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Trump’s official portrait sparks mixed reactions on social media

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The official portrait of the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has been unveiled.

Daniel Torok, the president-elect’s chief photographer, shared the photo in an X post on Thursday alongside that of Vice-President-elect JD Vance.

“We are entering the GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!” Torok captioned the starkly contrasting photos of Trump and Vance.

As Vance struck a relaxed pose, smiling for the camera, Trump opted for a stern, unyielding stare.

The brightly lit photo is also a departure from his 2017 portrait where he smiled warmly.

The president-elect’s stare closely mirrored his mugshot after leaving jail in 2023.

In the mugshot, the 78-year-old stared menacingly at the camera with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw.

He was the first US former president to have their mugshot taken.

The photograph sparked a fundraising bonanza, appearing on t-shirts and mugs. It soon became the physical characterisation of Trump as a politically motivated prosecuted victim.

Trump’s transition team said the official photographs “go hard.” The pair will be sworn in on Monday.

Social media users had mixed reactions to the presidential pose.

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Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Colombia after US deportation flights were denied entry

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US President Donald Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on Colombia after its president barred two military planes carrying deported migrants from landing in the country.

Earlier today on his official X page, Colombian President Gustavo Petro had denied entry to US military planes carrying deported migrants into the country.

“The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals,” Petro posted.

“I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory.

“The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”

US officials told the BBC on Sunday, that two military planes from San Diego were due to land in Colombia with migrant deportees, but the plans were scrapped due to complications.

Speaking on the matter in a post on Truth Social, Trump said emergency tariffs “on all goods” entering the US from Colombia would be implemented “immediately”.

Trump said the 25 percent tariffs would be increased to 50 percent in a week.

The president said the US would impose a travel ban and “immediate visa revocations” on Colombian government officials.

Trump also said there would be visa sanctions on Colombian government supporters, and enhanced customs and border protection inspections “of all Colombian nationals and cargo on national security grounds”.

“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump added.

The US president said his administration would not allow the Colombian government “to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States”.

During the campaigns for the US presidential elections, Trump had promised to carry out “mass deportations” of illegal migrants.

The president signed multiple executive orders related to immigration on his first day in office.

Some of Trump’s executive orders were signed to expand immigration and customs enforcement’s (ICE) ability to arrest and detain unlawful migrants on US soil.

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US lawmaker introduces bill seeking third term for Trump

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A Republican house member has introduced a bill seeking to allow US President Donald Trump to run for a third term.

Andy Ogles, the representative, initiated the resolution on Thursday.

The US Constitution does not permit anyone to be elected to the office of the president more than twice.

Ogles’ resolution seeks to revise this to read: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times … ”

According to the lawmaker, Trump “has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal”.

“It is imperative that we provide President Trump with every resource necessary to correct the disastrous course set by the Biden administration,” Ogles said in a statement.

“He is dedicated to restoring the republic and saving our country, and we, as legislators and as states, must do everything in our power to support him.

“I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms.”

Trump previously dismissed insinuations that he would seek a third term. However, after winning the 2024 presidential election, he light-heartedly hinted that he would be open to a third term during a chat with Republican lawmakers.

“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you do something,” Trump had said.

“Unless you say, ‘he’s so good, we have to just figure it out.’”

Ogles praised Trump’s slew of executive orders signed on the first day of his second coming, including the handling of the southern border, restricting gender identities to male and female, energy production, and withdrawing from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The 22nd Amendment was proposed in 1947 and adopted in 1951. It was ratified to prevent the President Franklin Roosevelt scenario.

Roosevelt ran for the presidency and won four times (1933-1945). He died in 1945, less than 90 days after his fourth inauguration.

Afterwards, Americans welcomed George Washington’s proposition that any president who served more than two terms would likely gravitate to a king or dictator.

Washington is the founding father of the United States and the country’s first president.

Republicans currently hold a three-seat majority in the US house of representatives.

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UK approves first vertical rocket launch

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The first vertical launch of a rocket into orbit from European soil could take place from the UK’s most northerly point this year after a German company won approval for spaceflight, regulators announced Thursday.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it had granted a launch licence to Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), allowing it to send a rocket into space from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland’s Shetland Islands.

“This is a new era for aerospace and granting the first vertical launch licence from UK soil builds towards a historic milestone for the nation,” said CAA CEO Rob Bishton.

“This licence is the culmination of extensive hard work behind the scenes to put appropriate safety and environmental measures in place before launch,” he added.

It is the final large regulatory step allowing Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) to launch from on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.

Jorn Spurmann, co-founder and chief commercial officer of RFA, called it a “groundbreaking moment for RFA and for Europe’s space industry.

“Securing the first-ever launch license outside European Space Agency’s established site in Kourou (French Guiana) is not just a regulatory milestone -– it’s a powerful endorsement of our technical excellence and a turning point for European space innovation,” he added.

“By enabling cost-effective and flexible launches from European main land, we are laying the foundation for a new era of space exploration and commercialization, ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of the global space race,” he added.

The CAA had already granted the privately-owned SaxaVord a spaceport licence and a range control licence.

RFA hopes to carry out the first test flight of its 30 metre-tall (100 feet) three-stage rocket, which can deliver a 1,300kg payload into orbit, in 2025.

The first stage of the initial rocket caught fire and exploded during a static fire test last year, pushing back plans for a 2024 launch.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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