News in Brief

Date: 10 July 2024 - 22:20

News ID: ۱۲۹۲۷۶

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden returns to the campaign trail on Wednesday, rallying the key constituency of labor leaders, as some fellow Democrats continue to urge him not to run again. For the past 13 days, the 81-year-old Biden has been working to stem defections from Democratic lawmakers, donors and other allies worried he might lose to Republican Donald Trump, 78, after Biden’s halting June 27 debate performance. Democrats in the U.S. Congress remain deeply divided over whether to fall in line behind Biden or to urge him to step aside because of persistent questions about his health and acuity. Biden has said he is fit to serve but understands the questions.

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LONDON (AFP) - UK police were searching Wednesday for a suspect who may have a crossbow after the wife and two daughters of a BBC radio racing commentator were killed in a suspected “targeted” attack. Kyle Clifford, 26, from north London, is wanted in connection with the deaths of the three women in the town of Bushey, north of London, on Tuesday night. The BBC confirmed on its news website that the victims were Carol Hunt, the 61-year-old wife of BBC Five Live racing commentator John Hunt, and their two daughters, aged 25 and 28. Local police said officers were called to a house in the town where the three women were pronounced dead at the scene.

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TAIPEI (AFP) – Taiwan said 37 Chinese aircraft were detected around the self-ruled island Wednesday as they headed to exercises with an aircraft carrier in the western Pacific. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and maintains a near-daily presence of fighter jets, drones and warships around the island, which is located 180 kilometers (110 miles) from the southern Chinese coast. It is also a crucial part of a chain of islands that military strategists say serve as a gateway from the South China Sea — which China claims in nearly its entirety — to the Pacific Ocean.

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MOSCOW (RT) -- A Russian fighter jet scrambled into the air after Russian airspace control detected an approaching Norwegian aircraft over the Barents Sea, Russian defense ministry said Wednesday. The Norwegian plane, identified as a base patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidon, turned from the state border after the Russian MiG-31 fighter approached, the ministry said in a statement, adding that no border violation was found. The ministry said the flight of the Russian fighter was carried out “in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters and in compliance with safety measures.”

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JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua) -- Cyberattackers allegedly stole 300 million South African rand (about 16.6 million U.S. dollars) from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure over the past 10 years, Minister Dean Macpherson said Wednesday. The amount could be more as investigations continue, Macpherson said in a statement. According to him, in May this year, cyber criminals have stolen 24 million rand from the department. The minister said he has asked the South African Police Service, State Security Agency as well as experts in the information and communications technology and cybersecurity industry to investigate the matter.