International
Biden will resume his campaign events next week and presents an improvement of COVID-19
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, who is at his home in Delaware after having contracted COVID-19, announced on Friday that next week he will resume his campaign events for the November elections.
The campaign made the announcement in a statement in which it lashes out against the “dark vision” that former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) outlined during his speech of acceptance of the Republican nomination on Thursday night at the party convention in Milwaukee.
“I’m looking forward to returning to the electoral campaign next week,” Biden said in the statement, which comes at a time when the pressure has redoubled to end his candidacy, with more members of Congress publicly asking him this Friday to “pass the witness” to someone younger.
In that statement, Biden makes no mention of the revolt within his party and only raises the elections as a dilemma between his vision for the United States and the one outlined by Trump during his speech. “The challenge is great and the choice is clear. Together, we will win,” he says.
In most of the statement he criticizes Trump, saying that his 90-minute speech “focused on his own grievances” and did not put on the table any plan to “unite” the country or to “improve the lives of workers.”
“Donald Trump’s dark vision for the future is not who we are as Americans. Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the polls,” he says.
Trump gave a speech of an hour and a half on Thursday in which he began with a gloomy tone, alluding to the attempted murder he suffered only a few days ago, and in which he called for unity, although he also gave space to conspiracy theories about electoral fraud in the 2020 elections and returned to his harsh rhetoric against migrants.
President Joe Biden has shown a “significant” improvement since Thursday although he continues to have symptoms from COVID-19, especially cough, as reported this Friday by the president’s doctor, Kevin O’Connor, in a letter distributed by the White House.
“His dry cough and hoarseness continue to be his main symptoms, but they have improved significantly since yesterday,” the doctor said in a statement.
Biden is in isolation in his Delaware home, after last Wednesday he tested positive for COVID-19 while campaigning in Nevada, a key state for the November elections.
About thirty members of Congress have publicly asked Biden to withdraw from the presidential race and several publicly asked him this Friday to “pass the witness,” in a drip that increases the pressure on the president.
Biden has seen in recent hours how his support weakens among key figures of the party. As reported on Thursday by The Washington Post, Former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) has told his close circle that Biden should “seriously reconsider” the future of his candidacy.
The call for him to withdraw came after the debate on June 27 against Trump, in which Biden, who at 81 years old is the oldest president in the history of the United States, projected an aged image and had difficulty concluding some sentences.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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