Trump threatens to yank World Cup games from Boston though it's up to FIFA to choose sites
Washington (AP): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to relocate World Cup matches set to be played next year in suburban Boston, after suggesting that parts of the city had been "taken over" by unrest.
Foxborough, Massachusetts, home to the NFL's New England Patriots and about 30 miles from Boston, is set to host seven matches as the U.S. hosts the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. Trump was asked about Boston's mayor, Michelle Wu, a Democrat whom he called "intelligent" but "radical left.”
"We could take them away," Trump said of the World Cup games. "I love the people of Boston and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good.”
He suggested "they're taking over parts of Boston" without offering details, but added "we could get them back in about two seconds."
The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington and Memphis, and efforts to do so in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have sparked legal fights.
Wu's office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Trump's comments came during his meeting with Argentina President Javier Milei and it wasn't immediately clear what he was referring to by parts of Boston having been seized. Earlier this month, however, there were multiple arrests in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that turned violent on Boston Common. Four police officers were injured.
Trump has previously suggested he could declare cities "not safe" for the 104-game soccer tournament and alter a detailed hosting plan that FIFA confirmed in 2022. It includes games at NFL stadiums near New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
World Cup host sites aren't up to Trump. The 11 U.S. cities — plus three in Mexico and two in Canada — are contracted with FIFA, which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kickoff.
"It's FIFA's tournament, FIFA's jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” the soccer body's vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London.
Trump nonetheless said, "If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there's unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni – the head of FIFA who's phenomenal -- and I would say, Let's move into another location' and they would do that."
The president meant FIFA head Gianni Infantino, a close ally. Trump said Infantino "wouldn't love to do it, but he'd do it very easily."
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Sensex, Nifty tumble as Budget proposes to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 pc on commodity
Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled on Sunday afternoon trade after the Budget proposed to raise Securities Transaction Tax to 0.05 per cent on commodity futures from 0.02 per cent.
The government will tax buyback proceeds for all types of shareholders as capital gains, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.
After fluctuating in early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex later bounced back but pared all gains amid the Budget presentation.
It later plunged 2,370.36 points, or 2.88 per cent, to slip below the 80,000-mark to 79,899.42 during the afternoon trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 748.9 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 24,571.75.
From the 30 Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics tanked 6.50 per cent. State Bank of India, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, and Eternal were also among the laggards.
Sun Pharma, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Tata Consultancy Services were the gainers.
"The increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT), especially in futures and options, is likely to act as a marginal negative for foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows in the near term, particularly for high-frequency and derivative-focused global funds," Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, said.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,251.37 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Asian markets are closed on Sunday due to holidays. US markets ended lower on Friday.
On Friday, the Sensex declined 296.59 points, or 0.36 per cent, to settle at 82,269.78. The Nifty dropped 98.25 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 25,320.65.
