Elon Musk pledges $45 million a month to fund Donald Trump election

Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $250 billion, has grown increasingly friendly with Donald Trump over the course of the 2024 US election. (AP)

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Updated 16 July 2024

AFP

July 16, 2024 03:17

Elon Musk pledges $45 million a month to fund Donald Trump election

Tech billionaire’s donations will go to a political group dubbed America PAC
Tesla founder formally endorsed Trump’s candidacy for US president on Saturday

Updated 16 July 2024

AFP

July 16, 2024 03:17

WASHINGTON: Tech billionaire Elon Musk said he plans to commit roughly $45 million each month to a new fund backing Donald Trump for US president, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Musk’s donations will go to a political group dubbed America PAC, which will focus on promoting voter registration, early voting and mail-in ballots among residents in swing states ahead of the November general election, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Musk is one of several major backers of the new fund, with others reportedly including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, former US ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft and cryptocurrency investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
The Tesla founder formally endorsed Trump’s candidacy for US president on Saturday after the former president survived a shooting at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote on the social media platform X, which he acquired in 2022.
Musk, the wealthiest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $250 billion, has grown increasingly friendly with Trump over the course of the 2024 US election.
In March, the two met in person during a donor breakfast hosted at the Florida residence of billionaire Nelson Peltz.
Though individual campaign donations in the United States are capped at $3,300 per person, loopholes in the campaign finance system allow political mega donors to contribute to funds known as political action committees or “PACs,” which support candidates.
Trump previously decried mail and absentee voting, but has backtracked on his criticisms after it became clear Democrats had an edge among mail voters.

Topics: Elon Musk Donald Trump

South Korean hotel fire that killed 7 was likely made worse by the lack of sprinklers, officials say

Updated 45 min 15 sec ago

August 23, 2024 07:53

South Korean hotel fire that killed 7 was likely made worse by the lack of sprinklers, officials say

Updated 45 min 15 sec ago

August 23, 2024 07:53

BUCHEON, South Korea: A fire that killed seven people in a South Korean hotel was possibly made worse by the lack of sprinklers, fire officials said Friday, as they investigated the cause of the blaze.

At least 12 people were being treated for injuries related to the fire that broke out Thursday evening at the nine-story property in the city of Bucheon, just west of the capital, Seoul.

Officials say the fire didn’t spread broadly after starting in an unoccupied room on the 8th floor. But with the room was unprotected by sprinklers and toxic smoke quickly filled the upper floors. Most of the victims were found in the rooms and hallways of the eighth and ninth floors.

Lee Sang-don, an official with the Bucheon Fire Station, said the hotel, which was built in 2003, wasn’t mandated to have a sprinkler system. While South Korea began requiring sprinklers on all buildings with more than six floors starting in 2017, the requirement wasn’t retroactively applied to most older buildings, except for some medical facilities and nursing homes.

“When we got there, (the floors) were already filled with smoke, which was also pouring out of the windows,” Lee said in a briefing. He said that the fire started in Room 810, which was unoccupied after a guest complained of smelling something burning and requested a room change to the hotel’s management.

Among the seven people killed, five died from inhaling smoke, said Cho Seon-ho, chief of the Gyeonggi provincial fire services, during a briefing to Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min at the scene.

The two others died after leaping from an 8th-floor window while aiming for an inflatable cushion fire fighters had installed on the ground, Cho said. The first person hit the harder edge of the cushion, which also caused it to flip and fatally injure the second person, who jumped shortly after.

A government team of fire officials, forensic experts and police started an on-site inspection Friday to investigate the cause of the blaze. Cho told Lee the fire was likely caused by electrical problems.

Topics: South Korea

UAE accepts Taliban diplomat as Afghan ambassador

Updated 20 sec ago

Reuters

August 23, 2024 07:42

UAE accepts Taliban diplomat as Afghan ambassador

Taliban diplomats have controlled Afghanistan’s embassy in Abu Dhabi and its consulate in Dubai since at least last year
The Taliban-run foreign ministry said Mawlawi Badreddin Haqqani had been nominated as their ambassador to the UAE

Updated 20 sec ago

Reuters

August 23, 2024 07:42

ISLAMABAD/DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has accepted the credentials of a Taliban-appointed diplomat as the ambassador of Afghanistan, a UAE official said on Thursday, making the Gulf state the second country after China to accept a Taliban envoy at that level.

Taliban diplomats have controlled Afghanistan’s embassy in Abu Dhabi and its consulate in Dubai since at least last year, foreign diplomats have said, though apparently without formal acceptance as Afghan diplomats.

The UAE official told Reuters that accepting “the credentials of the Ambassador of Afghanistan” reaffirms the Gulf state’s determination to build bridges and help Afghans, including through development and reconstruction projects.

The official did not say whether the UAE, among three nations to have recognized the 1996-2001 Taliban government, now recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

No other government has officially recognized the Taliban government since it swept back to power three years ago and until now only Beijing had formally accepted the credentials of an ambassador.

However, Taliban appointees are running diplomatic missions in several countries including in neighboring Pakistan.

The Taliban-run foreign ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday that Mawlawi Badreddin Haqqani had been nominated as its ambassador and presented his credentials to the UAE’s foreign ministry’s assistant undersecretary for protocol affairs.

“The newly accredited Ambassador of Afghanistan will soon formally present his credentials to the Emir of the United Arab Emirates during (an) official ceremony,” the ministry said.

The Taliban share economic ties with the UAE, which won contracts to run operations at Kabul airport in 2022. Interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, designated as a “specially designated global terrorist” by the US, met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi in June.

The Taliban entered the Afghan capital on Aug. 15, 2021, as the Afghan security forces, set up with years of Western support, disintegrated and US-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled. The UAE military had fought alongside US-led forces during the 20-year war that ousted the Taliban in 2001.

Though China and the UAE have not formally recognized the Taliban administration or confirmed any official change in relations, diplomats and international analysts say formally accepting an ambassador is a grey area of international diplomacy that could constitute upgraded ties.

Many governments, especially Western nations including Washington, have said the path to any formal recognition of the Taliban will be stuck until they change course on women’s rights and re-open high schools and universities to girls and women.

The Taliban say they respect rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and that restrictions on its banking sector and a lack of recognition are hindering its economy.

Topics: UAE Taliban Afghan ambassador

Kamala Harris basks in party’s adulation as she accepts presidential nomination

Updated 30 min 18 sec ago

AFP

August 23, 2024 04:14

Kamala Harris basks in party’s adulation as she accepts presidential nomination

Kalama Harris: ‘I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America’
Her speech touched on her resume, her family, her beliefs and her patriotism

Updated 30 min 18 sec ago

AFP

August 23, 2024 04:14

CHICAGO: As red, white and blue balloons streamed onto a Chicago stage and people danced in the aisles, Kamala Harris waved to supporters and basked in the crowd’s adulation after the speech of her political life.
As she accepted her party’s nomination in the US presidential race on Thursday, nearly every sentence Harris uttered was greeted with raucous cheers, her voice reverberating around the packed auditorium.
Thirteen of those words, delivered early in the speech, electrified the house: “I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.”
The Democratic Party has leaned hard on saying the convention was meant to be about bringing the “joy,” and attendees seemed to respond to the call.
“I’m so elated, I’m so proud to be part of this moment. I’m 57 years old and as a Caribbean-American, I am proud of her,” said attendee Wynnie Testamark as she clutched a US flag moments after hearing Harris accept her party’s highest honor.
“She’s been prepared for such a moment as this, we need a moment like this.”
Expectations were high, with party members rewarded with a rendition by Pink of her hit “What About Us,” lighting thousands of phone torches.
In an explosive finale to a high-energy week, Harris at once concluded her unprecedentedly abrupt elevation from supportive deputy to President Joe Biden to aiming to become the country’s first woman president.
The full-to-capacity crowd waved vertical “Harris” banners in their thousands in support of their nominee, who wore a dark jacket set off with a matching cravat, and a US flag lapel pin.
“It was a lot of energy tied to what she was saying,” said Fred Jones, 49, an engineering manager. “She referenced her mother telling her not to let anything stop her. That resonated with me.”
It was a fitting crescendo to a week of big tent politics that saw a sitting president, two former commanders-in-chief, pro-Harris Republicans, Michelle Obama and TV star Oprah Winfrey take to the stage.
Her speech, which she continued to tweak in the hours before stepping up to the podium, touched on her resume, her family, her beliefs and her patriotism.
The stands filled hours before the allotted hour for what could be among Harris’s defining moments.
It followed a string of political firsts throughout the convention including an uncensored Barack Obama mocking Republican nominee Donald Trump, a full-throated endorsement from Oprah, and the Democratic vice presidential pick Tim Walz’s son weeping with emotion.
Ardent supporters wearing “Madam President” T-shirts spontaneously broke out into applause, cheering wildly before anyone had even taken to the stage.
Those unable to get seats in the standing-room-only basketball arena thronged gangways and clamored around televisions tuned to the historic moment unfolding just steps away.
The Chicks’s stirring rendition of the US national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” provoked cheers that were heard well outside the convention hall.
Janitors wielding mops peeked through gaps in the curtains that separated the atrium from the outside concourse while hundreds of plainclothes security officers patrolled.
Volunteers raced around the United Center with carts stuffed with miniature US flags, “USA” posters, and cardboard “Kamala” signposts.
The celebratory atmosphere and vast crowd, which caused several Harris fans to faint, will no doubt irk Trump, who just weeks ago was facing a path to the presidency through a deflated, divided Democratic Party.
“The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, but I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys,” Harris said after recounting her personal history.
Later in her speech, she was definitive.
“We are not going back,” a battle cry echoed by the crowd as she got into her stride.
The ecstatic atmosphere lasted long after Harris had concluded her speech.
“Historic, so powerful. Just exactly what we needed to hear,” said Chicago restaurateur Bill Jacobs, 63, as he and his group danced out of the auditorium to Jon Batiste’s “Freedom.”

US plans to give Ukraine carte blanche on weapons, Russian ambassador says

Updated 49 min 16 sec ago

Reuters

August 23, 2024 03:47

US plans to give Ukraine carte blanche on weapons, Russian ambassador says

The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022
Envoy: Serious dialogue with the US would only become possible if it ends its ‘hostile’ policy toward Russia

Updated 49 min 16 sec ago

Reuters

August 23, 2024 03:47

Russia believes that the United States will at some point remove all restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine, the RIA news agency cited Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov as saying on Friday.
“The current administration behaves like a person who extends one hand and holds a dagger behind their back with another one,” Antonov said, describing Washington’s recent comments about Kyiv not being allowed to use US weapons for strikes deep into Russian territory as “goading.”
“…They are, essentially, laying ground (for a decision) to simply remove all the existing restrictions at a certain point, without much thought.”
The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons to Ukrainian soil and counterfire, defensive cross-border operations.
Antonov said serious dialogue with the US would only become possible if it ends its “hostile” policy toward Russia, which includes the support of Ukraine and the implementation of sanctions against Moscow.
Antonov said a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared unlikely during the United Nations General Assembly session next month.
He also said Moscow had no plans to interfere in the US presidential elections.

Topics: Russia-Ukraine Conflict Russia Ukraine US

Polls show Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a favorable opinion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Updated 23 August 2024

August 23, 2024 04:13

Polls show Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a favorable opinion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

While some polls earlier in the year put Kennedy’s support in the double digits, support now hovers in the mid-single digits in most recent polls
Kennedy is scheduled to speak in Phoenix on Friday, just days after his running mate openly discussed the possibility that he could drop out and endorse Trump

Updated 23 August 2024

August 23, 2024 04:13

WASHINGTON: Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a favorable opinion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recent polls show, as allies of Donald Trump urge the independent presidential candidate to drop out and endorse the former Republican president.
Kennedy’s support appears to have declined in recent polls as he struggles to find his political lane in a race reshaped by the departure of Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ nomination in his place. The developments have left relatively narrow room for Kennedy’s presence — or potential departure — to make a difference in the election outcome. Recent polls don’t give a clear indication that Kennedy’s presence in the race has an outsized impact on support for either major-party candidate.
While some polls earlier in the year put Kennedy’s support in the double digits, support now hovers in the mid-single digits in most recent polls. It’s unclear if Kennedy would get even that level of support in the general election, since third-party candidates frequently don’t live up to their early poll numbers when voters actually cast their ballots.
Kennedy is scheduled to speak in Phoenix on Friday “about the present historical moment and his path forward,” just days after his running mate openly discussed the possibility that he could drop out and endorse Trump.
Partisan appeal
In recent months, Americans overall have been split in their views of Kennedy, 70, the son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
About as many people had a favorable as unfavorable view of Kennedy, according to a July AP-NORC poll that was conducted before Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month. That marks a decline from February, when more had a positive than negative view of Kennedy, and about 3 in 10 did not have an opinion.
In the most recent poll, about 2 in 10 US adults didn’t know enough about Kennedy to give an opinion.

Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats and independents to have a favorable view of Kennedy. And those with a positive impression of Kennedy were more likely to also have a favorable view of Trump (52 percent) than Harris (37 percent).
Kennedy also struggled to endear himself to political independents. Although he is running as an independent presidential candidate, polling shows about 4 in 10 independents did not know enough to form an opinion. Those who did were divided equally between favorable and unfavorable opinions.
The base of support
Kennedy’s appeal largely rested on being an alternative to the match-up many Americans dreaded when Biden was facing Trump in a rematch of the 2020 election won by Biden. A Pew Research Center poll from July found that about half of voters who were supporting Kennedy said the main reason they backed him was because he was neither Biden nor Trump, compared with about 3 in 10 who listed Kennedy’s characteristics or policies.
Harris’ move to the top of the Democratic ticket may have further harmed Kennedy’s prospects. An August Pew poll suggested that Harris has gained support at Kennedy’s expense. She appears to have received the support of some women and non-white voters who previously were considering Kennedy.
About that family name
Kennedy’s initial appeal was largely focused on his family name and his relation to other famed Kennedys, including his father and his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy. CNN polling conducted last summer when RFK Jr. was running for the Democratic nomination found that many Democrats said they’d consider supporting him because of the Kennedy name or his family connections. Many members of the Kennedy family endorsed Biden before he withdrew from the race.
John F. Kennedy remains the most highly rated former president in Gallup’s retrospective approval ratings, and his appeal crosses party lines. Nine in 10 Americans approve of how Kennedy, a Democrat, handled his job as president, according to data from last summer, with Democrats, independents and Republicans in agreement.

News of Robert Kennedy’s potential withdrawal comes a little over a week since a New York judge ruled that he should not appear on the ballot in the state because he listed a “sham” address on nominating petitions. Kennedy has appealed, but has faced several similar challenges around the country.

Topics: US Election 2024 Robert Kennedy Jr.

Elon Musk pledges $45 million a month to fund Donald Trump election

Elon Musk pledges $45 million a month to fund Donald Trump election

Musk donates to group working to elect Trump, Bloomberg reports

Billionaires Elon Musk, Bill Ackman endorse Trump in presidential race

South Korean hotel fire that killed 7 was likely made worse by the lack of sprinklers, officials say

South Korean hotel fire that killed 7 was likely made worse by the lack of sprinklers, officials say

South Korean drill to prepare for attack met with confusion

South Korea’s Yoon calls for new working group with North

UAE accepts Taliban diplomat as Afghan ambassador

UAE accepts Taliban diplomat as Afghan ambassador

Kamala Harris basks in party’s adulation as she accepts presidential nomination

Kamala Harris basks in party’s adulation as she accepts presidential nomination

US plans to give Ukraine carte blanche on weapons, Russian ambassador says

US plans to give Ukraine carte blanche on weapons, Russian ambassador says

US sending $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, officials say

Blinken says US arms will make a difference in Ukraine as Zelensky asks for more air defenses

Polls show Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a favorable opinion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Polls show Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a favorable opinion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

RFK Jr. questioned in NY court over signature collectors who concealed his name on petitions

Kennedy apologizes after a video of him speaking to Trump leaks

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Elon Musk pledges $45 million a month to fund Donald Trump election

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South Korean hotel fire that killed 7 was likely made worse by the lack of sprinklers, officials say

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