Tag: US

Biden leads condemnation after Trump wounded at rally shooting

  WASHINGTON, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden led the condemnation after his election rival Donald Trump was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday, as some Republicans blamed the Biden campaign for the violence. Political leaders on both sides of the aisle slammed the attack minutes after the Republican candidate was rushed off stage by the Secret Service with blood running down his face. “There’s no […]

Suspected shooter at Trump rally dead: US media

BUTLER, United States, July 13, 2024 (AFP) – Former US President Donald Trump was rushed off stage by Secret Service agents Saturday after a series of loud bangs that sounded like possible gunshots were heard at the start of a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. As the bangs rang out, Trump clearly grimaced and clutched a hand to his right ear, on which blood could later be seen. Agents swarmed onto the podium, surrounded the Republican […]

Biden under pressure from Hollywood’s wealthy donors

By Romain FONSEGRIVES LOS ANGELES, United States, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – What if Hollywood, a key Democratic financial pillar, cut off Joe Biden’s campaign funding? That possibility now looms large after actor George Clooney and other wealthy donors urged the US president to withdraw from the White House race. “I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee,” Clooney wrote in a column in the New York Times on Wednesday, after Biden’s disastrous […]

NATO begins sending F-16 jets in new support for Ukraine

By Shaun Tandon and Max Delany WASHINGTON, July 11, 2024 (AFP) – NATO allies on Wednesday announced they had started transferring F-16 jets to Ukraine while stepping up promises to Kyiv on eventual membership in the alliance, at a 75th anniversary summit clouded by political uncertainties in the United States. With the pomp of the three-day gathering in the US capital, President Joe Biden is aiming to rally the West and also reassure voters amid […]

No holiday for Biden as debate crisis cleanup continues

By Lucie Aubourg and Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, July 5, 2024 (AFP) – While Americans were celebrating the July 4 holiday with fireworks and feasts, President Joe Biden on Thursday continued to face explosive fallout from his debate against Donald Trump that has left many Democrats hungry for a replacement. The 81-year-old has struggled since last week’s debate to tamp down panic among his party, but he won the backing Wednesday of Democratic governors who gathered […]

Supreme Court rules on Trump immunity claim, delaying trial

By Chris Lefkow WASHINGTON, July 1, 2024 (AFP) – The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that Donald Trump enjoys some immunity from prosecution as a former president, a ruling that will likely delay his trial for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The 6-3 decision split along ideological lines comes four months ahead of the presidential election in which Trump is the Republican candidate to take on Democrat Joe Biden. The historic case was the […]

US military raises alert level for Europe bases: reports

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2024 (AFP) – The US military has raised the alert level of several bases in Europe to its second-highest level, multiple American media outlets reported Sunday. The American bases, located across Europe, were raised to the “Charlie” alert level, ABC News and CNN reported, both citing unnamed officials. That level is ordered when “an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities […]

N. Korea condemns drills by US, Japan, S. Korea as ‘Asian NATO’

SEOUL, June 30, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea denounced on Sunday joint military drills by South Korea, Japan and the United States, calling them an “Asian version of NATO” and warning of “fatal consequences”. It comes a day after the allies wrapped up three-day exercises, dubbed “Freedom Edge”, in ballistic missile and air defences, anti-submarine warfare and defensive cyber training. US, South Korean and Japanese leaders agreed at a trilateral summit last year to conduct […]

US, allies condemn N.Korea for sanctions-busting arms sales to Russia

UNITED NATIONS, United States, June 29, 2024 (AFP) – Washington and its allies challenged North Korea at the United Nations on Friday over claims Pyongyang is breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia to use in its war in Ukraine. Washington’s deputy envoy to the UN Robert Wood hit out at what he said were “unlawful arms transfers from the DPRK (North Korea) to Russia” as the two sides forge ever closer ties. […]

Trump, Biden gird for historic US presidential debate

By Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS with Frankie TAGGART in Washington ATLANTA, June 26, 2024 (AFP) – Joe Biden and Donald Trump made final preparations Wednesday for the biggest moment so far in the US election — the first of two high-stakes debates that could upend the race. Thursday’s televised showdown will raise the campaigning to boiling point, with tens of millions expected to tune in and both camps escalating their increasingly personal attacks. “I think I have […]

Westerners arrested in Russia

PARIS, June 26, 2024 (AFP) – US reporter Evan Gershkovich is due to face the start of a closed-door trial on espionage charges in Russia on Wednesday. He is one of several Westerners held by Russia at a time when Moscow’s tensions with the West have soared to Cold War-era levels, following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Washington has accused Moscow of arresting its citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to […]

Biden, Trump offer competing vision of US role in world

By Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, June 26, 2024 (AFP) – Ahead of their first presidential debate, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are offering sharply different visions of the US role in the world, both in style and substance. The rare matchup between a current and former president puts their stark contrasts on display. Trump during his 2017-2021 presidency vowed to put “America First,” with a combative and often isolationist view of the world, while Biden took […]