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This is VOA News. I'm Alexis Strope.
President Joe Biden made a surprise stop at a garage-themed restaurant in a western suburb of Detroit where he told diners he planned to, quote, "finish the job" and said of Trump "the alternative is not much of an alternative." "But we have, we have real opportunities, real opportunities and so we got to finish the job and, and I promise you I am, I'm OK." Biden got a boost earlier in the day when two prominent Democrats, Representative James Clyburn and California Governor Gavin Newsom, said he should stay in the race. But there were signs that his support was weakening elsewhere, as two more lawmakers called on him to drop out. Democratic office holders, donors and activists are trying to determine whether Biden is their best bet to defeat Trump in the November 5 election and serve another four-year term in the White House. Palestinians returned to breathtaking scenes of destruction after Israeli troops withdraw. AP's Nayun Kim reports. As Israeli troops withdraw from the Gaza neighborhood of Shujayea, residents returned to see what's left of their home. Block after block, nearly every building has been flattened to rubble after the two-week Israeli offensive. "My house had four floors," Sharif Abu Shanab says. "I can't enter it. I can't take anything out of it, not even a can of tuna." Civil defense workers say so far, they found the bodies of 60 people in the rubble. More bodies are believed to be trapped, but the organization has little equipment to clear the debris. The Israeli military has carried out several offences in Shujayea during the nine-month-old war with Hamas. I'm Nayun Kim. [Kenya's] Kenya's police boss has resigned in the latest development resulting from deadly protests. The resignation Friday comes as President William Ruto seeks to respond to growing concerns of police brutality following weeks of protests triggered by a proposed tax hike. For additional stories, visit voanews.com. This is VOA News. Rwandans will decide on July 15 whether to grant a fourth term to President Paul Kagame, the country's ruler since 2000. VOA's Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo reports. In a recent campaign rally, Kagame told supporters a lot has been done, but more is possible if they choose him again. The 66-year-old Rwanda[n] Patriotic Front leader is expected to win these elections once again. One of the reasons, say analysts, is the way he's been able to guide the East African country since the 1994 genocide. Democratic Green Party candidate Frank Habineza, who ran against Kagame in 2017, is in the race because he says the incumbent president has stayed around way too long. "I'm giving them hope. We need something different. We need to see a different way of living." Critics and rights groups have long accused President Kagame of silencing voices of the opposition, which discourages dissent in general. Mariama Diallo, VOA News, Rwanda. Western intelligence agencies have uncovered Russian plots to carry out assassinations, arson and other sabotage in Europe against companies and people linked to support for Ukraine's military. A Western government official says one of the most serious plots recently revealed was a plan to kill the head of a German arms manufacturer. The official says the plots have sometimes involved recruiting common criminals in foreign countries to conduct attacks. Neither the company [r...] Rheinemetal [nor the government, *nyor] nor the German government would comment on the reported plot. Rescuers in Nepal have suspended their search for 51 passengers who are missing after a landslide swept the buses in which they were travelling into a swollen river. Reuters correspondent Lauren Anthony has more. Jugasar Raya Yadav was a passenger on a bus in Nepal's Chitwan district on Friday when a landslide hit, sending his and another vehicle into the swollen, fast-flowing river below. "All of a sudden, mud and debris started to come down. We jumped from the bus as it started veering off. I was at the front of the bus with five others but only three of us were able to survive." A search of the Trishuli River, some 53 miles west of Kathmandu, was suspended on Friday after efforts by hundreds of rescuers and more than two dozen divers yielded no signs of the buses or their missing passengers. A local official said the search would resume on Saturday. Lauren Anthony from Reuters. Pakistan has reached an agreement for a new $7 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund. It's the global lender's latest bailout to help the cash-strapped country of 240 billion people. A statement issued Friday by the IMF says the loan will last for 37 months. [Its aims to] Its aims include strengthening fiscal and monetary policy as well as reforms to broaden the tax base, improve the management of state-owned enterprises, strengthen competition, secure a level playing field for investment, enhance human capital, and scale up protection through increased generosity and coverage in a major welfare program. I'm Alexis Strope, VOA News. |