Other News

Trump urges Americans to unite after assassination attempt

By Gregory WALTON BUTLER, United States, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – Donald Trump called on Americans Sunday to stand united after he was injured in an assassination attempt – a shocking incident that opened a dark new chapter in an already polarized US presidential race. The 78-year-old former president was hit in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, while the shooter and a bystander were killed and two spectators critically injured in […]

Trump rally shooting will impact security at events, may pause political rancor: Expert

Ramped up security, less partisan political rancor, a different media focus: political analyst Aaron Kall talks to AFP about the implications of the wounding of Donald Trump in an assassination attempt against the former US president at an election rally Saturday in Pennsylvania. “It’s hard to predict long-term,” Kall tells AFP during an online interview. “Any politician in a situation like this, you want to go on as business as normal and not allow this […]

China, Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol

  BEIJING, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – China and Russia conducted a joint naval patrol in the northern and western Pacific, Beijing’s defence ministry said Sunday, adding that the exercise was not “targeted” at any other nation. The two countries have drawn closer in recent years and tout their friendship as having “no limits”. Both share hostile relations with US-led Western defence alliance NATO. Beijing has further strengthened its diplomatic, economic and military ties with […]

Kenya police say eight bodies found in Nairobi dumpsite

By Tanya WILLMER NAIROBI, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – Eight female bodies have been recovered so far from a dumpsite in a Nairobi slum, Kenyan police said Sunday, adding that they were pursuing possible links to cults, serial killers or rogue medical practitioners. The gruesome discoveries of mutilated and dismembered bodies dumped in plastic bags in a rubbish tip in Mukuru in the south of the Kenyan capital have horrified and angered the nation. Kenya’s […]

Nearby exoplanet could be first known ocean world: Webb telescope

By Pierre Celerier PARIS (AFP) – A planet relatively close to Earth could be the first ever detected with a potentially life-sustaining liquid ocean outside our Solar System, according to scientists using the James Webb space telescope. More than 5,000 planets have been discovered outside of the Solar System so far, but only a handful are in what is called the “Goldilocks zone” — neither too hot or too cold — that could host liquid […]

9,000 evacuated in northeast Canada due to wildfires

MONTREAL, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – Around 9,000 people have been evacuated in northeastern Canada because of raging wildfires, officials said Saturday. Residents of the towns of Labrador City and Wabush in Newfoundland and Labrador province were ordered to leave their homes, said provincial fire duty officer Jeff Motty. “We are seeing extreme fire behaviour out there. The fire is moving about 50 meters per minute,” Motty said. Images shared on social media showed lines […]

Eleven dead in northern Vietnam after landslide buries van

HANOI, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – A landslide triggered by heavy rains buried and killed at least 11 people who were travelling in a van in northern Vietnam, the country’s disaster management authority said on Saturday. Northern Vietnam has entered its rainy season, with heavy downpours and flooding making travel along mountain roads treacherous. The landslide hit the 16-seater van around 4:00 am local time (2100 GMT) as it drove through Bac Me district in […]

Long history of shootings in US presidential politics

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – Shots were fired during a rally speech by Donald Trump, in an incident that investigators are treating as a possible assassination attempt on the former president. Including Abraham Lincoln and JFK, here are some notable examples of shootings involving US presidents or presidential candidates: – Ronald Reagan (1981) – President Reagan was shot and seriously wounded as he left an event at the Hilton hotel in Washington. The attacker […]

World leaders react to Trump rally shooting

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2024 (AFP) – World leaders and governments reacted with shock to the wounding of Donald Trump in an assassination attempt against the former US president at an election rally. Presidents and prime ministers globally spoke out against political violence and expressed their support for those affected by the Saturday shooting, which killed one bystander and left two other spectators critically wounded. – Europe – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said […]

Bloodied Trump survives assassination bid (UPDATES with shooter identified)

By Gregory WALTON BUTLER, United States, July 14, 2024 (AFP) -Donald Trump was hit in the ear in an assassination attempt by a gunman at a campaign rally Saturday, in a chaotic and shocking incident set to supercharge political tensions ahead of the polarising US presidential election. The 78-year-old former president was rushed off stage with blood streaked across his face after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, while the shooter and a bystander were killed […]

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 […]