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Springboks captain Kolisi scores in winning debut for Sharks
AFP/Editor
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi scored a try as he made a winning debut Friday for the Sharks, who trounced fellow South African franchise the Bulls 45-12 in a warm-up match for the Rainbow Cup.
The 29-year-old flanker, who led South Africa to victory over England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final in Japan, moved to the Sharks last month after 11 years with his only previous team, the Western Stormers.
It took Kolisi only 16 minutes to add his name to the scoresheet as he completed a sweeping cross-field handling movement by evading two tacklers to give the Sharks a 14-point advantage.
That lead had stretched to 19 points after 51 minutes at a sodden Kings Park stadium in Durban when Kolisi was substituted as the Sharks rang the changes to give the bench meaningful game time.
Although Kolisi has been the national skipper since 2018, when he became the first black Test captain of South Africa, the Sharks will continue to be led by Springboks centre Lukhanyo Am.
The Rainbow Cup kicks off on April 24 and will feature the 12 Pro14 teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy plus the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Stormers from South Africa.
Amid concerns that a third coronavirus wave could hit South Africa soon, none of the European teams will visit the republic.
There will be three rounds of South African derbies and the four franchises then play three matches each in Europe, provided they receive government approval and Covid-19 regulations permit them to travel.
The 16 sides have been divided into two pools and the winners of each will contest the final on June 19 — two weeks before the touring British and Irish Lions are due to play their first match in South Africa.
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Trump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, which denounced the legal move on Tuesday as an attempt to silence the press.
In this new stage of his presidency, the 79-year-old Republican leader has escalated his long-standing hostility toward traditional media, repeatedly attacking critical journalists, limiting their access, or taking them to court.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, seeks $15 billion in damages, along with additional punitive compensation “in an amount to be determined at trial.”
The New York Times had reported last week that Trump threatened legal action over articles concerning a birthday letter allegedly sent by him to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The letter featured a typed message inside the outline of a nude woman. Trump denies that the accompanying signature is his.
“For too long, The New York Times has been allowed to lie, defame, and slander me freely — and that ends NOW!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
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Maduro warns Venezuela would enter armed struggle if attacked by foreign forces
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated on Friday that if his country were attacked, it would enter a phase of armed struggle, amid his claims of “threats” from the United States, which is conducting a military deployment in Caribbean waters near Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
Maduro emphasized that Venezuela is currently in the non-armed phase, which he described as political, communicational, and institutional, but added that if the country were somehow aggressed, it would move to a planned, organized armed struggle involving the entire population, whether the threat is local, regional, or national.
“We would enter a stage of armed struggle, in defense of peace, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and our people,” Maduro said during an event activating citizen militias, broadcast on state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
He also noted that Venezuela is currently in a phase of readiness and preparation to defend the country and will proceed to the deployment of defensive capacities, including training and retraining of the entire Venezuelan population.
Maduro described the Venezuelan people as pacifist yet warrior-like, asserting that “no one will enslave us, neither today nor ever.”
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USCIS gains law enforcement powers: Agents now authorized to investigate and arrest immigration violators
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), traditionally responsible for handling naturalizations, visas, residence permits, and work authorizations, is now expanding its role to include law enforcement powers, according to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under the new directive, specially designated USCIS agents are now authorized to investigate, arrest, and bring to justice individuals who violate U.S. immigration laws. Previously, USCIS primarily managed administrative and bureaucratic processes, while enforcement responsibilities were handled by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Illegal immigration has been a central issue under President Donald Trump’s administration, with DHS reporting that over 300,000 migrants have been arrested in the first six months of his presidency. However, the number of people who have crossed U.S. borders illegally in recent years remains controversial, with experts estimating between 8 to 10 million individuals.
The policy shift also comes amid heightened legal battles over immigration enforcement. Recently, a federal judge blocked the deportation of minors to Guatemala, who were moments away from boarding a flight. Trump’s aggressive measures, including large-scale raids in cities like Los Angeles, have faced multiple judicial challenges, some upheld and others overturned at various federal levels, including the Supreme Court.
According to the DHS statement, the expanded authority allows USCIS to “manage investigations from start to finish rather than referring cases to ICE,” aiming to reduce backlogs and combat fraud within the immigration system.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow will have the power to appoint and train special agents under the order signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ensuring that the agency can effectively execute its newly granted enforcement responsibilities.
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