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Lukaku Racially Abused by Juventus Fans

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Romelu Lukaku was subjected to racial taunts from Juventus supporters after converting a last-second penalty for Inter Milan and receiving a red card in the Coppa Italia match.

After scoring a penalty in the 95th minute, Lukaku received a second yellow card for celebrating in front of the home crowd.

The abuse was “beyond horrible,” according to Michael Yormark, head of Lukaku’s agency Roc Nation Sports International. Juventus promised to collaborate with the police to find the culprits.

A statement read: “Juventus Football Club, as always, are collaborating with the police to identify those responsible for the racist gestures and chants which took place last night.”

Following Lukaku’s equaliser, fights broke out amongst players from both teams.

At the final whistle, Inter captain Samir Handanovic and midfielder Juan Cuadrado received red cards, and the brawl continued down the tunnel.

“Tonight’s racist remarks made towards Romelu Lukaku by Juventus fans in Turin were beyond despicable and cannot be accepted,” Yormark said in a statement..

“Romelu scored a penalty late in the game. Before, during and after the penalty, he was subjected to hostile and disgusting racist abuse.

“Romelu celebrated in the same manner he has previously celebrated goals. The referee’s response was to award a yellow card to Romelu.

“Romelu deserves an apology from Juventus and I expect the league to condemn the behaviour of this group of Juventus supporters immediately.

“The Italian authorities must use this opportunity to tackle racism, rather than punish the victim of the abuse.”

During his first stint at Inter between 2019 and 2021, Lukaku, who returned to Inter on loan from Chelsea, experienced racism.

He claimed the sport “was moving backwards” in September 2019 after being subjected to racial taunts from Cagliari supporters.

As Cagliari were later exonerated of using racist chants, Piara Powar, the head of the anti-discrimination organisation Fare, claimed that the Italian football league’s disciplinary procedures were “not fit for purpose.”

Football racism, according to Lukaku, is at a “all-time high” and needs to be addressed further, players, football officials, and social media, in September 2021.

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Russia cafe bomb suspect charged with terrorism

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Russian officials have charged Darya Trepova with terrorism in connection to the killing of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. Trepova was arrested in St Petersburg and appeared in court in Moscow, where she was ordered to remain in custody until June 2.

Tatarsky was killed in a cafe in St Petersburg on Sunday in a blast that injured over 30 people. A video released by authorities showed Trepova admitting to bringing a statuette to the cafe that later exploded, but she did not admit to knowing about the explosion or any further involvement.

She was accused of “a terrorist attack carried out by an organised group inflicting purposeful death” and “illegal possession of explosive devices by an organised group,” according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes into significant crimes.

She should be kept in detention, according to the court’s recommendation. Judge Valentina Levasheva was quoted by Russian media as saying following the court session that the investigators’ request for Darya Trepova to be kept in confinement had been approved and that she would be held until June 2.

The group also stated that it had proof the attack had been planned by Ukrainian security forces with assistance from the Anti-Corruption Foundation of imprisoned Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

But Kyiv presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described the blast as part of a Russian “internal political fight”

Tatarsky, 40, was a guest speaker at a patriotic gathering with supporters in the cafe late on a Sunday afternoon. Tatarsky’s real name is Maxim Fomin.

A young woman with a brown coat was seen entering the cafe in a video that went viral on social media. She appeared to be carrying a cardboard box.

Before the woman sat down, the box was seen being placed on a table in the cafe in the images. A statue was presented to Tatarsky in another film. With more than 500,000 followers, Tatarsky was a well-known blogger with a troubled history.

He said that he joined the separatists supported by Russia after they freed him from prison, where he was serving time for armed robbery. He was born in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

He belonged to a pro-Kremlin military blogging group that has gained somewhat of a reputation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine got underway in February 2022.

Tatarsky is one of many who has gone so far as to criticise the Russian government, blaming President Vladimir Putin, the military, and even the generals for defeats on the battlefield.

But, Mr. Putin presented him with the posthumous Order of Courage on Monday.

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Nato’s border with Russia doubles as Finland joins

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As Finland becomes the Western alliance’s 31st member, the Finnish flag will be raised at the Nato headquarters in Brussels. Sauli Niinisto, the president of Finland, and the secretary of state of the United States will attend a ceremony to officially join NATO.

The addition of Finland is a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who frequently bemoaned Nato’s growth prior to his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s border with NATO members has now doubled in length.

In response to Russia’s conflict, Finland and Sweden officially asked to join NATO in May. Finland and Russia share an eastern border of 1,340 km (832 miles). They had both previously decided to follow a non-alignment policy. But, following the invasion of Ukraine, they decided to rely on NATO’s Article Five, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

It effectively means that, in the event of an invasion, all Nato countries, including the US, would support Finland. Following Russia’s invasion, support for Finland’s membership in NATO increased to 80%.

According to Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, this will strengthen NATO and make Finland safer. “President Putin has a clear goal of having less Nato along its borders and no more membership in Europe, but he’s achieving exactly the opposite,” said one observer.

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Stockholm of welcoming Kurdish militants and allowing them to hold public demonstrations, which has put an end to Sweden’s application for the time being. Hungary still needs to ratify Sweden’s membership. Nato, according to Mr. Stoltenberg, will ensure that Sweden becomes the next member to join. 

Nato will now have seven members on the Baltic Sea, further isolating Russia’s coastal access to St Petersburg and its small exclave of Kaliningrad.

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Darya Trepova: Russia releases video of suspect in cafe killing of Vladlen Tatarsky

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In their search for the perpetrators of the stabbing death of pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky at a cafe in St. Petersburg, Russian investigators have apprehended a lady.

Darya Trepova is heard admitting she handed over a figurine that later blew up in a video that the authorities published, which was probably filmed under duress. She does not, however, claim in the video that she was aware of the impending explosion. She also denies any additional roles.

Authorities claimed they had proof the assault had been planned out of Ukraine. Officials in Kiev claimed that it was a case of Russian intramural conflict.

Injuries from the blast in Russia’s second-largest city exceeded 30. Late on Sunday, Tatarsky had been a guest speaker at a patriotic gathering with supporters in the cafe.

Images showed the box being placed on a table in the cafe before the woman sat down. Another video showed a statue being handed to Tatarsky.

In a brief excerpt of her interrogation released by the ministry, Darya Trepova, 26, appeared under duress as she sighed repeatedly.

When her interrogator asked if she knew why she was detained, she replied: “I would say for being at the scene of Vladlen Tatarsky’s murder… I brought the statuette there which blew up.”

Asked who gave it to her she responded: “Can I tell you later please?”

The “terror strike” was allegedly planned by Ukrainian special forces “with people cooperating with” Alexei Navalny, according to Russia’s anti-terrorism commission.

Later on, the investigation committee said that it had proof that it was “planned and organised from Ukrainian territory.” It stated that it was attempting to identify the “entire chain” of parties involved.

It was “extremely handy,” according to Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, for the Kremlin to point the finger at its critics since Navalny was about to face an extremist trial. The foundation has published a number of exposés on corruption involving the Putin entourage.

After his arrival back in Russia from Germany in January 2021, Navalny has been imprisoned. He survived a nerve toxin attack in Russia in August 2020 that the Russian FSB security was accused of carrying out.

Ivan Zhdanov, the head of the Foundation, claimed that all evidence pointed to FSB agents. Certainly, we have nothing to do with this, he continued, adding that Moscow needed both a local adversary in Navalny’s group and an external opponent in the form of Ukraine.

According to Russian media, Ms Trepova was detained in a St. Petersburg flat belonging by her husband’s acquaintance. She reportedly spent a couple of days in detention on the day of Russia’s complete invasion last year for taking part in a pro-war demonstration.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads Russia’s infamous Wagner mercenary force and has participated in much of the fighting in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, once operated the café, Street Food Bar No 1 along the River Neva.

Cyber Front Z, a group that describes itself as “Russia’s information troops,” claimed to have rented out the cafe for the evening, according to Prigozhin, who claimed to have given it to them.

Tatarsky, whose true name was Maxim Fomin, was honoured by Prigozhin in a late-night video that he claimed was shot at Bakhmut’s town hall.

He waved a flag that read, “in good memory of Vladlen Tatarsky,” and he did so.

Tatarsky was neither a Russian official nor a military officer, despite being a vociferous advocate of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. He had a criminal record like Prigozhin and was a well-known blogger with more than 500,000 subscribers.

Born in the eastern Ukrainian province of Donetsk, he claimed to have joined separatists who were supported by Russia when they released him from jail, where he was serving time for armed robbery.

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Sanna Marin defeated by Finland’s conservatives in tight race

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In a closely contested three-way election, Finland’s conservative leader Petteri Orpo defeated the center-left of prime minister Sanna Marin.

“We got the biggest mandate,” said the leader of the National Coalition Party, after a dramatic night in which the result gradually swung away from Ms Marin’s Social Democrats. Prior to the center-left and the right-wing populist Finns Party, Mr. Orpo won 20.8% of the vote.

A record 20.1% went to the populists. Ms. Marin, who increased the number of seats for her party and received 19.9% of the vote, suffered a crushing defeat.

She continues to receive favourable ratings in polls and has won accolades for guiding Finland towards its impending membership in NATO and guiding it through the Covid-19 pandemic.

The center-left candidate conceded the contest shortly after the conservative candidate declared victory.

“Congratulations to the winner of the elections, congratulations to the National Coalition Party, congratulations to the Finns Party. Democracy has spoken,” she told supporters.

The three parties had been almost evenly matched in the polls for weeks, but when the results poured in, it became impossible to predict. The National Coalition of Petteri Orpo won the most seats in parliament, according to a prediction from public broadcaster YLE.

By winning more regions than any other party in mainland Finland, the Finns highlighted their accomplishment. Riikka Purra received more votes than any other candidate, and commentators emphasised how her party engaged younger people by using social media platforms like TikTok.

Three other parties in the departing coalition, the Centre Party, Left Alliance, and Greens, also suffered significant setbacks.

Sanna Marin, who is now 37, entered politics in 2019 and quickly rose to the position of leader in the world. She oversaw a coalition of five female-led parties.

Notwithstanding her effective response to neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland’s economy and public debt dominated the election debate because all of the major parties supported Nato membership.

Many Finns see her as a polarising figure. She came under heavy scrutiny last year when a video emerged of her singing, dancing and drinking at a party. Supporters said the controversy was steeped in sexism and women across Finland and the world shared videos of themselves dancing in solidarity.

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Finland election: Three-way race as Sanna Marin fights for survival

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Finns are voting in an election that is seen as a close battle between the center-left of Prime Minister Sanna Marin and right-wing populists, conservatives, and others.

Even though Finland has the longest border with Russia and is just a few days away from joining NATO, the conflict in the Ukraine has had minimal effect on the country’s political landscape. Instead, the economy has been the key issue in the election.

And Finns are making a significant decision for the future of their nation. The results of over 1.7 million advance ballots will be announced at 20:00 (17:00 GMT), when polls shut. Polls began at 09:00 (06:00 GMT). Right-wing opposition to Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats is the biggest threat.

Petteri Orpo’s conservative National Coalition Party is eager to build a coalition after four years of opposition, but the populist Finns Party may have its best chance to become prime minister ever.

Ms. Marin, now 37, made her debut four years ago as the youngest prime minister in history, leading a coalition of five parties that were all led by women. She continues to have strong poll numbers, but she is viewed as divisive and came under fire last summer when a video showed her singing, dancing, and intoxicating herself at a party surfaced.

“She has a substantial following outside her party,” says Vesa Vares, professor of contemporary history at the University of Turku.

The public debt of Finland and how the nation’s cherished welfare state may be financed in the future have been the main campaign issues.

Even though Sanna Marin claims the government had to spend heavily in reaction to Covid and neighbouring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the right has attacked her for raising the national debt.

According to Matti Koivisto, political correspondent for Finland’s public broadcaster YLE, worrying about the public finances is a quality unique to the Finns. But, the country is dealing with a structural issue due to an ageing population and a lack of workers to support it.

The southern region of Uusimaa, where 30% of the population resides, is where the labour shortage is most severe, and it is particularly serious in three of the biggest cities, Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa.

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Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate moved to house arrest

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Following a Romanian judge’s decision, controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were transferred from detention to house arrest.

The most recent period of imprisonment, which was scheduled to end on April 29, has been replaced by the Court of Appeal’s decision in Bucharest. Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu, two coworkers, are also getting their freedom.

Unless they obtain legal authority to leave, all four of them have been told to remain in the residences they currently occupy. The Tate brothers were “ecstatic,” a spokesman for the family told the BBC.

After being released, Andrew posted a video of himself pacing in a room while smoking a cigar, saying: “Since last year I’ve been in 24-hour lockdown. No yard time.

“Pacing a 3-metre cell with zero electronics or outside contact. Absolute clarity of mind. Real thoughts. Real plans. Vivid pain. One hour home and I can’t stand my phone.

“Some habits die hard. We must defeat Shaytan.”
Tristan, meanwhile, tweeted: “4 months without putting on a pair of alligator shoes. The struggle was real.”Since December, the brothers have been in custody. They are being looked into for alleged rape, human trafficking, and involvement in organised crime. Each has refuted any misconduct.

Former kickboxer and British-American Andrew Tate was fired from the British television programme Big Brother in 2016 when a video surfaced that purported to show him assaulting a woman.

As a result of his comments that women should “carry responsibility” for being sexually assaulted, he later gained prominence online and was banned from Twitter. He was later given a second chance.

Despite social media bans, he became well-liked, especially among young males, by promoting what he portrayed as an extremely opulent and hyper-masculine lifestyle.

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Russia assumes UN Security Council presidency despite Ukrainian anger

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Despite Ukraine pleading with other council members to oppose the action, Russia has assumed the leadership of the UN Security Council. On a rotating basis, each of the 15 council members has the presidency for one month.

In February 2022, when Russia last held the president, it started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It denotes that a nation whose president is wanted internationally for alleged war crimes is in charge of the Security Council.

The arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin was issued last month by the International Criminal Court, a non-UN body.

Notwithstanding Ukraine’s complaints, the US claimed it was powerless to prevent Russia, a permanent council member, from taking the helm. The United Kingdom, United States, France, and China are the council’s other permanent members.

Vasily Nebenzia, Moscow’s ambassador to the UN, informed the Russian Tass news agency that he intended to preside over numerous discussions, including one on arms control. The position is primarily procedural. He promised to talk about the “new world order” that will “replace the unipolar one.”

The Russian presidency has been dubbed “the worst April Fool’s joke ever” and a “stark warning that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning,” according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, criticised the decision as “another rape of international law… an entity that wages an aggressive war, violates standards of humanitarian and criminal law, tramples on the UN Charter, disregards nuclear safety, and can’t lead the world’s foremost security organisation.”

Last year, President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that the Security Council be reformed or “dissolved entirely,” accusing it of not doing enough to stop Russia’s invasion.

He has also demanded that Russia lose its membership. Yet, the US has claimed that because the UN charter forbids the removal of a permanent member, it is unable to act.

Russia blocked a resolution meant to put a stop to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of last year (China, India and the United Arab Emirates all abstained).

It rejected a resolution in September that demanded that its unlawful annexation of four Ukrainian territories be undone. India, China, Gabon, and Brazil did not vote.

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ChatGPT banned in Italy over privacy concerns

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Italy has become the first Western nation to obstruct ChatGPT, an intelligent chatbot. The model, developed by US start-up OpenAI and supported by Microsoft, raised privacy issues, according to the Italian data protection authorities.

With “immediate effect,” the agency said it will forbid OpenAI and launch an investigation. Since its debut in November 2022, ChatGPT has been used by millions of users.

With the internet as it was in 2021 as its database, it can replicate different writing styles and respond to queries in a manner that is natural and human-like. It was included to Bing last month after Microsoft invested billions in it.

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook will all have a version of the technology integrated into them, according to the company.

Concerns have been raised about the possible downsides of artificial intelligence (AI), including the threat it poses to employment and the spread of bias and false information. Elon Musk and other prominent industry heavyweights called for the suspension of these AI systems earlier this week over concerns that the race to develop them was out of control.

In addition to blocking OpenAI’s chatbot, the Italian watchdog declared that it will look into whether it complies with the General Data Protection Regulation. The GDPR sets rules for the collection, use, processing, and storage of personal data.

The data breach involved user communications and payment details, the watchdog reported on March 20.

It claimed that there was no legal justification for “the widespread collecting and storage of personal data for the purpose of ‘training’ the platform’s operating algorithms.”

It added that the software “exposes minors to utterly improper replies relative to their degree of development and knowledge” because there was no method to confirm the users’ ages.

Due to the same worries, Bard, Google’s competing artificial intelligence chatbot, is currently only accessible to select persons above the age of 18.

The Italian data-protection authority said OpenAI had 20 days to say how it would address the watchdog’s concerns, under penalty of a fine of €20 million ($21.7m) or up to 4% of annual revenues.

Elsewhere, the Irish data protection commission – responsible for upholding the fundamental right of individuals in the EU to have their personal data protected – told the BBC it is following up with the Italian regulator to understand the basis for their action and “will coordinate with all EU data protection authorities” in connection to the ban.

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Donald Trump indictment: Ex-US president to be charged over hush money

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Donald Trump, a former US president, will face charges related to payments made to a porn performer right before the 2016 election.

His accusation’s specifics have not yet been made public.After looking into a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in an effort to purchase her silence about an alleged affair, a grand jury decided to prosecute him.

Trump, 76, says he did nothing wrong. He is the first sitting or past president of the US to be accused of a crime. The investigation’s lead prosecutor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, acknowledged that his office had gotten in touch with Mr. Trump’s lawyer to “coordinate his surrender” on unnamed allegations.

The ex-president, who lives in Florida, is expected to fly to New York on Monday and be arraigned in court on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

The hearing is scheduled to last roughly 10-15 minutes, and the counts in the indictment will be read to him during that time.

Security for the court appearance will be handled by the US Secret Service, which is responsible for guarding current and previous US presidents.
Stormy Daniels, an actress of adult films, approached media agencies in 2016 and offered to sell them her account of what she claimed to be an adulterous liaison she had with Donald Trump in 2006, the year after he wed Melania.

When Mr. Trump’s team learned of this, his attorney Michael Cohen paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 to be silent. There is no crime here.

However, when Mr Trump reimbursed his lawyer, the record for the payment says it was for legal fees. Prosecutors say this amounts to Mr Trump falsifying business records, which is a misdemeanour – a criminal offence – in New York.

Prosecutors could also potentially allege that this breaks election law, because his attempt to hide his payments to Ms Daniels were motivated by not wanting voters to know he had an affair with her.

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