Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.
Yoshihide Suga has been elected by Japan’s parliament as the country’s new prime minister, following the surprise resignation of Shinzo Abe.
After winning the leadership of the governing party earlier this week, today’s vote confirms the former chief cabinet secretary’s new position.
A close ally of Shinzo Abe, Yoshihide Suga is expected to continue his predecessor’s policies.
Shinzo Abe announced his resignation last month citing health issues.
On September 16, Shinzo Abe held his final cabinet meeting and told reporters he was proud of his achievements during his nearly eight years in power.
Yoshihide Suga then easily won a poll for prime minister in the Diet, Japan’s lower house, receiving 314 out of 462 votes.
Given that a coalition headed by his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) holds the majority in the house, Yoshihide Suga’s win was widely expected.
Along with his new cabinet Suga will later be ceremonially endorsed by the emperor at the Imperial Palace.
A veteran politician and long-time cabinet member, Yoshihide Suga takes the lead at a difficult time for the world’s third-largest economy.
Like many other nations, Japan is struggling with the coronavirus pandemic which has caused the biggest economic slump on record following years of economic stagnations.
Japan is also dealing with a rapidly ageing society, with nearly a third of the population older than 65.
Yoshihide Suga, 71, has served for years as chief cabinet secretary, the most senior role in government after the prime minister.
He has already promised to carry on much of the previous administration’s agenda, including the economic reform program dubbed Abenomics.
Born the son of strawberry farmers, Yoshihide Suga comes from a humble background that sets him apart from much of Japan’s political elite.
He only slowly within the political ranks. He first worked as a secretary for an LDP lawmaker before eventually embarking on his own political career, from city council elections to becoming a member of the Diet in 1996.
In 2005 he became a cabinet minister under Junichiro Koizumi and gained further influence in the subsequent Abe cabinet.
As Shinzo Abe’s right-hand man, Yoshihide Suga gained a reputation for being efficient and practical and the outgoing prime minister strongly supported his ally’s bid for the leadership.
President Donald Trump has denied downplaying the severity of the new coronavirus, despite admitting in a recorded interview to having done that.
At the Q&A meeting with undecided voters, President Trump said he had “up-played” it.
The claim contradicts comments the president made to journalist Bob Woodward earlier this year, when he said he minimized the virus’s severity to avoid panic.
President Trump also repeated on September 15 that a vaccine could be ready “within weeks” despite skepticism from health experts.
No vaccine has yet completed clinical trials, leading some scientists to fear politics rather than health and safety is driving the push for a vaccine before the November 3 presidential elections.
More than 195,000 people have died with Covid-19 in the US since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, the magazine Scientific American on September 15 endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in its 175-year history, backing Democrat Joe Biden for the White House.
The magazine said President Trump “rejects evidence and science” and described his response to the coronavirus pandemic as “dishonest and inept”.
At the town hall meeting held by ABC News in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, President Trump was asked why he would “downplay a pandemic that is known to disproportionately harm low-income families and minority communities”.
The president responded: “Yeah, well, I didn’t downplay it. I actually, in many ways, I up-played it, in terms of action.”
“My action was very strong,” Donald Trump said, citing a ban imposed on people travelling from China and Europe earlier this year.
“We would have lost thousands of more people had I not put the ban on. We saved a lot of lives when we did that,” he added.
In its statement on September 15, Scientific American said despite warnings in January and February, President Trump “did not develop a national strategy to provide protective equipment, coronavirus testing or clear health guidelines.”
Bob Woodward, who broke the Watergate scandal in 1972 and is one of the US’s most respected journalists, interviewed President Trump 18 times from December 2019 to July 2020.
In February, President Trump indicated in an interview with Bob Woodward that he knew more about the severity of the illness than he had said publicly.
According to a recording of the call, President Trump said coronavirus was deadlier than the flu.
Later that month, he said that the virus was “very much under control”, and that the case count would soon be close to zero. He also publicly implied the flu was more dangerous than Covid-19.
Speaking on Capitol Hill on March 10, President Trump said: “Just stay calm. It will go away.”
Nine days later, after the White House declared the pandemic a national emergency, the president told Bob Woodward: “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election, repeated his earlier claim that the virus would disappear on its own because people would “develop… herd mentality”, likely referring to “herd immunity” when enough people have developed resistance to a disease to stop its transmission.
The president also again cast doubt on the scientific advice of his own administration on mask-wearing.
He said: “The concept of a mask is good, but… you’re constantly touching it. You’re touching your face. You’re touching plates. There are people that don’t think masks are good.”
The CDC strongly urges the use of face masks.
President Trump has made contradictory comments on face masks, on the one hand disparaging them as unsanitary, and on the other calling on Americans to “show patriotism” by wearing them.
The Q&A meeting with undecided voters on September 15 came as the presidential election battle entered its final stretches.
Joe Biden is expected to sit for a similar program in Pennsylvania that will air on September 17.
Pennsylvania is seen as a key battleground state in the race to the White House.
Kira Yarmysh also wrote: “All morning journalists have been writing to me and asking, is it true that Alexei plans to return to Russia?
“Again I can confirm to everyone: no other options were ever considered.”
The announcement came shortly after Alexei Navalny took to Instagram.
He wrote: “Hi, this is Navalny. I have been missing you. I still can’t do much, but yesterday I managed to breathe on my own for the entire day.
“Just on my own, no extra help, not even a valve in my throat. I liked it very much. It’s a remarkable process that is underestimated by many. Strongly recommended.”
There is a modest police presence outside the hospital where Alexei Navalny is being treated.
There are two armed officers by one entrance and a police van that has been stationed outside for days.
Unconfirmed reports in German media suggest two further armed police units have been set up inside – outside the ward and by Navalny’s bed.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has ruled out a meeting between Alexei Navalny and President Putin after the opposition figure recovers.
“We do not see the need for such a meeting, so I believe that such a meeting will not take place,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Alexei Navalny, 44, is an anti-corruption campaigner who has long been the most prominent face of opposition to Vladimir Putin.
His supporters believe his tea was spiked at Tomsk airport on August 20.
Alexei Navalny became ill during the flight, and the plane made an emergency landing in Omsk. Russian officials were persuaded to allow Navalny to be airlifted to Germany two days later.
A nerve agent from the Novichok group was also used to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, in England, in 2018. They both survived, but a local woman, Dawn Sturgess, died after coming into contact with the poison.
Britain accused Russia’s military intelligence of carrying out that attack. Twenty countries expelled more than 100 Russian diplomats and spies.
According to a new book, President Donald Trump knew Covid-19 was deadlier than the flu before it hit the US but wanted to play down the crisis.
Bob Woodward, who broke the Watergate scandal and is one of the nation’s most respected journalists, interviewed President Trump 18 times from December to July.
President Trump is quoted as telling Bob Woodward the virus was “deadly stuff” before the first US death was confirmed.
Responding, Donald Trump said he had wanted to avoid causing public panic.
Some 190,000 Americans have been recorded as dying with Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
On September 9, some media released parts of the interviews between the president and the journalist, revealing his reported remarks on the outbreak as well as race and other issues.
Here are some of the key quotes so far from Rage, which will be released on September 15.
President Trump indicated that he knew more about the severity of the illness than he had said publicly.
According to a tape of the call, President Trump told Bob Woodward in February that the coronavirus was deadlier than the flu.
“It goes through the air,” President Trump told the author on February 7.
“That’s always tougher than the touch. You don’t have to touch things. Right? But the air, you just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed.
“And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flus.”
Later that month, President Trump promised the virus was “very much under control”, and that the case count would soon be close to zero. He also publicly implied the flu was more dangerous than Covid-19.
Speaking on Capitol Hill on March 10, President Trump said: “Just stay calm. It will go away.”
Nine days later, days after the White House declared the pandemic a national emergency, the president told Bob Woodward: “I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”
Speaking from the White House on September 9, President Trump told reporters: “I don’t want people to be frightened, I don’t want to create panic, as you say, and certainly I’m not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy.
“We want to show confidence, we want to show strength.”
President Trump – who is running for re-election in November – said the Bob Woodward book was “a political hit job”.
Responding to reporters’ questions on the book, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said: “The president never downplayed the virus, once again. The president expressed calm. The president was serious about this.”
In a tweet, Joe Biden said that “while a deadly disease ripped through our nation, [President Trump] failed to do his job – on purpose. It was a life or death betrayal of the American people”.
At least 100 people have been arrested in the Belarusian capital Minsk and other towns as protests against President Alexander Lukashenko were held for a fourth weekend in a row.
In Minsk, police charged demonstrators near the presidential palace, firing pepper spray and wielding batons.
Tens of thousands of people defied heavy security and rallied in the city.
Demonstrators want the long-time president to resign after his re-election last month amid allegations of ballot-rigging.
Mass unrest since then has seen at least four people killed and hundreds injured as the government tries to stamp out dissent.
On September 5, activist Olga Kovalkova became the latest to say she had taken refuge in neighboring Poland amid threats of imprisonment.
President Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has accused Western nations of interfering.
Protesters, human rights activists and observers say riot police are brutally suppressing peaceful marches in the former Soviet republic.
Belarus borders Russia, on which it depends heavily for energy and with which it historically has close ties, as well as Ukraine and EU states.
After the Viasna non-governmental organization reported 130 arrests on September 6, the Belarusian interior ministry confirmed for Russian news agency Interfax at least 100 detentions across the republic.
Eyewitnesses told Interfax that police began to make arrests in Minsk after the unsanctioned rally ended and people were going home. Video footage on September 7 shows men in plain clothes beating peaceful protesters with batons.
Internal Affairs Minister Yuri Karayev defended the actions of the security forces.
“They talk about the brutality of the Belarusian police, and I want to say this: there are no more humane, restrained and cool-headed police anywhere in the world,” he was quoted as saying by the official Belta news agency.
September 6 has become the key day for street demonstrations since the rallies began.
In recent days the security forces – dressed all in black with balaclavas over their faces – targeted university students as they returned from their holidays, dragging some from the streets and university buildings into unmarked minivans.
Protests have also been reported in other Belarusian cities and towns including Mogilev, Grodno, and Gomel.
President Donald Trump has announced he refuses to condemn Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying he has not seen proof.
He said the case was “tragic” but urged reporters to focus instead on China, which he said was a bigger threat to the world than Russia.
Germany and NATO say there is “proof beyond doubt” that Alexei Navalny was attacked with a Novichok nerve agent.
Alexei Navalny’s team says he was poisoned on the Kremlin’s orders. However, Russia denies this.
On September 5, the Russian foreign ministry suggested that if a Novichok-type nerve agent had indeed been used, it did not necessarily originate in Russia.
Alexei Navalny – an anti-corruption campaigner who has long been the most prominent face of opposition to President Vladimir Putin in Russia – is in a coma in a Berlin hospital having been airlifted there from Siberia, where he fell ill.
Speaking at a press event on September 4, President Trump said he had yet to see evidence of poisoning in the case.
He said: “So I don’t know exactly what happened. I think it’s tragic, it’s terrible, it shouldn’t happen. We haven’t had any proof yet but I will take a look.”
President Trump also stopped short of criticizing Vladimir Putin and said Beijing posed a greater threat.
He said: “It is interesting that everybody’s always mentioning Russia and I don’t mind you mentioning Russia but I think probably China at this point is a nation that you should be talking about much more so.”
Tests at a military laboratory in Germany show “beyond doubt” the presence of a Novichok nerve agent, the German government and NATO say.
On September, NATO called for Russia to disclose its Novichok nerve agent program to international monitors. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said members were united in condemning the “horrific” attack on Alexei Navalny.
Jens Stoltenberg said it required an international response, but gave no further details.
The US National Security Council has pledged to “work with allies and the international community to hold those in Russia accountable”.
The brief statement released by the foreign ministry on September 5 noted “multiple hostile statements made against Russia” over Alexei Navalny’s illness.
However, experts in Western states and NATO had, it said, for years worked on compounds used to make Novichok nerve agents.
“For example, in the USA, over 150 patents were officially issued to developers of technologies for their combat use,” the Russian foreign ministry said.
Under the 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention, Russia and the US committed themselves to eliminating all of their nerve agents and other chemical weapons. The US is expected to destroy its final stockpile be the end of 2023 while Russia officially completed the process in 2017.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in Alexei Navalny’s case.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Germany had not yet shared any findings with Moscow prosecutors and said Russia had “nothing to hide”.
Meanwhile a toxicologist in Omsk – where Alexei Navalny was initially treated after the plane he was flying on made an emergency landing – insisted no poison had been found by doctors who examined him there.
“Any external factors could have triggered a sudden deterioration. Even a simple lack of breakfast,” said Alexander Sabayev, chief toxicologist for the Omsk region.
Alexei Navalny fell ill last month while on a flight from Siberia to Moscow.
The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk and Russian officials were persuaded to allow him to be airlifted to Germany two days later.
A nerve agent from the Novichok group identified by Germany in the Navalny case was also used to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury. They both survived but a local woman, Dawn Sturgess, died after coming into contact with the poison.
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden have clashed over the violence that has erupted at protests in Portland, Oregon.
President Trump blamed the Democrat mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, for allowing the “death and destruction of his city”.
However, Joe Biden said the president was “recklessly encouraging violence”.
A man was shot dead in Portland on August 29 as elsewhere in the city a pro-Trump rally clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters.
Portland has become a flashpoint for demonstrations against police brutality and racism since the police killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 triggered a wave of national and international outrage.
Mayor Ted Wheeler warned against people coming to the city to seek revenge amid a flurry of social media posts.
He said: “For those of you saying on Twitter this morning that you plan to come to Portland to seek retribution, I’m calling on you to stay away.”
The mayor also hit back at President Trump’s criticism, saying it was the president who had “created the hate and the division”.
He said: “I’d appreciate it if the president would support us or stay the hell out of the way.”
Some activists have called for Mayor Wheeler’s resignation, saying that he was not capable of resolving the protests.
In a series of tweets on August 30, President Trump said that “Portland will never recover with a fool for a mayor”, and suggested sending federal forces to the city.
He also accused Joe Biden of being “unwilling to lead”.
The president tweeted: “…The people of Portland, like all other cities & parts of our great Country, want Law & Order. The Radical Left Democrat Mayors, like the dummy running Portland, or the guy right now in his basement unwilling to lead or even speak out against crime, will never be able to do it!”
In response, Joe Biden said in a statement: “[President Trump] may believe tweeting about law and order makes him strong – but his failure to call on his supporters to stop seeking conflict shows just how weak he is.”
Law and order is a major theme of Donald Trump’s bid for re-election, painting the Democrats and their candidate Joe Biden as soft on crime.
Earlier, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Democrats officials in Portland had allowed “lawlessness and chaos” to develop, saying “all options” were on the table to resolve the situation.
Democrats have responded by saying the violence is happening under President Trump’s presidency, and accuse him of worsening the situation with his rhetoric.
Police are investigating the shooting in Portland, which has seen months of demonstrations.
Portland police said in a statement: “Portland Police officers heard sounds of gunfire from the area of Southeast 3rd Avenue and Southwest Alder Street. They responded and located a victim with a gunshot wound to the chest.”
According to Oregon Live, a “camouflage gear” with “thin blue line patches” was seen next to the body – a common sign of support for the police.
Another image shows police trying to restrain a man who was apparently with the person who was shot.
Police have not identified the dead man or specified whether the shooting was directly linked to the clashes which broke out elsewhere in the city.
The founder of the far-right group Patriot Prayer identified the victim as Aaron “Jay” Danielson, adding that he was “a good friend and a supporter”, the Associated Press reports.
The shooting came amid fights between the Trump supporters and BLM protesters in Portland.
Tension rose after a convoy of some 600 vehicles flying flags and carrying an estimated 1,000 Trump backers gathered at a mall in Clackamas County on the outskirts before entering Portland’s downtown.
According to police, 10 people were arrested over the clashes.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to resign for health reasons.
Shinzo Abe, 65, said he did not want his illness to get in the way of decision making, and apologized to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office.
He has suffered for many years from ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, but he said his condition had worsened recently.
In 2019, Shinzo Abe became Japan’s longest serving prime minister. His current period in office began in 2012.
Shinzo Abe will remain in his post until a successor is chosen.
In 2007, he resigned abruptly from an earlier term as prime minister because of his struggles with ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition that he has lived with since he was a teenager.
Shinzo Abe has a reputation as a staunch conservative and nationalist, and for stimulating growth with his aggressive economic policy known as “Abenomics”.
The prime minister has strengthened Japan’s defenses and boosted military spending, but has been unable to revise the constitution’s pacifist Article 9, which bans a standing army for anything other than self-defense.
Shinzo Abe said his health started to decline as his ulcerative colitis made a resurgence around the middle of July.
He was now receiving a new treatment for the condition which had to be administered on a regular basis and would not give him enough time to carry out his prime ministerial functions, he added.
Shinzo Abe said he could not make any mistakes in terms of important decision making, and therefore had decided to step down.
He said: “I made a judgement I should not continue my job as a prime minister.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the people of Japan for leaving my post with one year left in my term of office, and amid the coronavirus woes, while various policies are still in the process of being implemented.”
Shinzo Abe also expressed regret at not fulfilling his core pledges – forcing North Korea to return Japanese citizens abducted decades ago; sorting out a territorial dispute with Russia; and overhauling the constitution to give more power to the military.
Speaking on the final night of the Republican convention, President Donald Trump has warned Joe Biden will “demolish” the American dream if he wins the White House in November.
The president depicted his Democratic challenger as “the destroyer of American greatness”.
Donald Trump said the Democrats would unleash “violent anarchists” upon US cities.
Joe Biden has a steady single-digit lead in opinion polls over President Trump with 68 days until voters return their verdict.
The end of the RNC heralds a 10-week sprint to Election Day, and the coming campaign is widely expected to be one of the ugliest in living memory.
On August 27, President Trump asked voters for another four years in office, vowing to dispel the coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the US economy and quell civil strife ignited by police killings of African Americans.
He accepted the GOP’s re-nomination from the South Lawn of the White House.
Donald Trump said: “This election will decide whether we save the American dream, or whether we allow a socialist agenda to demolish our cherished destiny.”
He added: “Your vote will decide whether we protect law-abiding Americans, or whether we give free rein to violent anarchists, agitators and criminals who threaten our citizens.”
His reference to the sometimes violent racial justice protests that have swept the nation in recent months came as hundreds of Black Lives Matter demonstrators gathered outside the White House gates.
Some of their shouts and car horns could be heard on the South Lawn despite new fencing being erected this week along the White House perimeter to keep protesters at a distance.
President Trump said the Democrats at their party convention last week had disparaged America as a place of racial, social and economic injustice.
He said: “So tonight,I ask you a very simple question – how can the Democrat party ask to lead our country when it spends so much time tearing down our country?
“In the left’s backward view, they do not see America as the most free, just and exceptional nation on earth. Instead, they see a wicked nation that must be punished for its sins.”
In a blistering attack on his opponent’s decades-long political life, Donald Trump continued: “Joe Biden spent his entire career outsourcing the dreams of American workers, offshoring their jobs, opening their borders and sending their sons and daughters to fight in endless foreign wars.”
While President Trump portrayed his challenger as “a Trojan horse for socialism”, Joe Biden’s lengthy record as a political moderate was a hindrance for him as he competed to capture his party’s nomination.
Donald Trump mentioned Joe Biden more than 40 times; the Democrat did not once name Donald Trump in his speech last week, though criticism of the president permeated Joe Biden’s remarks.
President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway has announced that she is resigning from her post at the end of August.
In a statement, Kellyanne Conway, 53, said she was stepping down to focus on her children, giving them “less drama, more mama”.
Kellyanne Conway’s husband, George, an outspoken critic of the president, will also be stepping back from political activism.
She added that her decision was “completely my choice”, and that she would announce future plans “in time”.
The announcement came hours after one of Kellyanne Conway’s daughters, Claudia, 15, tweeted that her mother’s job had “ruined [her] life”.
Kellyanne Conway, who is still scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention on August 26, informed President Trump on August 23.
A Republican strategist and veteran pollster, Kellyanne Conway was the first woman to manage a successful presidential campaign, spearheading President Trump’s effort in 2016.
As senior counselor at the White House, Kellyanne Conway acted as political adviser to President Trump and maintained a highly influential position in the administration.
In contrast, George Conway is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project – a Republican political action committee working to prevent the re-election of President Trump in 2020.
“The past four years have allowed me blessings beyond compare,” Kellyanne Conway said in a statement.
“[George and I] disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids,” she added.
“Our four children are teens and tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months,” she continued.
“As millions of parents nationwide know, kids ‘doing school from home’ requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times.”
Claudia Conway’s tweet about her mother went viral over the weekend.
She tweeted: “my mother’s job ruined my life to begin with. heartbreaking that she continues to go down that path after years of watching her children suffer. selfish. it’s all about money and fame, ladies and gentlemen.”
Claudia Conway later tweeted that she was taking a “mental health break” from social media, saying “this is becoming way too much”.
Kellyanne Conway is one of President Trump’s most ardent supporters, but has long been a controversial figure. She has become well known for sparring with journalists in defense of the president.
George Conway has publicly disparaged the president, describing him as “incompetent”. President Trump, in response, has called him a “stone cold LOSER” and said that he had turned down George Conway for a job in the justice department.
A mass rally of the Belarusian opposition have been held in the capital Minsk, two weeks after a disputed election gave President Alexander Lukashenko another term in office.
Correspondents in the Belarusian capital said tens of thousands filled the central square despite a heavy police presence.
The protesters say President Lukashenko stole the election and want him to resign.
Alexander Lukashenko, 65, has vowed to crush unrest and blamed the dissent on unnamed “foreign-backed revolutionaries”.
Recent protests were met with a crackdown in which at least four people were killed. Demonstrators said they had been tortured in prisons.
According to official results, Alexander Lukashenko – who has ruled Belarus for 26 years – won more than 80% of the vote in the 9 August election and opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 10%.
There were no independent observers and the opposition alleges massive vote rigging.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was forced to flee to neighboring Lithuania the day after the election, vowed to “stand till the end” in the protests.
According to pro-opposition media, 100,000 people poured into Independence Square on August 23. State TV put the crowd at 20,000.
After gathering in the square, some demonstrators moved towards the “Hero City” war memorial and the presidential palace. They were blocked by a security cordon before dispersing.
State TV released a video showing President Lukashenko arriving at the presidential palace by helicopter, wearing a flak jacket and carrying an automatic weapon.
Similar demonstrations were held in other Belarusian cities. Meanwhile in Lithuania, thousands of people – including President Gitanas Nausėda – formed a human chain from the capital Vilnius to the Belarusian border in solidarity with those protesting in Minsk.
More human chains were planned in the Estonian capital Tallinn and in Prague in the Czech Republic.
This weekend’s rally in Minsk follows the country’s biggest protest in modern history on August 16, when hundreds of thousands filled the streets. Strike action in key factories across Belarus is also keeping up the pressure on the president.
President Lukashenko insists he won the election fairly and has ruled holding another poll. On August 22 he accused NATO of “trying to topple the authorities” and install a new president in Minsk.
He said he was moving troops to Belarus’s western borders to counter a NATO build-up in Poland and Lithuania, and vowed to “defend the territorial integrity of our country”.
NATO responded by saying it posed “no threat to Belarus or any other country”, and had “no military build-up in the region”.
Alexander Lukashenko has also accused an opposition council – set up by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to organize peaceful transition – of trying to seize power. Two of its members were questioned by police on August 21.
Former White House’s chief strategist Steve Bannon has been arrested and charged with fraud over a fundraising campaign to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
Steve Bannon and three others defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with the “We Build the Wall” campaign, which raised $25 million, the DoJ said.
He received more than $1 million, at least some of which he used to cover personal expenses, it alleged.
Steve Bannon, 66, is due to appear in court later.
He was a key architect of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory. His right-wing anti-immigration ideology fuelled Donald Trump’s “America First” campaign.
Steve Bannon was reportedly arrested on a 150-foot yacht in Connecticut by agents from the US Postal Inspection Service, which investigates fraud cases.
Responding to Steve Bannon’s arrest, President Trump said he felt “very badly” about it. He also said he had had no involvement with “We Build the Wall”.
“I said, ‘This is for government; this isn’t for private people’ – and it sounded to me like showboating and I think I let my opinion be very strongly stated at the time,” the president said.
The “We Build the Wall” campaign pledged to use donations to build segments of the border barrier – whose construction was a key Trump promise during the 2016 election – on private land.
However, Audrey Strauss, the acting Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), said Steve Bannon, Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea had “defrauded hundreds of thousands of donors, capitalizing on their interest in funding a border wall to raise millions of dollars, under the false pretence that all of that money would be spent on construction”.
Steve Bannon had received more than $1 million through a non-profit organization he controlled, at least some of which he used to cover “hundreds of thousands of dollars in his personal expenses”, the DoJ said.
Meanwhile, Brian Kolfage – founder of “We Build the Wall” – covertly took $350,000 for his personal use, the statement said.
“While repeatedly assuring donors that Brian Kolfage, the founder and public face of We Build the Wall, would not be paid a cent, the defendants secretly schemed to pass hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle,” Audrey Strauss said.
SDNY Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett said the four created “sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and cover up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth”.
“This case should serve as a warning to other fraudsters that no one is above the law, not even a disabled war veteran or a millionaire political strategist,” he said.
Steve Bannon and the three others launched the scheme in December 2018, the DoJ said, and during the campaign Brian Kolfage said that all of the money donated would go towards construction while Bannon publicly said: “We’re a volunteer organization.”
All four defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Steve Bannon will appear in court in the SDNY. Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato will appear in separate courts in Florida and Timothy Shea will appear in Colorado.
Steve Bannon is the sixth former senior aide to Donald Trump to face criminal charges – after ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, veteran political operator Roger Stone, ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, ex-deputy campaign manager Rick Gates and ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been hospitalized and is now unconscious suffering from suspected poisoning, his spokeswoman has said.
Alexei Navalny fell ill during a flight and the plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, where doctors said he was in a coma and they were trying to save his life.
The anti-corruption campaigner’s team suspects something was put in his tea at an airport cafe.
The Kremlin said that it wished Alexei Navalny a “speedy recovery”.
Alexei Navalny, 44, has for years been among President Vladimir Putin’s staunchest critics.
In June, the opposition leader described a vote on constitutional reforms as a “coup” and a “violation of the constitution”. The reforms allow President Putin to serve another two terms in office, after the four terms he has already had.
Kira Yarmysh, the press secretary for the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which Mr Navalny founded in 2011, tweeted: “This morning Navalny was returning to Moscow from Tomsk.
“During the flight, he felt ill. The plane made an urgent landing in Omsk. Alexei has toxic poisoning.”
She added: “We suspect that Alexei was poisoned by something mixed into [his] tea. It was the only thing he drank since morning.
“Doctors are saying that the toxic agent absorbed faster through the hot liquid. Right now Alexei is unconscious.”
Kira Yarmysh said later that Alexei Navalny was on a ventilator and in a coma, and that the hospital was now full of police officers. All of his belongings were being confiscated, she added.
She also said that doctors were initially ready to share any information but then they later claimed the toxicology tests had been delayed and were “clearly playing for time, and not saying what they know”.
Diagnosis would be “towards evening”, Kira Yarmysh was told.
BothAlexei Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and doctor, Anastasia Vasilyeva, have arrived at the hospital.
Yulia Navalnaya was initially denied access to her husband because authorities said the patient had not agreed to the visit, Kira Yarmysh said, although she was later allowed on to the ward.
Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva said they were seeking to transfer the opposition leader to a specialist poison control center in Europe, but hospital doctors were refusing to provide records of his condition.
The Tass news agency quoted one source at the Omsk Emergency Hospital as saying: “Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny, born in 1976. Poisoning intensive care.”
However, the deputy head physician of the hospital later told media that it was not certain Alexei Navalny had been poisoned, although poisoning was “naturally” one of the diagnoses being considered.
Anatoly Kalinichenko said that doctors were “genuinely trying to save [Alexei Navalny’s] life”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said it wished the critic a speedy recovery – as it would all citizens in such circumstances – and that the authorities would consider approving treatment abroad if it were requested.
Video footage on social media shows Alexei Navalny being taken on a stretcher to an ambulance on the airport runway.
Other disturbing video appears to show a stricken Navalny in pain on the flight.
Another photograph on social media purports to show him drinking from a cup at a Tomsk airport cafe.
The Interfax agency said the cafe owners were checking CCTV to see if it could provide any evidence.
Alexei Navalny made a name for himself by exposing official corruption, labeling Vladimir Putin’s United Russia as “the party of crooks and thieves”, and has served several jail terms.
On the third day of the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris has accepted her historic nomination as her party’s vice-presidential candidate, running with Joe Biden for the White House.
In her speech, Kamala Harris, the first US woman of color on a major-party ticket, assailed President Donald Trump’s “failure of leadership”.
She pledged to speak “truths” to the American public.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will challenge President Trump and his VP Mike Pence in the election on November 3.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced Democrats to abandon the cheering throngs, fanfare and razzmatazz of the typical party convention in favor of a virtual event of pre-recorded and live speeches.
The grand finale of the four-night conference will see Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, deliver a speech on August 20.
“We’re at an inflection point,” the California senator said, speaking live from a largely empty hotel ballroom in Joe Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Attacking President Trump, Kamala Harris continued: “The constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot.
“And here’s the thing: We can do better and deserve so much more.
“We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better, and do the important work.”
Kamala Harris – the child of immigrants from India and Jamaica – pledged that she and Joe Biden would revive a country fractured by the coronavirus pandemic and racial tension.
“There is no vaccine for racism,” she said.
“We’ve got to do the work.”
She continued: “Donald Trump’s failure has cost lives and livelihoods.”
“Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons,” Kamala Harris added.
President Trump swiftly hit back, tweeting about Kamala Harris’ previous attack on Joe Biden over his record on race issues, while they were both rivals for the Democratic White House nomination.
He tweeted: “BUT DIDN’T SHE CALL HIM A RACIST??? DIDN’T SHE SAY HE WAS INCOMPETENT???”
The moment came during a live TV debate last year, though Kamala Harris prefaced those remarks by telling Joe Biden: “I do not believe you are a racist.”
Also on August 19, former President Barack Obama launched his most withering direct attack yet on Donald Trump, accusing his Republican successor of treating the White House like “one more reality show”.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announces he has given orders to end the unrest in the capital Minsk triggered by disputed elections.
The official result gave him 80% of the vote but the opposition has denounced the poll as fraudulent.
The move signaled an escalation just as EU leaders agreed to impose sanctions at a virtual summit.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, made clear that the EU did not recognize the result of the election and called on President Lukashenko to release hundreds of protesters who have been imprisoned.
On August 19 Wednesday, President Lukashenko approved a cabinet that would see Roman Golovchenko retain his role as prime minister, with many other key members of the previous government reappointed, the Tut.by news network reported.
Among those on the list to remain in place was Interior Minister Yuri Karayev, whose responsibilities include policing and public security.
The proposed government is subject to further consent by the lower house of parliament.
Alexander Lukashekno, who has led Belarus since 1994, said he had ordered police to quell protests in Minsk.
“There should no longer be any disorder in Minsk of any kind,” he told his security council.
“People are tired. People demand peace and quiet,” he added.
President Lukashenko said he had ordered border controls to be tightened to prevent an influx of “fighters and arms”.
He also warned that workers at state media who had gone on strike in protest at the election and the subsequent crackdown on protests that they would not get their jobs back. Russian replacements have reportedly been brought in.
Alexander Lukashenko also accused those picketing outside factories of harassing workers.
He had earlier accused the opposition of “an attempt to seize power”.
His remarks came shortly after the exiled leader of the opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, had urged EU leaders to reject the election.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 37, who left for Lithuania after being detained for hours following the vote, released a video statement on August 19.
She said President Lukashenko had “lost all legitimacy in the eyes of our nation and the world” and urged the EU to back what she called the “awakening of Belarus”.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya added: “People who went out to defend their vote in the streets of their cities all across Belarus were brutally beaten, imprisoned and tortured by the regime desperately clinging on to power. This is taking place right now in the middle of Europe.”
She has formed a “co-ordination council” with plans for “new, fair and democratic presidential elections with international supervision”.
After a three-hour video conference, EU Leaders agreed unanimously to take three actions over Belarus.
Firstly, to impose sanctions including asset freezes for an as yet undisclosed number of officials involved in alleged election-rigging, brutality and imprisonment of protesters. The exact sanctions are still being worked out.
Secondly, leaders agreed to a joint form of words making clear that the EU stands with the people on the streets, and does not recognize the result. But it does not go as far as stating they do not recognize President Lukashenko’s authority, as some EU officials wanted.
Thirdly, leaders offered help in trying to mediate dialogue between the government and the opposition, to find a way for the president to stand down and peacefully transfer power.
In addition, €53 million ($63 million) of financial support from the EU to Belarus is being re-assigned away from the state to non-governmental organizations, with some money assigned to help the victims of violence, as well setting up alternatives to government-backed media organizations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Belarus election had been neither free nor fair.
EU leaders, she added, condemned “the brutal violence against demonstrators as well as the imprisonment and use of violence against thousands of Belarusians” which followed in the wake of the disputed election.
Angela Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need for a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition in Belarus.
Joe Biden has been officially crowned as the Democratic presidential candidate at the party’s convention.
He was endorsed by two Democratic former presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican.
Bill Clinton said President Donald Trump had brought “chaos” to the Oval Office.
President Trump trails Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of November’s election.
Joe Biden, the former vice-president under President Barack Obama, became the Democratic Party’s nominee on Tuesday night in a pre-recorded roll call vote from delegates in all 50 states.
This is Joe Biden’s third White House bid, having formerly run in 1988 and 2008. The 77-year-old’s campaign appeared to be in danger of collapse back in February this year.
On the second night of the party convention on August 18, with the theme “leadership matters,” Bill Clinton delivered the key address.
“Donald Trump says we’re leading the world,” Bill Clinton said in his five-minute message pre-recorded from his home in Chappaqua, New York.
“Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple.
“At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command centre. Instead, it’s a storm centre. There’s only chaos.”
Following addresses from former First Lady Michelle Obama and Senator Bernie Sanders on August 17, the next day’s speeches aimed to persuade voters the Democratic party is the best suited to repair problems at home and abroad.
Colin Powell said Joe Biden shared “the values I learned growing up in the south Bronx and serving in uniform”.
The decorated four-star general said he supported him for president because “we need to restore those values to the White House”.
In June, Colin Powell – who served under President George W Bush and has appeared at multiple Republican conventions in previous years – called President Trump a liar and endorsed Joe Biden.
Colin Powell joins several Republicans who have endorsed Joe Biden, including former Ohio Governor John Kasich during the first night of the convention.
Cindy McCain, the widow of Republican Senator John McCain, also spoke about the friendship between her late husband and Joe Biden, though she stopped short of a formal endorsement.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry addressed the convention virtually to assail President Trump’s leadership.
He said: “When this president goes overseas, it isn’t a goodwill mission, it’s a blooper reel.
“He breaks up with our allies and writes love letters to dictators. America deserves a president who is looked up to, not laughed at.”
The freshly minted Democratic nominee’s wife, Jill Biden, potentially the next first lady, delivered the night’s headline address, standing in an empty classroom at the Delaware high school where she taught English in the 1990s.
Urging everyone to vote for her husband, who joined her, Jill Biden said: “The burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders.
“I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours: bring us together and make us whole.”
The DNC is largely virtual, amid the coronavirus pandemic, and it is unclear whether a format of pre-recorded speeches and no live audience will generate the same levels of enthusiasm as the traditional party gatherings. Next week’s Republican convention will also be mostly online.
The opening night drew 28% fewer viewers than in 2016, according to ratings from Nielsen, a global measurement and data analytics company. Democrats said an additional 10 million watched online, which if confirmed would put its audience at slightly above levels that year.
Louis DeJoy, a former Republican donor, also said overtime pay would continue to be approved to ensure deliveries arrive on time.
He said in a statement: “To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.”
The development comes as the row over the politicization of the most popular US government agency has become a top issue in the 2020 presidential campaign.
Over the weekend, former President Barack Obama – in what was regarded as his most high-profile criticism of President Donald Trump to date – accused his successor of trying to “actively kneecap” the postal service.
Defenders of the changes said they were necessary to help the USPS get out of financial debt. Its budget shortfall has risen to $160 billion amid a decade-long decline in mail volume.
However, Mark Dimondstein, the president of the American Postal Workers Union which represents more than 200,000 postal employees, told Fox News on August 18 that the changes “are truly slowing down mail, the customers see it… the postal workers see it – mail is getting all backed up”.
On August 19, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, cheered the postmaster’s volte-face, telling reporters: “They felt the heat and that’s what we were trying to do, make it too hot to handle.”
On August 16, Nancy Pelosi had recalled the House from a recess in order to investigate the USPS policies.
Louis DeJoy, a major political donor who was appointed by President Trump to lead the USPS in May, is due to testify to a Republican-led Senate committee on August 21, and then to a Democrat-led House committee on August 24.
Last week, President Trump said he rejected a funding boost for the USPS to shore up a predicted influx mail-in voting, claiming without evidence that it would lead to voter fraud and help Democrats.
He has also suggested delaying the election, which he does not have the power to do, to stop postal ballots leading to “inaccurate and fraudulent” results.
Voting by mail is not new to the US. According to Reuters, approximately one in every four voters cast ballots by mail in 2016.
Critics say people could vote more than once via absentee ballots and then again in person, though numerous nationwide and state-level studies over the years have found no evidence of widespread fraud.
However, these are rare incidents, and the rate of voting fraud overall in the US is between 0.00004% and 0.0009%, a 2017 study by the Brennan Center for Justice said.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama has launched a stinging attack on President Donald Trump as Democrats prepared to crown Joe Biden as their White House challenger.
“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” Michelle Obama in an emotional recorded message to the Democratic convention.
Disaffected members of President Trump’s Republican Party also piled in on him at the Democratic National Convention.
This year’s election takes place on Tuesday, November 3.
Because of the coronavirus outbreak, Democrats scrapped plans for a crowded party extravaganza with balloon drops and all the other political razzmatazz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
However, it is unclear whether the largely virtual schedule of pre-recorded speeches with no live audience can generate the same level of enthusiasm as pre-pandemic gatherings of the party faithful.
Republicans will face the same challenge as they make their case for four more years in the White House at a drastically scaled-down convention next week.
Michelle Obama, who recorded her keynote address before Joe Biden announced his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, six days ago, launched a blistering attack on President Trump.
“You simply cannot fake your way through this job,” she said in remarks that closed the first night of the convention on August 17.
The former first lady added: “Our economy is in shambles because of a virus that this president downplayed for too long.”
“Stating the simple fact that a black life matters is still met with derision from the nation’s highest office,” Michelle Obama continued.
“Because whenever we look to this White House for some leadership, or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division and a total and utter lack of empathy.”
Michelle Obama said the last four years had been difficult to explain to America’s children.
“They see our leaders labeling fellow citizens enemies of the state, while emboldening torch-bearing white supremacists.
“They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages and pepper spray and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protests for a photo op,” she said.
Michelle Obama continued: “Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head.
“He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.”
Barack Obama’s wife described Joe Biden as a “profoundly decent man”, touting the Democratic White House candidate’s experience as vice-president under her husband.
“We have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it,” Michelle Obama said, wearing a necklace that said “Vote”.
Robert Trump, President Trump’s brother and Trump Organization executive, has died at the age of 71.
President Donald Trump has paid tribute to his “best friend” and youngest brother, saying in a statement on August 15: “It is with [a] heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight.”
Donald Trump had visited his brother in hospital in New York the day before his death, telling reporters: “He’s having a hard time.”
It is unclear what caused Robert Trump’s death.
A number of media reports suggested Robert Trump had been seriously ill.
President Trump said in a statement on August 15: “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend.
“His memory will live on in my heart forever.”
Donald Trump’s son Eric described his uncle as an “incredible man – strong, kind and loyal to the core”.
“He will be deeply missed by our entire family,” Eric Trump wrote on Twitter.
Robert was the youngest of Fred and Mary Anne Trump’s five children, and was born two years after his brother Donald.
The eldest of the children, Fred Jr., died in 1981.
Robert Trump spent much of his career with the family real-estate firm, becoming a top executive. Unlike his brother, however, he was said not to court publicity and lived semi-retired in New York state.
He recently went to court in a failed bid to stop publication of his niece Mary Trump’s tell-all book about President Trump, How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.
According to the New York Post, Robert Trump spent more than a week in the intensive-care unit of Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital in June.
Robert Trump, President Trump’s brother and Trump Organization executive, has died at the age of 71.
President Donald Trump has paid tribute to his “best friend” and youngest brother, saying in a statement on August 15: “It is with [a] heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight.”
Donald Trump had visited his brother in hospital in New York the day before his death, telling reporters: “He’s having a hard time.”
It is unclear what caused Robert Trump’s death.
A number of media reports suggested Robert Trump had been seriously ill.
President Trump said in a statement on August 15: “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend.
“His memory will live on in my heart forever.”
Donald Trump’s son Eric described his uncle as an “incredible man – strong, kind and loyal to the core”.
“He will be deeply missed by our entire family,” Eric Trump wrote on Twitter.
Robert was the youngest of Fred and Mary Anne Trump’s five children, and was born two years after his brother Donald.
The eldest of the children, Fred Jr., died in 1981.
Robert Trump spent much of his career with the family real-estate firm, becoming a top executive. Unlike his brother, however, he was said not to court publicity and lived semi-retired in New York state.
He recently went to court in a failed bid to stop publication of his niece Mary Trump’s tell-all book about President Trump, How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.
According to the New York Post, Robert Trump spent more than a week in the intensive-care unit of Manhattan’s Mount Sinai Hospital in June.
Joe Biden’s campaign team has issued a scathing response after President Donald Trump amplified a conspiracy theory about Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris.
President Trump said he had “heard” that Kamala Harris – a US-born citizen whose parents were immigrants – “doesn’t qualify” to serve as vice-president.
The fringe theory has been dismissed by constitutional experts.
The Biden campaign called the comments “abhorrent” and “pathetic”.
They noted that President Trump spent years promoting a false “birther” theory that ex-President Barack Obama was not born in the US.
On August 11, Kamala Harris, a senator from California, became the first black woman and the first Asian-American to be named as a running mate on a main-party presidential ticket.
A Biden campaign spokesman said in an email: “Donald Trump was the national leader of the grotesque, racist birther movement with respect to President Obama and has sought to fuel racism and tear our nation apart on every single day of his presidency.
“So it’s unsurprising, but no less abhorrent, that as Trump makes a fool of himself straining to distract the American people from the horrific toll of his failed coronavirus response that his campaign and their allies would resort to wretched, demonstrably false lies in their pathetic desperation.”
Kamala Harris was born to a Jamaican father and Indian mother in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964. As such, she is eligible to serve as president or vice-president.
Constitutional scholars have dismissed the fringe legal theory that President Trump was referring to.
To be vice-president or president, Kamala Harris “has to be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident in the United States for at least 14 years”, Juliet Sorensen, a law professor at Northwestern University, told the Associated Press.
“She is. That’s really the end of the inquiry.”
Anyone born in the US and subject to its jurisdiction is a natural born citizen, regardless of the citizenship of their parents, says the Cornell Legal Information Institute.
After a conservative law professor questioned Kamala Harris’ eligibility based on her parents’ immigration status at the time of her birth, President Trump was asked about the argument at a press conference on August 13.
President Trump said: “I just heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements and by the way the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer.
“I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice-president.
“But that’s a very serious, you’re saying that, they’re saying that she doesn’t qualify because she wasn’t born in this country.”
The reporter replied there was no question that Kamala Harris was born in the US, simply that her parents might not have been permanent US residents at the time.
Kamala Harris has been named as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate.
The California senator of Indian-Jamaican heritage is the first black woman and South Asian American in the role.
Once a rival for the top job, Kamala Harris had long been considered the front-runner for the vice-president.
The former California attorney general has been urging police reform amid nationwide anti-racism protests.
Joe Biden will face President Donald Trump in the election on November 3.
After August 11 announcement, Kamala Harris tweeted that Joe Biden “can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals”.
“I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.”
On August 12, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on “working together to restore the soul of the nation and fight for working families to move the country forward”, the Biden campaign said.
At a White House news conference on August 11, President Donald Trump, a Republican, said he was pleased with Joe Biden’s choice, adding that Kamala Harris did “very, very poorly” in her effort to become the Democratic nominee.
Kamala Harris will take part in a debate with President Trump’s running mate, Vice-President Mike Pence, on October 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In last year’s race to be the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris showed herself to be a forceful speaker, launching blistering attacks on Donald Trump.
The role of a vice-presidential running mate isn’t always clearly defined.
One of the traditional roles is to go on the offensive in exposing the opposition’s weaknesses, while the presidential nominee focuses on communicating the party’s message.
Constitutionally, the vice-president steps in to the top job should the president die or leave office during his or her term.
Joe Biden will turn 78 in November, meaning should he be elected he will be the oldest US president in history (Ronald Reagan was 77 when he left office).
His age means Joe Biden’s vice-presidential choice may come under extra scrutiny.
Kamala Harris, 55, dropped out of the presidential race in December after failing to make headway in her bid to win the Democratic nomination.
She repeatedly clashed with Joe Biden during the primary election debates, most notably criticizing his praise for the “civil” working relationship he had with former senators who favored racial segregation.
Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California, to two immigrant parents: an Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father.
She went on to attend Howard University, one of the nation’s preeminent historically black colleges and universities. She has described her time there as among the most formative experiences of her life.
Kamala Harris says she’s always been comfortable with her identity and simply describes herself as “an American”.
Only two other women have been nominated as vice-presidential candidates for a major party – Sarah Palin by the Republican party in 2008 and Geraldine Ferraro by the Democrats in 1984. Neither were on the winning ticket.
A woman of color has never been appointed to a presidential ticket by either of the two main American political parties. No woman has won the US presidency either.
Joe Biden tweeted that he had “the great honor” to name Kamala Harris as his number two.
He described her as “a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants”.
Joe Biden pledged in March to name a woman on the ticket. He had faced mounting calls to pick a black woman in recent months as the nation has been convulsed by social unrest over police brutality against African Americans, a key voting bloc for the Democratic Party.
According to Belarus’s election officials, Alexander Lukashenko won 80.23% of the vote in August 9 presidential election, with his main challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, receiving 9.9%.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya entered the election in place of her jailed husband and went on to lead large opposition rallies.
Alexander Lukashenko, 65, has been in power since 1994.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has refused to accept the autocratic president won 80% of the vote.
“I consider myself the winner of this election,” she said on August 10.
Police and demonstrators have clashed for a second night in the capital Minsk and other cities.
A lack of scrutiny – no observers were present – has led to allegations of widespread vote-rigging in the poll.
Protests continued across Belarus on August 10. In Minsk, officers reportedly used tear gas against the demonstrators and arrested 30 people. One witness said they saw officers with truncheons beat protesters.
Polish-based broadcaster Belsat TV said several metro stations in the capital had been closed and the internet was still mostly unavailable.
It comes after the state security agency said it had thwarted an attempt on Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s life. It gave no further details.
The election was held amid growing frustration at Alexander Lukashenko’s leadership, with opposition rallies attracting large crowds.
President Lukashenko has described opposition supporters as “sheep” controlled from abroad, and vowed not to allow the country to be torn apart.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said that the election results published on August 10 “completely contradict common sense” and the authorities should think about how to peacefully hand over power.
“We have seen that the authorities are trying to hold on to their positions by force,” she said.
“No matter how much we asked authorities not to turn on their own people, we were not listened to.”
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s campaign said it would challenge “numerous falsifications” in the vote.
Alexander Lukashenko poured scorn on Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s comments.
“So Lukashenko, who is at the top of the power structure and at the head of the state, after getting 80% of the vote must voluntarily hand over power to them,” the president said.
Demonstrators held up banners featuring such slogans as “Corona, false alarm” and “We are being forced to wear a muzzle”.
Some participants were from the far right and some were conspiracy theorists who do not believe Covid-19 exists, but others were ordinary people who simply object to the government’s approach to the pandemic.
Police ordered demonstrators to disperse at the end of the afternoon. They said they had launched legal action against organizers for not respecting coronavirus hygiene rules.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn criticized people for failing to adhere to regulations, including the 1.5m (5ft) social distancing requirement.
“Yes, demonstrations should be allowed even amid the pandemic. But not like this,” he wrote on Twitter.
Social distancing rules and hygiene requirements apply throughout Germany, and people must wear face-coverings in shops and on public transport. Mandatory testing has been introduced for holidaymakers returning from high-risk areas.
Germany has had more than 210,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 9,000 related deaths since the pandemic began.
Republican Herman Cain, who ran for president in 2012, has died after contracting Covid-19.
The 74-year-old was hospitalized after being diagnosed with the disease earlier this month.
A message posted on his official website said: “Herman Cain – our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us – has passed away.”
Herman Cain, who in 2006 survived late-stage colon cancer, is one of the best-known US victims of Covid-19.
His social media accounts had been providing regular updates on his condition. On July 7, a post from his Twitter account said “doctors are trying to make sure his oxygen levels are right”.
“This is a tough virus,” it said.
“Please continue praying.”
Herman Cain appeared without a mask at a rally held by President Donald Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20.
He was admitted to hospital with coronavirus on July 1, though it is unclear when or where he caught the infection.
President Trump paid tribute to Herman Cain on July 30 at the White House, saying: “He was a very special person… and unfortunately he passed away from a thing called the China virus.”
Herman Cain was born in Tennessee to a father who worked three jobs as a janitor, chauffeur and barber, and a mother who worked as a servant. He went on to study for a degree in maths and a master’s in computing.
He worked variously as a Baptist minister, a radio talk show host and as a businessman.
Herman Cain was an advocate of a flat tax system – his 9-9-9 plan – and ran for office after a stint as CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.
During his run, he told reporters he would not stand for any “gotcha questions”.
“And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan, I’m going to say you know, I don’t know. Do you know?”
Herman Cain initially proved popular, but later found himself at the centre of a number of harassment allegations.
Although he denied the accusations against him, his popularity soon suffered and he suspended his campaign. Mitt Romney later became the Republican candidate in an unsuccessful race against President Barack Obama’s bid for a second term in office. In 2019, President Trump sounded Herman Cain out to sit on the Federal Reserve Board, but he withdrew his nomination after several Republican senators refused to back his appointment.
Kanye West has officially launched his White House 2020 campaign, with an unorthodox rally in Charleston, South Carolina.
The 43-year-old rapper is running as a candidate for his self-styled “Birthday Party”.
At the event, Kanye West seemed to make policy decisions off-the-cuff and made several rants, including on abortion and on abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
Fans have questioned whether his last-minute bid for the White House is actually a promotional stunt.
The Charleston rally did little to clarify whether Kanye West’s run is genuine. But a now-deleted tweet sent from Kanye West’s account on July 18, appearing to show the song list for a new album, added to the speculation.
The event, held at a wedding and conference hall in the city, was said to be open to registered guests only – but Kanye West’s campaign website had no function for people to register or RSVP.
Kanye West appeared with “2020” shaved into the back of his head and wearing a protective security vest, and addressed the gathered crowd without a microphone.
There were no audience microphones either, leading the rapper to repeatedly tell the crowd to be silent so he could hear the questions being asked.
At one point Kanye West began crying when talking about abortion, saying that his parents almost aborted him: “There would have been no Kanye West, because my dad was too busy.”
He added: “I almost killed my daughter… even if my wife [Kim Kardashian West] were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn’t want to.”
However, the rapper then added that he believes abortion should remain legal, but there should be financial support for struggling new mothers – suggesting that “everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars”.
“The only thing that can free us is by obeying the rules that were given to us for a promised land,” Kanye West said.
“Abortion should be legal because guess what? The law is not by God anyway, so what is legality?”
At another moment, Kanye West gave an impromptu monologue about 19th century abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
He said: “Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people.”
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery, but managed to escape a Maryland plantation in 1849, at the age of 27. She then returned to the South to rescue other slaves on the network of routes and safe houses known as “underground railroad”, risking her own life to lead people to freedom.
Kanye West also became tearful when talking about his late mother, who died in 2007 from complications during cosmetic surgery.
The speech has been met with anger by some – mostly sparked by the rapper’s comments about Harriet Tubman – but also with concern over Kanye West’s welfare.
Kanye West, who announced his candidacy on 4th of July, has already missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in several states. He needs to collect enough signatures to appear on the ballot in a number of others.
Last week, he qualified to appear on Oklahoma’s presidential ballot, the first state where he met the requirements before the deadline.
In order to appear on South Carolina’s ballot, Kanye West needs to collect 10,000 signatures by noon local time on July 20.
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