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Trump Tweets Mock Video Showing Him Beating Man Labeled CNN

BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey — In his latest jab at the media, President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted a mock video that shows him pummeling a man in a business suit  his face obscured by the CNN logo  outside a wrestling ring.

It was not immediately clear who produced the brief video, which appears to be a doctored version of Trump’s 2007 appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The 28-second clip was posted on Trump’s official Twitter account, with the message: “#FraudNewsCNN #FNN.”

The president in the past has branded the media as “the opposition party” and “the enemy of the American people.” He has taken particular aim at CNN, calling the network “fake news.”

Trump stayed on the attack later in the day, stating on Twitter that “the dishonest media will NEVER keep us from accomplishing our objectives on behalf of our GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!”

Bruce Brown, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, condemned the video as a “threat of physical violence against journalists.” He said Trump’s tweet was “beneath the office of the presidency.”

A White House aide insisted the tweet should not send a chill across the media landscape.

“I think that no one would perceive that as a threat,” homeland security adviser Tom Bossert said. “I hope they don’t. But I do think that he’s beaten up in a way on cable platforms that he has a right to respond to.”

CNN accused Trump of engaging in “juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office.”

White House officials traveling with Trump during his weekend stay at his New Jersey golf club did not immediately respond to questions about who made the video or about any message the president might have intended to send.

The video appeared to be a doctored version of an appearance Trump made on a World WrestlingEntertainment Inc. show called “Battle of the Billionaires” in 2007, in which Trump appears to attack WWE CEO Vince McMahon.

McMahon’s wife, Linda, who founded and built the company with her husband, now heads the Small Business Administration for Trump and was a generous benefactor to his campaign.

The video was posted several days ago by a Reddit user with the title, “Trump takes down fake news.” It was not clear whether that was where it originated or where Trump found it. Still, the user wrote Sunday about being “honored” Trump had tweeted the video. The user who posted the video has a history of posts using anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant language.

The president’s verbal shots against news outlets and individual members of the media have grown increasingly personal in recent days even as lawmakers in both parties say the insults only threaten to undermine his political agenda.

Trump has singled out MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski and CNN for some of his most biting criticism, and hardly is backing down in the face of widespread condemnation from the political class.

“The fake media tried to stop us from going to the White House, but I’m president and they’re not,” Trump told a supportive crowd Saturday in Washington.

A White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, told reporters last week that Trump “in no way, form or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence.”

CNN, in its response to the video posted Sunday, said it was “a sad day when the president of the United States encourages violence against reporters. Clearly, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied when she said the president had never done so.”

CNN’s statement noted the weighty list of issues before Trump  an overseas trip this week that includes a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the stalled health care bill, the threat from North Korea. Instead of focusing on those matters, CNN said, “he is involved in juvenile behavior far below the dignity of his office. We will keep doing our jobs. He should start doing his.”

Trump’s latest tweet came as Republicans and Democrats have been imploring him to focus on leading the country, rather than exploding on social media.

For days, Trump has focused his ire on Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to call Brzezinski “crazy” and contend she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” when he once saw them at his Florida estate. The comment was decried as sexist and vulgar by many Democrats and Republicans.

The MSNBC personalities said Friday that Trump was lying about their December encounter and they questioned his “unhealthy obsession” with their program.

The hosts, who are a couple onscreen and off, also said the White House told them a damaging National Enquirer story about their relationship would “go away” if they called the president and apologized for harsh commentary. Trump quickly disputed the claim on Twitter.

Republican officials acknowledged Sunday that Trump’s Twitter feed distracts from work like health care.

“We in Washington, we in the country, cannot be focused on tweets,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., adding that “I get so frustrated when we get focused on tweets.”

Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, said he hoped Trump’s family would talk to him and say, “Knock it off.”

“The coarseness doesn’t help anybody,” he said.

Bossert and Kasich appeared on ABC’s “This Week.” Cassidy was on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Story: Catherine Lucey

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Arab Nations Extend Deadline in Qatar Crisis by 48 Hours

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, left, holds the hand of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani last month in Doha, Qatar. Photo: Associated Press

DOHA, Qatar — Arab nations extended a deadline early Monday for Qatar to respond to their list of demands in a diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf, saying Kuwait’s emir requested the delay as part of his efforts to mediate the dispute.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut off ties with 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar on June 5, restricting access to their airspace and ports and sealing Qatar’s only land border, which it shares with Saudi Arabia.

They issued a 13-point list of demands to end the standoff June 22 and gave the natural gas-rich country 10 days to comply.

The joint statement early Monday by the Arab nations said they expected Qatar to respond to their demands on Monday. The new deadline would expire late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

“The response of the four states will then be sent following the study of the Qatari government’s response and assessment of its response to the whole demands,” the statement said.

The four nations cut ties to Qatar over allegations it supports extremists and over worries it maintains too-close ties to Shiite power Iran. Qatar long has denied sponsoring militants and maintains ties to Iran as it shares a massive offshore natural gas field with the country.

“Qatar is not an easy country to be swallowed by anyone. We are ready. We stand ready to defend our country. I hope that we don’t come to a stage where, you know, a military intervention is made,” Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah told Sky News.

Qatar’s main QE stock index lost more than 3 percent when it reopened Sunday following a weeklong hiatus for the Eid al-Fitr holiday break  its first session since the demands were laid out. It eventually recovered some of its losses later in the trading session to close down 2.3 percent at 8,822.15.

Qatari supermarkets saw panic buying when the four countries initially cut ties. But the capital, Doha, was largely calm Sunday as residents waited to see how the crisis would play out.

Abdelaziz al-Yafaei, a Qatari out for an evening walk along the city’s bayside, said he was reassured that things would be fine, regardless of what happens over the course of the next days.

“We have a government, thank God, that is wise and knows how to provide for all of our needs, how to maintain security,” he said. “We have enough funds in the country, on the economic side. All of the affairs are headed for the better.”

Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, showed no signs of backing down in during a press briefing in Rome on Saturday, saying they were never meant to be accepted and that his country “is prepared to face whatever consequences.”

While in Rome, Al Thani met with Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, who gave his backing to ongoing mediation efforts led by Kuwait. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also tried to resolve the dispute, with the U.S. last week urging Saudi Arabia and its allies to stay “open to negotiation” with Qatar.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has separately spoken with the leaders of Qatar and Bahrain, urging direct dialogue among all the states involved, according to statements released by the Kremlin on Saturday.

Story: Maggie Hyde

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Vietnam Buffalo Fight Suspended After Animal Kills Owner

A woman herds water buffaloes in 2008 in Vietnam. Photo: Oceanik / Wikimedia Commons

HANOI — Authorities in northern Vietnam have suspended a traditional water buffalo fight after an animal attacked and killed its owner.

Do Van Viet, a local official in the resort town of Do Son where the fight took place, said the buffalo was killed and samples were taken to determine whether it had been given a stimulant.

Traditional buffalo fighting was halted during the Vietnam War and resumed 27 years ago. Viet said several buffalo have died in the fights that pit the animals against each other, but Saturday’s death was the first human fatality since the fights resumed.

Viet said the buffalo at first chased the owner of the second animal but failed to catch him and then turned on its owner, who died several hours later from multiple wounds.

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US Ship Sails by Disputed South China Sea Island, Raises Beijing’s Hackles

The USS Stethem (DDG 63) seen here in 2009 as it transits the Gulf of Thailand. Photo: Gabriel S. Weber / Wikimedia Commons

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Navy destroyer in the South China Sea sailed near a tiny island disputed by three Asian governments as part of an operation affirming the right to passage, a U.S. defense official said Sunday.

The Chinese government, which joins Taiwan and Vietnam in claiming Triton Island, accused the U.S. of trespassing in its territorial waters when the USS Stethem came within 12 nautical miles of the island.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet had no comment on China’s statement or specifics about the Stethem’s operations.

A U.S. defense official, who was not authorized to speak by name and requested anonymity, said the Stethem conducted a routine “right of innocent passage” exercise on Sunday.

Such exercises are used to bolster the argument that nations cannot claim that prior notice is required before passing through territorial waters as allowed under international agreement.

In a written statement, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the U.S. action constituted “a serious political and military provocation” and that such operations “violate China’s sovereignty and threaten China’s security.”

“The Chinese side will continue to take all necessary means to defend national sovereignty and security,” the statement said.

Story: Douglass K. Daniel

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Thailand to Welcome July With Showers, Hot Weather

Farmers sow their fields twice with rice seeds because of the heavy rain Wednesday in Surin province.

BANGKOK — Thailand will welcome July and the second half of the year with rain showers across the kingdom.

Similar to the past seven days, the country will see another half-week of rain, the Thai Meteorological Department said Monday. Bangkok will see a 40 percent chance of rain today, increasing to 60 percent Tuesday through Saturday. Temperatures in the capital are set to range from 24C to 37C throughout the week.

The weeklong rains will hit the northern and eastern parts of the country, Isaan region and Andaman coastal provinces especially hard, with a 70 percent chance of precipitation. Residents should exercise caution at the risk of heavy rains and flash floods.

The July rains are due to the southwestern monsoons and a low pressure system moving over northern Vietnam and Southern China.

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Kingdom to See Half-Week of Rain Ahead

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Aid Helicopter Crash Kills 8 After Indonesian Volcano Erupts

A Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin from the Chilean naval force similar to the model which crashed Sunday in Indonesia. Photo: Oscar.barrantes.cardenas / Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA — A rescue helicopter crashed while heading to help evacuate residents near an active volcano on Indonesia’s main island, killing all eight people on board, officials said Monday.

The helicopter crashed about three minutes before arriving at Dieng Plateau, the popular tourist area where the volcanic eruption Sunday injured at least 10 people. The aircraft reportedly hit a cliff on Butak Mountain in the Temanggung district of Central Java province.

All eight people on board were killed, said Maj. Gen. Heronimus Guru, deputy operations chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency. He told The Associated Press, “We are now at the Bhayangkara Hospital in Semarang,” the Central Java provincial capital where the victims’ bodies were taken.

Brig. Gen. Ivan Tito, director of operation and training at the search agency, told TVOne station in a live interview from Temanggung, that the victims were four navy officers and four rescuers. He also said the Indonesian-made Dauphin AS365 helicopter was airworthy.

The Sileri Crater at Dieng Plateau spewed cold lava, mud and ash as high as 50 meters (164 feet) into the sky when it erupted Sunday morning, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

The sudden eruption occurred while about 17 visitors were around the crater. Ten people were injured and were treated at a hospital.

Soldiers and police officers were dispatched and local residents and visitors were asked to evacuate in case of further eruptions, Nugroho said. The crater appeared to be quieter Monday morning, and all visitors to the plateau have been evacuated.

Sileri is the most active and dangerous among some 10 craters at Dieng Plateau. Its most recent eruption was in 2009, when it unleashed volcanic materials up to 200 meters (656 feet) high and triggered the creation of three new craters.

Dieng Plateau, located in the Central Java district of Banjarnegara, is a popular tourist attraction because of its cool climate and ninth-century Hindu temples. It sits about 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above sea level.

Some 142 people were reportedly asphyxiated in 1979 when the volcano spewed gases.

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10 Injured as Volcano Erupts on Indonesia’s Java Island

Mount Sinabung spews volcanic ash into the air, as seen from Berastagi, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo: Binsar Bakkara / Associated Press

JAKARTA — A volcano on Indonesia’s main island of Java has erupted, injuring 10 people.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho says the eruption of Sileri Crater at Dieng Plateau spewed cold lava, mud and ash as high as 50 meters (164 feet).

He says the sudden eruption occurred at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, when there were about 17 visitors around the crater. Ten people were injured and were being treated at hospital.

The Dieng Plateau in the Central Java province district of Banjarnegara is a popular tourist attraction because of its cool climate and ninth-century Hindu temples, located at an altitude of about 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above sea level.

Some 142 people were reportedly asphyxiated in 1979 when the volcano spewed gases.

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Trump’s White House All But Ignoring Spanish Speakers

A graphic examines the grammatical errors of the White House Spanish Twitter account. Photo: Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Trump White House no habla español. Well, un poquito.

After a succession of administrations that embraced Spanish-language content, President Donald Trump’s White House is all but ignoring Spanish speakers even though he has a robust online presence in English.

His administration has yet to offer a Spanish White House website. It has eliminated the position of director of Hispanic media outreach. And its Spanish-language Twitter account is heavy with English text and features sloppy translations.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in January that the administration had its “IT folks working overtime” to roll out a new Spanish language site after WhiteHouse.gov/espanol went dark in the hours after Trump took office.

“Trust me, it’s going to take a little bit more time, but we’re working piece by piece to get that done,” Spicer said at the time. More than five months later, the site still urges readers to “STAY TUNED.”

The White House’s Spanish twitter account, @LaCasaBlanca, is also far less active in the Trump era.

The account has tweeted just 41 times since Trump’s inauguration; more than one-third of those posts came on the day of his address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28. Of the 41 tweets, about half were written in English. The Spanish tweets are sprinkled with typos — 11 in all. While most mistakes are minor flubs such as missing accents, those accents often change the meaning of words significantly. For instance, they turn “medical” into “medicate” or “is” into “this.”

Notably, one of the first agencies to expand Spanish-language content during the Trump era has been U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency better known as ICE is responsible for carrying out deportations. Last month, it announced that it was expanding the Spanish section of its website and started a new Spanish twitter feed, @ICEespanol.

The White House director of media affairs, Helen Aguirre Ferre, said she expects a Spanishwebsite to launch later this year. She noted the Obama administration took nine months to launch its version, adding that “the priority remains to improve the English language website.”

She said there was no plan to hire a press officer solely dedicated to Spanish-language media at this time. She said she and another staffer in the communications operation are bilingual and conduct interviews in Spanish. Spanish-language media are also invited to participate in press briefings, background briefings and other events, along with their English-language colleagues, she said.

Former President George W. Bush began the tradition of a Spanish-language website. The Obama administration followed suit.

Luis Miranda, director of Hispanic media at the White House during the Obama administration, said the Obama-era Spanish-language website was not just a translation of the English site, but included information geared to Latinos on topics such as immigration, health issues, banking and veterans affairs.

“For us it was important that all of our constituents across the board were getting as much information as possible about what we were doing,” he said.

Still, the Obama White House received some criticism for using Spanglish in its initial website on his health overhaul.

Activists see the lack of Spanish content as part of a larger pattern by Trump and the administration.

“I believe they have written off the Latino vote as, ‘I’m never going to get it, so why should I even bother?'” said Luis A. Miranda Jr., a Democratic strategist who has worked for Democrat Hillary Clinton as well as Republican Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York. (The two Mirandas are not related.)

During his campaign, Trump turned off many Latinos with his harsh anti-immigration rhetoric. He criticized rival Jeb Bush for answering a reporter’s question in Spanish, saying the former Florida governor “should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.”

“We have a country, where, to assimilate, you have to speak English. And I think that where he was, and the way it came out didn’t sound right to me,” Trump said during one Republican primary debate.

Trump still won about 28 percent of the Latino vote, similar to Mitt Romney in 2012, according to exit polls.

Roberto Izurieta, director of Latin American Projects at George Washington University, said that since Trump began his campaign, his rhetoric has been “very aggressive and very anti-Hispanic.”

“The president decided on Day One to stay with his electoral base. It means he will keep his divisive rhetoric and stay with his base, which is anti-immigrant,” he said.

Javier Palomarez, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was a vocal critic of Trump during the campaign. But he said he has been pleasantly surprised by the administration’s other Hispanic outreach efforts.

While Spanish-language communication is “important in terms of optics,” he said, “at the end of the day, where the rubber meets the road for us and what matters to us is what kind of policy are you enacting, are you engaged with us.”

He said his members’ conversations with the White House have been “constant, consistent and ongoing,” with numerous in-person meetings with White House and Cabinet officials, including Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and weekly phone calls with Jennifer Korn, deputy director for the White House Office of Public Liaison.

“They have been more than willing to talk to us and engage us,” he said. “This is the same level or more access that we had with the Obama administration.”

Story: Jill Colvin, Luis Alonso Lugo

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AirAsia Bus Crashes Into Nok Air Jet at Don Mueang

Nok Air bus was hit by AirAsia shuttle bus Friday night

BANGKOK — An airport shuttle bus crashed into a parked airplane Friday night, an incident which the airline said may affect flight schedules. There were no reports of injuries.

Nok Air issued a statement Saturday saying an AirAsia shuttle bus had hit one of its stationary jets with tail No. HS-DBK at apron No. 35 of Don Mueang International Airport. The crash left no injuries but authorities said the incident may affect flight schedules.

Photos taken after the crash show visible damages to the frontal left part of the aircraft. The plane was empty, undergoing preparations for a scheduled morning flight, which was suspended after the incident.

Authorities said the airplane would be grounded from service while it undergoes inspection for further damage. They said passengers might be affected from rescheduled or delayed flights in certain routes. The airline did not specify what routes would be affected or when normal operations would resume.

AirAsia said in a statement that the incident had been an accident and that the airline was working closely with the airport and involved organizations for further investigation.

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Nok Air bus was hit by AirAsia shuttle bus Friday night
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Nok Air bus was hit by AirAsia shuttle bus Friday night
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Ministry Blocks Thai Esports Athletes From Asian Indoor Games

Photo: Thai Esport / Facebook

BANGKOK — Thai sport authorities have drawn aggro from competitive gamers for declaring they are not a real sport and denying them participation in the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, or AIMAG.

While ministries that only perceive gaming as a social ill may have been responsible for the decision, pro gamers were left frustrated by two reasons cited by the Sports Authority of Thailand to bar their participation: Esports is still a demonstration sport, and the Thai E-Sports Association is not yet a nationally registered organization.

“Esports is still a demonstration sport, so it won’t cause much damage whether we send the team to join the tournament or not,” deputy governor Natthawut Reungwet said Thursday. “The Thai E-Sports Association still has plenty of time.”

Cyberathletes have seized on the decision to rail against an ossified bureaucracy out of touch with the digital world for preventing them from attending the event backed by the Olympic Council of Asia.

“Because we let these hidebound people sit in management, this is the answer we get,” Facebook user Tum Duangthai wrote. “The world has developed for millions of years. These fucking guys just think there was nothing like this in their age. They just can’t keep up with reality.”

“To simplify in short… ‘Go compete and make yourself famous, then the Sports Authority of Thailand will go after you to exploit your fame,’” Facebook user Sitthipol Kositpanthawong wrote.

Games such as Defense of the Ancients, or Dota, and League of Legends are widely known among Thais, and Thai esports have begun to come into their own, with more professionally organized events and larger purses at stake.

Still, the government says it does not yet recognize it as a sport.

The esports association president said Friday that to turn down the invitation to the event, sponsored by the Olympic Council of Asia, is a lost opportunity for Thai gamers, as they could gain experience in the early era of esports.

The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games feature competitions in traditional sports as well as esports. They are held every four years. National Olympic committees were to select teams by July 20 to participate, including for the esports competitions in Dota 2, Starcraft 2 and Hearthstone, according to the official site of the Ashbagat 2017 games.

“If we wait until we are ready, it will be too late,” Santi Lothong said Friday. “This is a chance for Thai players to be training at the same time with players around the world.”

He said the council gave each country a quota of 11 players and paid for their trips.

As he waited for authorities to decide, Santi had already prepared to recruit national players – and more than 200 gamers applied for the coveted spots.

Instead, he had to cancel the whole thing.

The esports association is currently registered with the Provincial Administration Department.

In order to put forward players to represent the kingdom, it must gain full status as a sport association under the rules of the Sports Authority.

Natthawut said the association already submitted its application, but the process wouldn’t conclude in time to send players to join the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in September in Turkmenistan.

The association president said he made the original request almost a year ago. He has also been campaigning for esports to be officially recognized in Thailand.

Contrary to what gamers believed – that the move was obstructed by the sports authority – Santi said that greater pressure came from other ministries involved in the process.

Though the deal got the green light from the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, recognizing esports also involves other ministries; culture, education, public health and social development and human security.

Santi admitted it was a tough job to get the support of agencies, such as public health and culture, which often assign blame gaming for all manner of social ills.

“I’ve also given presentations to the lawmakers two times,” he said. “They asked me, ‘But how would you solve the problem of kids addicted to games?”

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