North America

Obama says Trump ‘unfit’ to be president

by Andrew BEATTY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — In a searing and virtually unprecedented presidential rebuke, Barack Obama declared embattled Republican White House nominee Donald Trump “unfit” to be president Tuesday and called on party leaders to disown him. Obama piled on as Trump’s campaign reeled from multiple self-inflicted scandals, calling the 70-year-old mogul “woefully unprepared” and “unfit to serve as president.” “He keeps proving it,” said Obama, standing alongside the prime minister of Singapore […]

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Trump says ‘much easier’ to get Purple Heart as gift from vet

ASHBURN, United States (AFP) – Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump on Tuesday courted controversy when he said receiving a Purple Heart from a US military veteran was “much easier” than being awarded the medal given to those wounded in combat. The statement immediately started trending on Twitter, with some users mocking the billionaire real estate mogul for accepting the honor — awarded by sitting US presidents — while on the campaign trail. The comments also […]

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Vets, Republicans repudiate Trump clash with hero’s family

  by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Veterans groups and Republicans Monday savaged Donald Trump’s war of words with the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier, the latest example of the presidential nominee making statements considered beyond the pale.  The feud has shaken the US presidential campaign, becoming a flash point 99 days before the November election that pits the Republican against Democrat Hillary Clinton, whom Trump on Monday called “the devil.”  Criticism […]

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Singapore’s Lee says understands TPP “politically difficult” in U.S. election year.

WASHINGTON, United States (Reuters) — Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on a landmark visit to Washington D.C., said on Monday (August 01) he understands that the Obama administration’s efforts to push the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) have been “politically difficult” in an election year, but he hopes the focus will remain on the “bigger picture”. Loong will meet with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, when Obama is expected to extol the TPP trade deal […]

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Zika travel warning issued for Miami neighborhood: US

  by Leila Macor Kerry Sheridan MIAMI, United States (AFP)   Zika fears prompted US health authorities on Monday to issue a travel warning for a small section of Miami where local mosquitoes have spread the virus to 14 people, officials said. “We advise pregnant women to avoid travel to this area,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief Tom Frieden, noting that the virus can cause the birth defect, microcephaly. The area to avoid […]

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Warren Buffett challenges Donald Trump to exchange tax return

NEBRASKA, United States (Reuters) — U.S. investor Warren Buffett, speaking at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, challenged Republican Donald Trump on Monday (August 01) to release his tax returns. Trump has said he would not release his returns until the Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit. “Now I’ve got news for him, I’m under audit too and I would be delighted to meet him anyplace, anytime, before the election,” said […]

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Trump feud with slain soldier’s parents roils White House race

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – by Michael Mathes Donald Trump’s confrontation with the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier escalated Monday, shaking the US presidential campaign amid Republican Party outcries over the real estate tycoon’s comments about the couple. The feud has become a flash point of the 2016 White House race that pits Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton. It has dominated the news cycle ever since Pakistani immigrant Khizr Khan galvanized the Democratic […]

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Clinton’s ‘Rust Belt’ tour courts white working class

by Ivan Couronne PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton took a bus tour across the US “rust belt” region this weekend in a quest to win over white, working class voters who tend to support populist Republican Donald Trump. With her husband ex-president Bill Clinton in tow, the former first lady, top diplomat, ex-senator and now Democratic presidential candidate took her seat on a blue bus that meandered over 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from […]

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Slain soldier’s father calls Trump a ‘black soul’

by Jim Mannion WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The father of a slain Muslim American soldier assailed Donald Trump as a “black soul” Sunday in an impassioned exchange with the Republican presidential candidate over the qualities required in a US leader. Khizr Khan electrified the Democratic convention last week with a tribute to his fallen son that ended with a steely rebuke that Trump had “sacrificed nothing” for his country. Trump defended himself in an […]

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Balloon in deadly Texas crash likely touched power line

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A hot air balloon that went down in a fiery crash in a Texas pasture, killing all 16 people on board, likely struck a power line, an investigator said Sunday. NTSB official Robert Sumwalt said it was not clear if fire broke out before or after the balloon apparently touched electrical wires, NBC reported. A power line runs prominently across the field. The US National Transportation Safety Board, taking the […]

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Clinton says Trump’s praise of Russia raises ‘national security issues’

by Brian KNOWLTON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton on Sunday sharply criticized Donald Trump over his “absolute allegiance” to Russian policy aims, saying it raised both “national security issues” and new doubts about his temperament. Trump, her Republican rival in the race for the White House, responded defiantly, saying that he had “no relationship” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and had never met nor spoken to him by phone, but that “if our […]

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‘Multiple’ victims in Texas shooting: police

Washington, United States (AFP) –Police in Austin, Texas said that an “active shooter” had on Sunday caused “multiple victims,” with local media reports saying that at least one person was dead. Police said via Twitter there were separate shootings downtown “within the same area,” and that “both scenes are secure at this time.” A woman in her 30s was killed in the incident, the Austin American-Statesman newspaper reported, citing county emergency medical personnel. At least […]

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