Former US president Barack Obama endorsed his fellow Democrat Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House on Friday, delivering a major boost to her campaign to beat Donald Trump in November’s presidential election.

“Earlier this week, Michelle and I called our friend Kamala Harris. We told her we think she’ll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support,” Obama said on social media platform X.

“At this critical moment for our country, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in November. We hope you’ll join us.”

The influential former leader was one of the last Democratic heavy hitters to offer his endorsement, with Harris having already received the backing of President Joe Biden on Sunday to take his place on the ballot.

Obama’s backing will add to the growing momentum behind Harris’ campaign, which has enjoyed a groundswell of support since she announced her 11th-hour candidacy.

Harris, 59, jumped into the election after weeks of turmoil over 81-year-old Biden, who bowed out after a dismal debate performance against Trump accelerated concerns over his mental capacity and persistently low polling numbers.

The country’s first woman vice president — who is seeking to make history again in November — launched a blistering attack on Trump and his “extremist” Republicans as she addressed teachers Thursday.

The momentum appeared to catch Trump off guard, with the bombastic Republican refusing to schedule a debate with Harris, saying Thursday night it would be “inappropriate” until she was officially named the Democratic nominee.

“Democrats very well could still change their minds,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Harris, a former top prosecutor for California, chided her opponent on X, saying: “What happened to ‘any time, any place?’”

She had previously said of a potential September 10 face-off: “I’m ready. So let’s go.”

The first union to endorse Harris — the American Federation of Teachers — applauded at their convention in Houston as Harris warned that the country was witnessing a “full-on attack” by Trump’s Republicans on “hard-won, hard-fought freedoms.”

“While you teach students about democracy and representative government, extremists attack the sacred freedom to vote. While you try to create safe and welcoming places where our children can learn, extremists attack our freedom to live safe from gun violence,” she said.

The speech came with Harris facing increasingly extreme rhetoric from Trump, who on Wednesday called her a “radical left lunatic” and claimed — entirely falsely — that she was in favor of the “execution” of newborn babies.

Trump, who at 78 is the oldest presidential nominee in US history, has promised he will “not give one penny” of federal funds to schools with vaccine mandates. Every public school in America has such mandates.

The pilot and sole survivor of a plane crash in Nepal’s capital was recovering in hospital after a miraculous escape from an accident that killed 18 others, aviation officials said Thursday.

Nepal has a woeful track record on aviation safety and the Himalayan republic has seen a spate of deadly light plane and helicopter crashes over the decades.

A Bombardier CRJ 200 plane operated by Saurya Airlines crashed at Kathmandu airport on Wednesday just as it was beginning its 20-minute flight to the tourism hub Pokhara for a maintenance review.

Gyanendra Bhul of the Civil Aviation Authority told AFP that the pilot remained in hospital but his condition was improving.

“The pilot survived because on impact he fell into a cargo container where there were no flames,” he added.

Bhul said the flight had climbed up to 400 feet (122 metres) from the ground but then suddenly veered to the right before crashing near the runway.

Nepal’s government has appointed a five-member investigation team to probe the causes of the crash.

“We will now hand over the black box and the remains of the plane to the committee for investigation,” Bhul said.

An army statement on Wednesday night said the pilot was rescued bleeding but conscious by soldiers from the wreckage.

Saurya Airlines spokesman Mukesh Khanal told AFP that the flight was carrying a technical team to Pokhara to conduct an extensive maintenance review of the plane at the airport there.

Khanal said the flight was carrying two crew and 17 others, among them the young child of an airline employee.

Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.

But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance, issues compounded by mountainous Nepal’s treacherous geography.

The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.

Nepal has some of the world’s trickiest runways on which to land, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating perilous flying conditions.

Nepal’s last major incident involving a commercial flight was in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines service crashed while landing at Pokhara, killing all 72 people aboard.

That was Nepal’s deadliest since 1992 when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport.

A Thai Airways aircraft crashed near the same airport earlier that year, killing 113 people.

A passenger plane carrying 19 people crashed during takeoff in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on Wednesday morning, with fire crews working to douse the flaming wreckage.

The Saurya Airlines plane crashed at around 11:15 am (0530 GMT), Nepal’s military said in a statement.

“Rescue work is going on” with the army’s quick response team lending assistance, the statement added.

Further details were “still being confirmed”, Kathmandu airport general manager Jagannath Niroula told AFP.

The Kathmandu Post newspaper said 19 people including air crew were aboard the flight.

News portal Khabarhub reported that the airplane had caught fire after skidding on the runway and was “releasing a significant plume of smoke”.

The plane was en route to Pokhara, an important tourism hub in the Himalayan republic.

Saurya Airlines exclusively flies Bombardier CRJ 200 jets, according to its website.

Nepal’s air industry has boomed in recent years, carrying goods and people between hard-to-reach areas as well as foreign trekkers and climbers.

But it has been plagued by poor safety due to insufficient training and maintenance.

The European Union has banned all Nepali carriers from its airspace over safety concerns.

Nepal’s woeful record on aviation safety has been compounded by its treacherous geography.

The Himalayan country has some of the world’s trickiest runways to land on, flanked by snow-capped peaks with approaches that pose a challenge even for accomplished pilots.

The weather can also change quickly in the mountains, creating treacherous flying conditions.

Nepal’s last major commercial flight accident was in January 2023, when a Yeti Airlines service crashed while landing at Pokhara, killing all 72 aboard.

That accident was Nepal’s deadliest since 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane died when it crashed on approach to Kathmandu airport.

Earlier that year a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.

Authorities have yet to release the identity of those aboard.