MONTREAL, July 24, 2024 (AFP) – Authorities in the western Canadian province of Alberta have ordered evacuations of the popular Jasper National Park and nearby towns due to approaching forest fires. An alert was sent to tourists late Monday evening in the park — famous for its mountain peaks, glaciers and waterfalls — as well as residents living nearby, ordering them to leave by 3:00 am local time (0900 GMT). Authorities continued to issue evacuation […]
North America
Harris will be ‘even worse’ than Biden: Trump campaign team
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2024 (AFP) – Donald Trump’s campaign team on Sunday lashed into Vice President Kamala Harris after Joe Biden endorsed her to take his place atop the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket, saying she would be “even worse” than the outgoing leader. “Harris will be even worse for the people of our nation than Joe Biden. Harris has been the Enabler in Chief for Crooked Joe this entire time. They own each other’s records, […]
Kamala Harris, trailblazer eying America’s last glass ceiling
By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, July 21, 2024 (AFP) – For years Kamala Harris faced criticism that she was not up to the job of being a heartbeat away from the US presidency. Now, she finds herself feted by Democrats as their best hope to stop Donald Trump’s comeback. Despite blazing a trail as the first woman, Black and South Asian vice president in the nation’s history, the 59-year-old Democrat long struggled with approval ratings as […]
World leaders pay tribute to Biden as he ends reelection bid
PARIS, July 22, 2024 (AFP) – World leaders lined up to pay tribute to Joe Biden after he announced Sunday he was dropping out of the US presidential race. Biden notified the public of his decision in a letter, a stunning move that upends the 2024 race for the White House. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new nominee. – European allies – Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Biden for taking […]
Party heavyweights rally behind Harris for presidential bid
WASHINGTON, July 22, 2024 (AFP) – Endorsements poured in swiftly Sunday for Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee following Joe Biden’s extraordinary announcement that he would step down from the race. Throwing support behind the current US vice president were a variety of party heavyweights as well as numerous governors and other officials previously considered potential nominee rivals, but who now stand a chance of becoming her running mate. “A lot of big […]
The Biden bombshell: a plot twist that roils Trump too
US President Joe Biden (L) and US Vice President Kamala Harris hold hands and gesture as they watch the Independence Day fireworks display from the Truman Balcony of the White House in Washington, DC, on July 4, 2024. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) By Frankie TAGGART WASHINGTON, July 21, 2024 (AFP) – Joe Biden’s withdrawal upends what was already a White House race for the ages, but it will rattle Donald Trump, too — […]
Biden’s letter announcing withdrawal from 2024 race
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2024 (AFP) – The following is the letter from US President Joe Biden, announcing he will no longer run for reelection in November: My Fellow Americans, Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care […]
Biden drops out of 2024 election, endorses Harris
By Danny Kemp REHOBOTH BEACH, United States, July 21, 2024 (AFP) – WASHINGTON, July 22, 2024 (AFP) – Joe Biden on Sunday dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new nominee, in a political earthquake that upends the already extraordinary race for the White House. Biden, 81, said he was acting in the “best interest of my party and the country” by bowing to weeks […]
Russia jails US reporter Gershkovich for 16 years
YEKATERINBURG, Russia, July 20, 2024 (AFP) – US reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced by a Russian court on Friday to 16 years in prison for “espionage”, a verdict slammed as “despicable”, “disgraceful” and a “sham” by Western governments and his employer. Gershkovich was sentenced after just three court sessions in a secretive closed-door trial in the Urals City of Yekaterinburg, the city where he was arrested while on a reporting trip in March 2023. After […]
Trump says spoke with Zelensky, pledges to ‘end the war’
By Robin LEGRAND WASHINGTON, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday he had spoken by telephone with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, and pledged to end the European country’s war with Russia. “I appreciate President Zelensky for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent […]
Defiant Biden vows to stay despite growing revolt
By Saul Loeb with Danny Kemp in Washington REHOBOTH BEACH, United States, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden pledged to stay in the White House race Friday, defying a growing Democratic party revolt that raised speculation he could bow out as soon as this weekend. “The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win,” the 81-year-old said in a statement from the Delaware beach home where he is […]
Massive global IT outage hits airlines, banks, media
By Joseph BOYLE PARIS, July 19, 2024 (AFP) – Airlines, banks, TV channels and other business across the globe were scrambling to deal with one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years on Friday, apparently caused by an update to an antivirus program. Major US air airlines initially grounded all flights over a communication issue — though American Airlines later said it had reinstated its flights. Airports across the world said check-in systems were […]