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Trump was received in the UK with an awkward dinner and mass protests

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‘Stateless’ Thai boys may be given citizenship, and Croatia is having a field day with its FIFA semi-final victory over England.

Trump criticises Theresa May’s Brexit, lauds her rival

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s welcome dinner for US President Donald Trump at Blenheim Palace Thursday was undercut by an awkward interview published by The Sunin which he criticised her Brexit deal and said former foreign minister — and May’s rival — Boris Johnson would make a “great”  Prime Minister.

Just hours before the interview was published, Trump and May had appeared friendly, walking into Blenheim Palace holding hands.

In the interview, Trump expressed doubt over negotiating a new trade deal with Britain, and blamed London mayor Sadiq Khan for “spiralling crime” in the city. He also said he would maintain ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the Novichok poisonings — which the UK has attributed to Russia — and accused EU leaders of “destroying Europe’s culture and identity” by allowing migrants in.

The UK government did not immediately respond to the interview, which was conducted Wednesday in Brussels, where Trump had attended the NATO summit. The New York Times reports that the White House went into damage control mode after the interview was published.

“The President likes and respects Prime Minister May very much,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s press secretary, said in a statement. “As he said in his interview with The Sun, she ‘is a very good person’ and he ‘never said anything bad about her’.”

‘A diplomatic grenade’

“Donald Trump has once again torn up standard etiquette for diplomacy by turning up, not with flowers or a bottle of wine — but a verbal grenade. As he was setting off for his first visit to the UK as American president, he told The Sun that he had advised Theresa May on ‘how to do’ Brexit but ‘she didn’t listen to me’,” an analysis piece in The Guardian states

“His outburst to The Sun — a Eurosceptic tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch, whose Fox News channel supplies many of Trump’s views and staff — could certainly be seen as bad manners, perhaps an act of revenge for the baby blimp set to take to the London sky Friday,” it adds.

Activists had earlier crowdfunded a giant balloon of Trump as a baby, which London mayor Sadiq Khan and City Hall authorised to be flown near Parliament during his visit.

Over 50,000 people are expected to protest against Trump’s visit in London. Trump has said he feels “unwelcome” in the city as the rally “Together against Trump” began Thursday evening.

The Evening Standard reports that around 70,000 people are expected to descend on central London to march for a protest at Trafalgar Square.

“For now, it means that Trump and May’s engagements — a joint forces military demonstration, a working lunch at Chequers and a joint press conference — promise the height of social awkwardness,” The Guardian piece adds.

Trump’s NATO summit has also created turmoil

“NATO, a pillar of the global order, emerged from a two-day confrontation with President Trump Thursday intact but distracted and shaken, a further challenge to the alliance as it faces an expansionist Russia and growing authoritarianism among some of its own members,” The New York Times reported after the talks wrapped up in Brussels Thursday, before Trump flew to London.

“The entire day, from Brussels to London, was one unsettling experience after another for members of the Western alliance,” it added.

Trump spent his last few hours in Brussels criticising other world leaders. He called a news conference where he claimed “total credit” for influencing NATO members to increase their spending budgets “like they never have before”.

His claim was quickly dismissed by the leaders of Italy and France, who “disputed that they had made any new pledges for increasing spending, adding to the sense of disarray”.

‘Stateless’ members of rescued football team may get Thai citizenship

Thailand is considering giving citizenship to the coach and three stateless members of the Wild Boars football team who were rescued this week after being stuck in a flooded cave with nine teammates, The Guardian reports.

“The players, Pornchai Kamluang, Adul Sam-on and Mongkhol Boonpiam, plus their coach, Ekaphol Chantawong, whose families come from northern Thailand’s porous and largely lawless border regions abutting Myanmar’s Shan state, are technically stateless and not considered citizens under Thai law, leaving them without many of the rights their teammates enjoy,” the report adds.

The three boys have Thai ID cards which give them access to basic rights, but the coach has no legal status, making him vulnerable to deportation.

Thai officials have confirmed that they are looking into the boys’ “birth evidence”, but have not committed to a time period in which they will give the boys citizenship status.

Earthquake in Mexico leads to discovery of temple

“Archaeologists scanning a Mexican pyramid for damage following September’s devastating earthquake have uncovered traces of an ancient temple,” reports the BBC. 

The temple is inside the Teopanzolco pyramid, which is 70 km south of Mexico City. The temple is thought to date back to 1150 AD and looks like it belongs to the Tlahuica culture, which is part of the Aztec culture in central Mexico.

The structure is dedicated to the Aztec rain god Tlaloc.

After World Cup victory, Croatian press says England was ‘unbelievably inferior’

Croatia’s 2-1 victory over England in the FIFA World Cup semifinal was met with a wave of euphoria in the eastern European nation

Croatian media were especially unabashed in reveling in the win, reports the Guardian. State broadcaster HRT started its post-match programme with celebrations, calling the Croatian team world champions who played a “mature game” against the “unbelievably inferior” English. The Vecernji list newspaper ran jubilant headlines.

Vecernji’s website devoted an unusual amount of space to gloating over the fate of the losing team, with headlines such as ‘Football’s not coming home’ (a play on the England’s trending hashtag, #It’scominghome), ‘The arrogance hit them back’, ‘The English are sore losers’, and even published a photo gallery titled ‘Look how the English cry after losing to Croatia’ with pictures of downbeat players and fans,” The Guardian reports.

Juraj Vrdoljak wrote in Telesport that Croatia emerged victorious after “clinching her teeth and biting on a knife in the manner of Cholo’s commandos before using it to rip the history apart at the finishing line”.

“Pinch yourself and don’t worry, you aren’t dreaming, this is reality,” wrote Marko Snidaric in 24sata. “Close your eyes without any fear, and when you open them you’ll see Croatia celebrating. You’ll see Croatia crying. Out of happiness.”

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