both Russia and Ukraine are currently led by men of just 5ft 7 in the shape of Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Bonaparte has, of course, lent his name – however reluctantly – to the “Napoleon complex”, a pop-psychological label commonly handed out to anyone thought to be overcompensating for their lack of height by behaving in an excessively assertive or domineering manner, which would certainly go some way towards explaining certain contemporary political figures like Mr Putin. In Spain, where the 6ft 6 King Felipe VI constantly requires press photographers to take a step backwards when he is gladhanding guests at official occasions, Jorge Francisco Santiago – a professor of politics at Madrid’s Camilo Jose Cela University – assured El Pais that there is no meaningful correlation between “centimetres and political success… because the vast majority of citizens understand that political competence, honesty, empathy or even charisma do not depend on something as superficial as height”. However, he acknowledged that there are “ingrained social perceptions or false generalisations” that tend “to associate height with virility, or attribute ambition, aggressiveness or cunning to short men” of which political advisers are aware and have to bear in mind on the campaign trail and during TV debates as they assess every detail in order to give their candidate the best possible chance of success. Professor Santiago advised readers of the newspaper to look out for low angles in campaign videos and on posters and for candidates wearing tight shirts or shorter ties as dead giveaways of efforts being made to conceal their height. He also warned taller candidates, citing 2004 US presidential candidate John Kerry as an example, not to stoop out of deference to a shorter opponent but to shamelessly make the most of the advantage they have, even if it is all only a matter of perception. Mr Kerry’s “unconscious gesture of humility hurt him, because it made him look uncomfortable in his own skin,” Professor Santiago observed. Ultimately, what damages candidates most appears to be their betraying that they themselves are preoccupied with the issue, as was the case with Mr Sarkozy or, more recently, with Republican presidential contender Ron DeSantis, who has already been ridiculed by Mr Trump for wearing heeled cowboy boots to appear taller. Writing about the “significance” of Mr Sunak’s stature when he took office last year, one GQ columnist wrote that the PM’s preference for trick photography tactics, presumably to project a greater aura of authority, meant that he had “betrayed short men”. “The reason Rishi has killed the era of the short king isn’t because he’s short and awful – although he is both. It’s because he has refused to own it,” said Imogen West-Knights. “Short men should be outraged at Sunak, who has spent his whole time in the political limelight trying desperately to distance himself from their ranks.” In Vilnius, he will run into world leaders of a range of sizes, from outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte (6ft 4), Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, both 6ft 2, to German chancellor Olaf Scholz (5ft 7) and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni (5ft 4). Mr Sunak should perhaps be thankful that Serbia is not yet a member of the alliance, given that its absence means he will not have to peer blinking upwards at the 6ft 6 frame of that country’s president, Aleksandar Vucic. Read More Zelensky hits out at lack of Vilnius summit timetable for Ukraine to join Nato How tall is Joe Biden? Heights of world leaders ranked as Nato gathers for summit What is Nato and why was it formed? Budget 2022: Hunt says UK in recession as he announces huge tax rises Jeremy Hunt increases energy windfall tax in budget Jeremy Hunt freezes tax allowances and hits 45p rate payers

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Susan Lorincz, the white woman accused of fatally shooting her Black neighbour, Ajike “AJ” Owens through the front door of her house, pled not guilty to a manslaughter charge on Tuesday. Last month Ms Lorincz, 58, was charged with manslaughter and assault in Marion County, Florida after shooting Ms Owens, 35, through her front door when Ms Owens knocked on Ms Lorincz’s door. Ms Owens, a mother to four, was trying to confront Ms Lorincz for allegedly calling her children racial slurs, taking their iPad and then throwing skates at her son when Ms Lorincz fired her gun. Authorities said Ms Lorincz and Ms Owens had a longstanding feud regarding Ms Owen’s children playing in an area next to Ms Lorincz’s home. On 2 June, Ms Owens went over to Ms Lorincz’s home to speak with her about the incident involving skate-throwing. Ms Lorincz then fired a bullet from within her home which went through the locked door and struck Ms Owens. The shooting occurred in front of her nine-year-old child. First responders’ attempted to keep Ms Owens alive and rushed her to a nearby hospital, but she did not survive her injuries. More follows Read More A Black mother confronted a neighbour for scolding her son. Then she was shot dead Body camera footage sheds new light on ‘racist’ who shot Black mother of four White woman charged after shooting through her door and killing Black mother in front of her son

Her first day as the chief prosecutor for Fulton County came with news that then-President Donald Trump attempted to pressure Georgia’s top election officials to reverse his loss in the state during the 2020 presidential election. A phone call between Mr Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger was published by The Washington Post late at night on 3 January, 2021. Hours later, Fani Willis would walk into her first day on the job as Fulton County’s district attorney, an office that is now spearheading a criminal investigation into Mr Trump, with the phone call serving as a central damning piece of evidence against him. For more than two years, her office has been investigating efforts to overturn election results in the state and the baseless allegations of widespread election fraud that fuelled them, adding to a long list of investigations and other legal consequences facing Mr Trump and others who rejected 2020 results. A grand jury seated on 11 July is expected to consider charges against the former president and his allies. She has previously indicated that any potential indictments could follow in August. The closely watched case against the former president could result in racketeering charges similar to those that Ms Willis has made a career out of bringing against dozens of others. An anti-racketeering RICO statute – typically used to prosecute members of the Mafia and break up organised crime – has been used by her office in indictments against more than two dozen people connected to a sprawling Atlanta hip-hop empire, 38 alleged gang members, and 25 educators accused of cheating Atlanta’s public school system. Such charges could also await Mr Trump, leaving Ms Willis in an unprecedented position of deciding whether to charge a former president – who is once again running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 – for a criminal offence. “It doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, Black, white, Democrat or Republican,” Ms Willis told CNN last year. “If you violated the law, you’re going to be charged.” ‘Get out of my county’ Ms Willis graduated from Howard University in 1992 and Emory University School of Law in 1996. She began her career in the Fulton County District Attorney’s office in 2001, with roles in nearly every division in the agency, and serving as lead prosecutor in more than 100 jury trials. She is the first Black woman elected to lead the count’s district attorney’s office. Last year, her office charged rappers Young Thug and Gunna and 26 others in a sprawling, 65-count RICO case following an 88-page grand-jury indictment characterising their YSL group as a “criminal street gang” behind 182 instances of gang activity and criminal conspiracies. Her office also led RICO indictments against 12 alleged members of the Bloods gang, including the rapper YFN Lucci, and 26 alleged members of the Drug Rich gang, connected to a gang string of robberies and home invasions across Atlanta. “I have some legal advice: Don’t confess to crimes on rap lyrics if you do not want them used,” she told reporters at a press conference last year. “Or at least get out of my county.” In a controversial case from 2014, she served as the lead prosecutor in a RICO case involving 35 Atlanta public school educators tied to an infamous cheating scandal, ultimately resulting in racketeering convictions against 11 of 12 people accused of manipulating students’ standardised test scores. As the county’s chief prosecutor, she has expanded her office’s gang unit and lobbied for passage of a statewide measure that would impose mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders and increase the power of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in an effort to crack down on gang violence. Following RICO charges against alleged members of the Drug Rich gang, accused of a series of high-profile robberies and shootings involving Atlanta’s wealthy, Ms Willis told reporters: “If you thought Fulton was a good county to bring your crime to, to bring your violence to, you are wrong and you are going to suffer consequences.” ‘Imminent’ charges Over the last two years, the Fulton County district attorney’s office has helmed a criminal probe into whether Mr Trump and his allies illegally interfered with the 2020 election in the state, which several recounts have confirmed President Joe Biden won definitively against Mr Trump. In January 2022, Ms Willis convened a special grand jury, a 26-member panel given subpoena power and investigative authority to interview witnesses and ultimately deliver a report, as per state law, that includes charging recommendations. The grand jury does not have authority to issue an indictment. It will ultimately be up to Ms Willis to determine whether to charge Mr Trump and others connected to her case. Her office sent letters to people connected to the so-called “alternate electors” scheme, including Georgia lawmakers and the chair of the Georgia Republican Party, and more than a dozen others who signed “unofficial electoral certificates” to subvert the Electoral College process and pledge the state’s votes for Mr Trump, who lost in Georgia. Central to the investigation is Mr Trump’s call on 2 January, 2021, which he made days before a joint session of Congress convened to certify Mr Biden’s victory, while those faithful to Mr Trump made last-ditch efforts to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the election’s outcome, or stormed the US Capitol in an antidemocratic show of force that has led to hundreds of federal prosecutions, including more than a dozen on treason-related charges. A list of grand jury witnesses included former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, US Senator Lindsey Graham and former Senator Kelly Loeffler, and five members of Mr Trump’s legal team, including Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and “fake elector” architect John Eastman, among several others. The grand jury investigation also looked into a phone call on 13 November, 2020 from Senator Graham to Mr Raffensberger, as well as Mr Trump’s own remarks to a rally crowd months after he left the White House in which he appeared to publicly brag that he had asked Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp to “help us out” and re-do the election. In all, the special grand jury heard from roughly 75 witnesses before dissolving in January. As a judge heard arguments on 24 January whether to publicly release the grand jury’s report, Ms Willis said that a decision from her office on whether to bring criminal charges was “imminent”. In a series of Truth Social posts during the hearing, Mr Trump continued to lie about the results of the 2020 election, defended his “perfect” phone call to Georgia officials, and baselessly alleged widespread vote manipulation. Judge Robert McBurney granted a partial release of the special grand jury’s report, which includes its introduction and conclusion and a section in which jury members expressed concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath. The recommendations to Ms Willis include “a roster of who should (or should not) be indicted, and for what, in relation to the conduct (and aftermath) of the 2020 general election in Georgia.” A partially released report shows that the jury unanimously agreed that “no widespread fraud took place” in Georgia’s election following interviews with election officials, analysis and poll workers. It also includes a recommendation to Ms Willis’s office to seek indictments for “one or more” witnesses who likely committed perjury, and it will ultimately be up to her office to “seek indictments where she finds sufficient cause”. The publicly released filing does not include witness names, names of people reccomended for indictments, or other reccomended charges. Asked on 13 Febrary how she feels about the judge’s decision to publicly release parts of the document, Ms Willis smiled and told reporters: “I’m pleased with it.” This story was first published on 15 February and has been updated with developments Read More ‘I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break’: The Georgia phone call that could bring down Donald Trump The 20 major lawsuits and investigations Trump is facing now that he’s left office Why Donald Trump’s phone call seeking to overturn Georgia election results was so damaging

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Donald Trump is now seeking to have his federal criminal trial delayed until after the 2024 election. In a court filing late on Monday, Mr Trump’s lawyers asked the judge for a lengthy delay to his classified documents case, saying that due to the extraordinary nature of the case it would not be possible to try it before the election. Mr Trump has been charged with 37 federal counts over his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. The filing was submitted just hours before a Georgia grand jury was slated to meet on Tuesday as part of the investigation into the efforts of the former president and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating Mr Trump after he called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early 2021 and urged him to “find 11,780 votes” to flip the state in his favour. As his legal troubles heat up, Mr Trump is lashing out at Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for staying neutral in the 2024 race. Other GOP presidential candidates including Ron DeSantis jumped to defend her from Mr Trump’s attacks. Read More Trump strains relations with Iowa Republicans with no-show at charity event Trump says ‘damaged’ DeSantis is ‘desperately trying to get out’ of 2024 race Trump’s encounter with Guy Fieri at UFC fight sparks mixed reactions Trump lawyer Alina Habba leaves his defence team in New York fraud case

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