World
Biden introduces Zelenskyy as ‘Putin’, calls Kamala Harris ‘Trump’ at NATO summit
US President Joe Biden referred to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” during the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Washington DC.
During a separate event at the summit, Biden verbally slipped again, referring to US Vice-President Kamala Harris as “Vice-President Trump”.
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice-President Trump to be vice-president if she is not qualified to be president,” Biden said.
He did not correct himself afterwards.
The gaffes come as some leaders of the Democratic Party pile pressure on Biden to quit the presidential race.
Some House Democrats have gone public with their reservations about Biden remaining at the top of their party’s ticket, citing a potential ripple effect on down ballot races.
There have been heightened concerns from within the Democratic Party over Biden’s mental alertness and age since his halting debate performance against Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, on June 28.
During the debate, Biden stuttered, delivered slurred ripostes to Trump’s jibes, left his mouth hanging open on occasion, and mangled his talking points.
Biden, 81, blamed a cold and jet lag for his feeble debate performance afterwards.
Some fundraisers and donors have also called on Biden to drop out of the race, amid reports that an expert on Parkinson’s has made visits to the White House in the last year.
Presidency officials have repeatedly swatted posers that Biden is dealing with a neurological ailment.
George Clooney, Hollywood actor and prominent Democratic fundraiser, implored Biden to drop out of the presidential race in an opinion piece in the New York Times.
“This is about age. Nothing more. We are not going to win in November with this president,” Clooney wrote.
The actor’s comments arrived after Nancy Pelosi, former house speaker, said time was “running short” on Biden to decide whether to stay in the race or not.
Biden has insisted that he would remain in the race. On Thursday, a defiant Biden told White House correspondents that he is in the best mental and physical shape to last the distance and defeat Trump in November.
“If I slow down and can’t get the job done, that’s a sign I shouldn’t be doing it,” Biden said.
“But there’s no indication of that yet.”
World
Former US President Bill Clinton hospitalised with fever
Bill Clinton, the former US president who has faced a series of health issues over the years, was admitted to hospital Monday in Washington after developing a fever, his office said.
“President Clinton was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center this afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever,” the 78-year-old’s deputy chief of staff Angel Urena said on social media platform X, adding Clinton “remains in good spirits.”
Bill Clinton was previously hospitalized for five nights in October 2021 due to a blood infection.
In 2004, at age 58, he underwent a quadruple bypass operation after doctors found signs of extensive heart disease. He had stents implanted in his coronary artery six years later.
The health scare motivated him to make lifestyle changes, including adopting a vegetarian diet, and he has since spoken publicly about his efforts.
Clinton’s health last made headlines in November 2022 when he tested positive for Covid-19. He said at the time that his symptoms were “mild” and he was “grateful to be vaccinated and boosted.”
Clinton, who led the United States for two presidential terms from 1993-2001, is the second-youngest living US president, after 63-year-old Barack Obama.
He was born mere months after fellow former US president George W. Bush and President-elect Donald Trump.
Though his prosperous time in office was marred by scandals, he has enjoyed a second life in the two decades after his presidency, which has seen him venture into numerous diplomatic and humanitarian causes.
World
Trump dismisses claims of handing presidency to Musk as ‘hoax’
Could Elon Musk, who holds major sway in the incoming Trump administration, one day become president? On Sunday, Donald Trump answered with a resounding no, pointing to US rules about being born in the country.
“He’s not gonna be president, that I can tell you,” Trump told a Republican conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
“You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country,” Trump said of the Tesla and SpaceX boss, who was born in South Africa.
The US Constitution requires that a president be a natural-born US citizen.
Trump was responding to criticism, particularly from the Democratic camp, portraying the tech billionaire and world’s richest person as “President Musk” for the outsized role he is playing in the incoming administration.
As per ceding the presidency to Musk, Trump also assured the crowd: “No, no that’s not happening.”
The influence of Musk, who will serve as Trump’s “efficiency czar,” has become a focus point for Democratic attacks, with questions raised over how an unelected citizen can wield so much power.
And there is even growing anger among Republicans after Musk trashed a government funding proposal this week in a blizzard of posts — many of them wildly inaccurate — to his more than 200 million followers on his social media platform X.
Alongside Trump, Musk ultimately helped pressure Republicans to renege on a funding bill they had painstakingly agreed upon with Democrats, pushing the United States to the brink of budgetary paralysis that would have resulted in a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
Congress ultimately reached an agreement overnight Friday to Saturday, avoiding massive halts to government services.
World
Seven confirmed dead in Western Mexico plane crash
At least seven people died when a light aircraft crashed Sunday in a heavily forested area of Jalisco in western Mexico, local authorities reported.
The aircraft, a Cessna 207, was flying from La Parota in the neighbouring state of Michoacan.
Jalisco Civil Protection said via its social media that the crash site was in an area that was difficult to access.
Initial authorities on the scene “reported a preliminary count of seven people dead,” who haven’t been identified yet, according to the agency.
“A fire was extinguished and risk mitigation was carried out to prevent possible additional damage,” it added.
Authorities said they were awaiting the arrival of forensic investigators to remove the bodies and rule out the presence of additional victims.
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