Defiant Biden says no intention to exit presidential race in TV interview - Al Jazeera English

US president says his recent debacle in a televised debate with Donald Trump was due to ‘exhaustion’ and a ‘bad cold’.

United States President Joe Biden used a much-anticipated interview with ABC News to reiterate that he is the candidate to beat Donald Trump in November’s presidential election and again called his recent disastrous debate against Trump “a bad episode”.

Biden, 81, told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in a taped interview that “I have a cognitive test every single day”, referring to the tasks he faces daily as president.

“Every day, I’ve had tests. Everything I do,” he said. “I just had a bad night. I don’t know why.”

Stephanopoulos asked whether the debate debacle “was a bad episode or a sign of a more serious condition” and whether Biden was being realistic in his belief that he could beat Trump, 78, given the gap opening in opinion polls between the two candidates and growing concern among Democrats that Biden should step aside.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that one in three Democrats want Biden to quit the race.

“I don’t think anyone is more qualified,” Biden said in the interview, blaming his debate performance on exhaustion and a “really bad cold”.

The polls, Biden said, were inaccurate.

Asked whether he was more frail, Biden said, “No”.

Asked also whether he would drop out if fellow Democrats in Congress said he was hurting their re-election chances in November, Biden said: “If the Lord Almighty comes out and tells me that, I might do that.”

The 22-minute interview, which ABC said was not cut or edited, was being closely watched by Democrats concerned about the president’s ability to serve another four years, or beat Trump. A republican, in the election, after his faltering debate performance on June 27.

The interview, even before it aired in full, seemed to do little to assuage viewers about Biden’s age and fitness to stand for election.

A handful of Democratic Party donors and business leaders are making their displeasure with Biden’s candidacy known loudly, halting funding or looking at possible alternative candidates.  Some of Biden’s closest political allies, including former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have raised questions about his health.

“It hard to imagine this good man beating Trump and serving four more years in the most demanding job on earth,” Ron Fournier, a former White House correspondent, said on social media alongside a clip of the ABC interview.

I’ve seen enough: It hard to imagine this good man beating Trump and serving four more years in the most demanding job on earth.

You see it too, Biden Dems. You’ve seen it for months. You’re doing your boss and your country a grave disservice. https://t.co/E2UN4Fvgl4

— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) July 5, 2024

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued a statement on Friday asking Biden to weigh his decision to run carefully, the rare Democratic governor not to issue a statement of support to the president in recent days.

“President Biden saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years,” she said.

“The best way forward right now is a decision for the president to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.”

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French election: 'Outbreaks of violence are feared' - 51 politicians and supporters attacked as vote looms - Sky News

More than 50 candidates and their supporters have been attacked ahead of a second round of voting in France's parliamentary elections.

Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said politicians from across the spectrum had faced verbal and physical abuse - often while they were putting up campaign posters.

He told BFM that several of the attacks had been "extremely serious" - with the three-week campaign overshadowed by violence that left some victims in hospital.

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5:05

Emmanuel Macron's biggest gamble?

Confirming there will be a greater police presence on the streets during Sunday's vote, he warned: "Outbreaks of violence are to be feared."

At least 30 suspects from "extremely varied backgrounds" have been arrested so far - with far-right National Rally candidates and left-wing politicians among those targeted.

Tensions remain high after President Emmanuel Macron called the surprise election on 9 June after suffering a punishing defeat at the hands of the far-right National Rally in the European parliamentary elections.

National Rally, under leader Jordan Bardella, secured the most votes in the first round of the election on 30 June.

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But the party didn't secure enough to claim an overall victory that would allow them to form France's first far-right government since the Second World War.

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French elections: Who are National Rally?

Sunday's vote will decide whether the anti-immigration group win an absolute legislative majority - a first in France - in what could be a major historical shift reflecting wider trends across Europe.

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Mr Darmanin said that 30,000 police officers would be deployed on Sunday, including 5,000 in the Paris region.

Gatherings outside the National Assembly, the lower house of France's parliament, have been banned.

But a group called the Antifascist Action Paris-Suburbs called for a protest outside the building on Sunday night as results come in.

Image: A protest on 3 July at Republique plaza. Pic: AP

Government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot was one of the most recent victims of violence.

Along with a deputy and party activist, the candidate for Mr Macron's Ensemble alliance was attacked by a group when putting up election posters in Paris on Wednesday night.

It led to the deputy and party activist being taken to hospital and four people - three of them under 18 - were in custody.

A few hours after being targeted, Ms Thevenot spoke about her worries as a person of Mauritian descent in a "complicated" political situation in France, in an interview with broadcaster TF1.

Read more:
France faces a new political reality
Forget the UK - the vote markets will be watching is abroad
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Image: A woman walks past posters that read 'Go vote! (if you can)'. Pic: AP

She said: "I don't say this only as spokesperson of the government, but more as the daughter of immigrants and mother of mixed-race children.

"They no longer do it anonymously, but with uncovered faces and even with a certain pride."

Many people have voiced concerns that the surge in voter support for National Rally has made people feel more comfortable using racist, xenophobic and antisemitic language in public.

National Rally candidate Marie Dauchy was assaulted on Wednesday when campaigning at a food market.

It led to her abandoning the race as Marine Le Pen called two men allegedly responsible for the attack "cowardly".

Image: People gather at Republique plaza in a protest following results in the first round of France's elections. Pic: AP

Meanwhile in the Alps, 77-year-old local official Bernard Dupre was beaten while putting up campaign posters for former health minister Olivier Veran.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said: "Let's reject the climate of violence and hatred that is taking hold."

"This climate [of violence] is deplorable," Ms Le Pen also said in a TV interview.

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One candidate for Mr Macron's campaign had to be assigned private security guards by her party after she was the target of antisemitic abuse.

Pamphlets targeting black people also appeared in mailboxes in the Paris suburb of Chatou.

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Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran presidential election - The Guardian

The reformist Masoud Pezeshkian has pulled off a stunning victory in the Iranian presidential runoff, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with the direction of the country in recent years and opening potential new avenues of cooperation with the west.

Pezeshkian won 16,384,403 votes to defeat the ultra-conservative Saeed Jalili, who received 13,538,179 votes, on a final turnout of 49.8% – a big increase on the record low turnout of 39% recorded in the first round. In the first round, Pezeshkian came top, defeating three Conservative rivals. The turnout included more than 1m invalid votes.

Pezeshkian has been an advocate of letting women choose whether to wear the hijab and ending internet restrictions that require the population to use VPN connections to avoid government censorship. He said after his victory: “The difficult path ahead will not be smooth except with your companionship, empathy and trust.”

Under the slogan “For Iran”, Pezeshkian had promised to be a voice of the voiceless, saying protests must not be met with the police baton. Although some regard him as naive in high politics, a large part of his campaign was deliberately framed around his personal integrity, as well as his absence from ministerial office for the past decade. There were immediate calls from his backers to release political prisoners from jails, a symbol of the pent-up demands he may struggle to satisfy.

Pezeshkian faces a minefield in trying to bring about change, and although he has said he is loyal to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he has also said he will resign if he feels he is being thwarted, and will then call on the population to withdraw from the political process.

The precise powers of the president in the field of foreign policy are disputed, but Pezeshkian argued in successive, often acrimonious TV debates that he could not bring about change, including the lowering of 40% inflation, unless he could secure the lifting of some sanctions, which would require a less confrontational approach to international relations.

During the campaign, he said Iran had found itself inside an economic cage as a result of its foreign policy, and needed to be more cooperative to see if sanctions could be lifted.

His in effect running mate in the campaign had been the former foreign minister Javad Zarif, who negotiated the nuclear deal in 2015 that led to a lifting of sanctions before Donald Trump pulled the US out of the plan in 2018.

Zarif said sanctions meant Iran had been bypassed. The stock market rose on the news of the reformist victory.

Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator close to the supreme leader, had claimed Iran could thrive by building stronger economic ties away from the west. Far from Iran being a cage, he said, Iran was a sanctuary.

Pezeshkian’s victory is all the more remarkable since no reformist was allowed to stand in the last presidential election in 2021, and it was thought the high tide of Iranian reformism had long passed, with many voters convinced there was no point going to the polls since a “shadow government” took all the decisions.

The repression of the “women, life, freedom” protests in 2022 only added to a sense that the path to change through the ballot box was closed. Many senior reformists from the green movement as well as political prisoners inside Evin jail had called for a boycott.

But after Pezeshkian topped the first round – defying the rule of Iranian politics that reformists lose if turnout is low – his campaign team grew in confidence that he could win if more voters took part in the runoff.

It also became clear that supporters of the more centrist conservative Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were not going to transfer their votes to Jalili, with whom they had sharp ideological differences. Zarif urged the abstentionists to vote, saying: “Those who did not participate in the first round, you sent your message in the first period, now you must complete your message with your presence.”

Another leading Pezeshkian backer, the former communications minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, said: “We must prove the people are the people, not those who consider themselves guardians of the people.”

On Saturday evening, reformists became nervous that a sudden surge in late votes was a sign of the regime seeking to rig the result, something it has been accused of doing before. There were reports that government funds were being used to send clerics into rural villages to solidify support in Jalili heartlands.

But then late on Saturday, government news channels leaked that Pezeshkian had won before the Iranian election headquarters declared him the official victor, sending his supporters into the streets of Tehran.

About 5,000 had attended his final election rally in a football stadium in Tehran, suggesting his campaign might not have sparked the support he needed among abstentionists. After a quiet campaign in the capital, his jubilant supporters poured on to the streets of Tehran to celebrate a victory that few saw coming.

In parliamentary elections earlier this year marked by low turnout, the conservatives trounced reformists. Ghalibaf’s authority as speaker of the parliament has, meanwhile, been weakened by his defeat in the presidential elections. The political complexion of the parliament will be one of the many obstacles facing the new president since it has the power to impeach ministers.

The first round of voting on 28 June had the lowest turnout in the history of the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. Iranian officials have long pointed to turnout as a symbol of the legitimacy for the country’s Shia theocracy, but Khamenei said those who stayed away from the polls had not done so due to opposition to the regime.

The snap presidential election was caused by the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the incumbent, in a helicopter crash in May. Raisi had been seen as a potential successor to the 85-year-old supreme leader, and his death has thrown that succession into disarray. The decision is taken by an 88-strong body, the assembly of experts.

The west will now have to make a judgment on whether to help Pezeshkian or maintain the blanket of sanctions due to the continued escalation of Iran’s nuclear programme, and its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Yemen Houthi rebels.

Iran is enriching uranium at near weapons-grade levels and maintains a stockpile large enough to build several nuclear weapons, but does not yet have the warheads or missile technology.

It is also providing Russia with drones for use in Ukraine. Pezeshkian’s second foreign policy adviser alongside Zarif was a former ambassador to Moscow, Mehdi Sanei.

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Biden declines to undergo independent cognitive test in interview - The Independent

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One week after a debate performance that was so disastrous it prompted calls for his exit from the presidential race, President Joe Biden attributed his lack of coherence and disturbing appearance to exhaustion and illness.

But Biden called it a limited episode that shouldn’t disqualify him from running for a second term and denied the need for any sort of medical evaluation to determine his continued fitness to run.

Speaking to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in his first television interview since the debate debacle, Biden called his poor showing against former president Donald Trump “a bad episode”.

“No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and -- and a bad night,” he said.

But Biden also told Stephanopolous he hadn’t re-watched the 90-minute broadcast.

Asked if he had, he replied: “I don’t think I did, no.”

Biden admits he was ‘exhausted’ during debate but denies having ‘any serious condition (ABC News)

The 81-year-old president spent most of the broadcast defending his ability to serve out a second term should he win re-election, after which he would leave office at 86 — the most advanced age of any American chief executive.

When pressed directly on whether he was fit to do so, he told the ABC anchor: “Yes, I am.”

But Biden, the oldest man ever to serve as president, also flat-out rejected the idea of him taking any sort of cognitive test when Stephanopolous asked if he was willing to do so, instead repeating an old talking point about the rigors of the presidency serving as a cognitive exam “every day.”

“No one said I had to,” he said.

The 22-minute interview, which aired in its’ entirety in prime time on Friday without any editing, came just hours after he told reporters that he won’t consider standing down from his campaign for a second term in the White House despite growing pressure from him to do so from Democratic members of Congress and donors to his party.

Biden was adamant that he won’t even consider withdrawing his name from contention in this year’s election. He told the ABC anchor, a former White House communications director during the Clinton administration: “I don’t think there’s anybody more qualified to be President or win this race than me.”

He also said only “the Lord Almighty” could potentially convince him to exit the race, despite calls for him to stand down from numerous Democratic figures.

“The Lord Almighty is not coming down. These are hypotheticals,” Biden added.

Joe Biden speaks with the press before boarding Air Force One prior to departure from Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, July 5, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

When asked about mental lapses that have become more and more frequent according to many observers, Biden pivoted to describing his physical condition and refused to consider any sort of independent examination by a physician.

“Can I run the 100 in 10 flat? No, but I’m still in good shape,” he said.

And after Stephanopoulos asked if Biden was “more frail,” the president flatly responded: “No.”

Biden was also asked how he would feel if, after refusing calls for him to step down, Donald Trump was elected in November.

“I feel as long as I gave it my all and I did as good a job I know I can do, that’s what this is about,” Biden replied.

Earlier in the week at a fundraiser in Virginia, Biden had suggested his poor performance was the result of jet lag, citing his two foreign trips in rapid succession last month, to the D-Day anniversary commemoration in France, then the Group of Seven summit in Italy.

But the president actually had more than a week of rest and preparation before the debate, much of which was spent huddled with advisers at Camp David, the Navy-run presidential retreat in Thurmont, Maryland.

Asked why the time he took to prepare was insufficient by the ABC anchor, Biden replied: “Because I was sick. I was feeling terrible.”

“Matter of fact the docs with me. I asked if they did a COVID test because they’re trying to figure out what was wrong. They did a test to see whether or not I had some infection, you know, a virus. I didn’t. I just had a really bad cold,” he said.

He also told Stephanopolous that he, alone, was to blame for his debate performance rather than the staff and advisers who prepared him during his time at Camp David, and claimed to have prepared in the same way he would for meetings with foreign leaders, by taking in briefings with “explicit detail.”

But Biden then attempted to pivot to critiquing Trump’s performance, noting that the ex-president “lied 28 times” and complained that he wasn’t able to fact-check Trump in real time on account of “the way the debate ran.”

“The fact of the matter is what I looked at is that he also lied 28 times, I couldn’t -- I mean the way the debate ran -- not my fault, no one else’s fault -- no one else’s fault,” Biden said.

He also said he realized he was having a bad night when Trump continued shouting even after his microphone was muted under the rules of the debate, and admitted that he’d let the ex-president distract him.

“I’m not blaming it on that, but I realized that I just wasn’t in control,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Biden told reporters traveling with him in Wisconsin on Friday he was “completely ruling that out” during a brief exchange with the press after he finished taping the interview.

Pressed on why he still thinks he is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump despite his dismal showing against his predecessor in last week’s CNN presidential debate, Biden replied: “I did it before,” referring to his 2020 election victory over the twice-impeached, felonious former chief executive.

When it was pointed out that four years had passed since he defeated Trump — during which he has aged four years and has reportedly had numerous memory lapses and other moments that have caused observers to question his fitness for office — Biden struck a defiant tone, telling the reporters: “You’ve been wrong about everything so far. You were wrong about 2020. You were wrong about 2022.”

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European Officials Say Orban 'Exploiting EU Presidency' By Visiting Putin For Ukraine Talks - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

European leaders on July 5 slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his visit to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of shaking hands "with a bloody dictator" and of "exploiting the EU presidency position to sow confusion."

Orban, who has angered EU and Ukrainian officials with his regular pro-Russia comments and policies, claimed he was in Moscow to help settle the war between Russia and Ukraine, but Western and Ukrainian officials have blasted the trip, insisting he doesn't speak for Brussels or Kyiv.

"In Moscow, Viktor Orban in no way represents the EU or the EU's positions," said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who has been designated to become the EU's next foreign affairs representative.

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"He is exploiting the EU presidency position to sow confusion. The EU is united, clearly behind Ukraine and against Russian aggression,” she said.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda echoed her comments. The Baltic nations Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have all expressed strong support of Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"If you truly seek peace, you don't shake hands with a bloody dictator, you put all your efforts to support Ukraine," Nauseda wrote on X.

The White House joined in on the criticism, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the visit "will not advance the cause of peace and is counterproductive to promoting Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.”

Following his talks with Putin at the Kremlin, Orban told a news conference that his trip represented a "first step to restore dialogue" between the warring parties, but he acknowledged that viewpoints remain "far apart" in Kyiv and Moscow.

"I have found that positions are far apart. The number of steps needed to end the war and bring about peace are many," said Orban, who vowed to "continue this work."

EU and Ukrainian officials have insisted that Orban, who holds the rotating EU Council presidency, has no authority to negotiate on behalf of the bloc or Kyiv.

In televised comments, Putin maintained his long-standing position -- which has been rejected by Kyiv -- telling Orban that Ukraine must hand over all of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia has partially occupied and claimed as its own in their entirety.

"We are talking about the full withdrawal of all troops from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics [officially Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions], and from the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions," Putin said.

Russia state media said Orban departed Moscow late on July 5 on the planned one-day visit just ahead of a massive rainstorm.

Since word leaked a day earlier of the apparently uncoordinated visit, multiple senior EU officials intensified statements distancing the bloc from Orban's plans and actions, and Kyiv said it hadn't given its "agreement" to anything.

The trip comes less than a week after Budapest assumed the six-month rotating EU Council presidency and three days after Orban presented a mystery cease-fire proposal in another surprise visit to Kyiv.

Orban maintains close relations with Putin and has resisted EU and other sanctions on Russia and refused to join military and other Western aid efforts to help Ukraine beat back the 28-month full-scale invasion ordered by Putin.

Receiving Orban in the Kremlin, Putin said at the start of televised talks that he regarded the Hungarian leader as somehow acting on behalf of the European Union in terms that appeared crafted to troll Brussels.

"I understand that this time you have come not just as our longstanding partner but as president of the [EU] Council," Putin told Orban. He said he expected Orban to lay out "the position of European partners" on the situation in Ukraine and was ready to talk about "nuances" of peace proposals.

Orban is being accompanied on the trip by his foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto.

Orban's spokesman shared an image on social media of Orban on a red carpet on a tarmac in Moscow with the message "The #peace mission continues. Second stop: #Moscow."

Szijjarto posted an image of himself exiting a Hungarian Air Force plane and said, "Arriving in Moscow. Another step for peace!"

EU officials might disagree.

An unnamed EU official told RFE/RL that Orban had not informed Brussels of any planned Moscow trip, and his press office did not initially respond to request for comment.

Current EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell said in a statement on July 5 that "Prime Minister Orban has not received any mandate from the EU Council to visit Moscow."

He said the visit "takes place, exclusively, in the framework of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Russia."

Orban has whipped up heightened fears of an escalating conflict in recent Hungarian elections, seemingly adopted Kremlin talking points, and accused many in the West of warmongering in response to Russia's invasion.

He has also whipped up heightened fears of an escalating conflict in recent Hungarian elections.

Orban's record with respect to Moscow has sparked concerns that beyond rule-of-law and democracy disputes with Brussels, the Hungarian EU presidency might erode unity among bloc members in the face of Russian aggression.

In Kyiv on July 2, Orban presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with a cease-fire proposal he said was aimed at pausing the fighting. He declined to give details but said he asked Zelenskiy "whether it was possible to take a break, to stop the firing, and then continue the negotiations."

Zelenskiy did not express his opinion on the proposal during the briefing with reporters, but a spokesman for the president said later on July 2 that Zelenskiy gave Orban an opportunity to air his thoughts.

Zelenskiy said after Orban's arrival in Moscow that the visit was "without agreement" of any kind from Kyiv.

Putin, who has denied Ukrainian nationhood and history, has said conditions for ending the war, which has killed and wounded more than 500,000 people on both sides, include Kyiv renouncing any NATO hopes and ceding Crimea and four other occupied regions of Ukraine.

Zelenskiy has insisted its territorial integrity -- backed in multiple UN votes and a Ukrainian-initiated Global Peace Summit in Switzerland last month -- must be the foundation of any peace deal.

After word leaked on July 4 of Orban's planned visit, European Council President Charles Michel said "the EU rotating presidency has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU."

"The European Council is clear: Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. No discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine," Michel added.

Orban last visited Moscow in September 2022, when he paid his respects at the funeral of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

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Live updates: Hurricane Beryl heading for Mexico after battering Jamaica - The Independent

Hurricane Beryl on path for Yucatan Peninsula, Gulf of Mexico

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Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is bracing for Hurricane Beryl, now a Category 2 storm, to make landfall early Friday morning with 110mph winds and dangerous storm surge.

The region will see life-threatening winds, up to five feet of storm surge and up to ten inches of rainfall, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said on Thursday afternoon.

Hurricane Beryl will then bring dangerous rip currents to the Gulf Coast over the weekend before likely hitting southern Texas Monday, the National Weather Service forecast.

“Just a reminder for people, especially in South Texas, to continue to check back for updates to the forecast,” Brennan said.

Hurricane Beryl has killed at least ten people, Reuters reports. Two of those killed — the first in St George’s, Grenada and the second in Hanover, Jamaica — died after hurricane-force winds knocked trees onto their homes.

Hurricane Beryl devastated Jamaica on Wednesday, knocking out power to 400,000 and destroying buildings. While the storm is moving away, rainfall and flash-flooding still pose a risk to the island.

Grenada was also left with “unimaginable” destruction after the storm passed through Monday, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said, damaging or destroying 98 percent of buildings.

1720166400

Hurricane Beryl and the role of climate change

Record-breaking hurricanes like Beryl — the earliest recorded Category 5 storm — are being driven in part by the climate crisis.

“It’s really scary stuff,” Steve Maximay, a climate and agriculture expert in Grenada, previously told The Independent.

”When you talk about Category 4 and 5, there are very few systems or protocols that can prepare you for that,” Maximay continued. “You can have resilient buildings but category five winds can move concrete structures.”

Hurricane Beryl’s growth into a Category 5 storm can be attributed to record-warm ocean temperatures. High water temperatures can contribute to sea level rise and hurt marine life in addition to fueling strong storms like Hurricane Beryl. Ocean temperatures will likely continue to rise even if we curb greenhouse gas emissions, according to NOAA.

Island nations are at the front lines of the climate crisis, given their vulnerability to violent storms and sea-level rise.

The Alliance of Small Island States, an organization designed to create a unified voice for small island nations to address the ongoing climate crisis, denounced the climate crisis and its impact on island nations.

“We continue to be sacrificed on the frontlines of a climate crisis we did not cause,” the statement said. “Our sea temperatures grow warmer, encouraging storms to strengthen at alarming speed and increasing the dire threat to our developing countries. The increased danger is evident for the world to see.”

“If the world does not stand with [Small Island Developing States] now, it is only a matter of time before we are all lost,” the alliance continued.

Sophie Powell, chief of advocacy for the United Kingdom-based non-profit Christian Aid, highlighted the role the climate crisis has played in Hurricane Beryl’s devastation.

“The people picking through the wreckage of such a devastating storm have done nothing to cause the climate crisis,” Powell said in a statement. “The carbon emissions of these small, low-lying islands are miniscule yet the consequences to their lives of climate breakdown are vast.”

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 09:00

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Googlebox stars stuck in Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl makes landfall: ‘I want to get out’

Googlebox favorites Julie and Tom Malone have revealed they are stuck in Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl makes landfall.

The Channel 4 couple had oped for some sun and relaxation after jetting off to Jamaica for their summer holiday, but have instead got caught up in the Category 4 hurricane.

Beryl hit Jamaica earlier this week, with life-threatening rain, 145mph winds and storm surge, with the storm knocking down power lines in Portland.

Watch here:

Googlebox stars stuck in Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl strikes: ‘I want to get out’

Googlebox favourites Julie and Tom Malone have revealed they are stuck in Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl makes landfall. The Channel 4 couple had oped for some sun and relaxation after jetting off to Jamaica for their summer holiday, but have instead got caught up in the Category 4 hurricane. Beryl hit Jamaica earlier this week, with life-threatening rain, 145mph winds and storm surge, with the storm knocking down power lines in Portland. Posting a video update on Instagram on Wednesday (3 July), the couple told fans they have been told to stay indoors and not go out. Mr Malone then declares: “I want to get out”. The couple then also posted some more videos showing the stormy conditions.

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 08:00

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United Nations dedicates $4 million to aid for Jamaica, eastern Caribbean

The United Nations will put $4 million towards aid efforts in Jamaica, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, the BBC reports.

Earlier this week, the UN said officials in Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are working closely with local leaders to help with recovery efforts.

“To date, Grenada and St Vincent’s and the Grenadines have reported hundreds of people in shelters,” a UN spokesperson said.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has asked for the international community to “show solidarity” with all the Caribbean countries in Hurricane Beryl’s path, the spokesperson said.

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 07:00

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ICYMI: Satellite imagery shows Hurricane Beryl slamming into Jamaica

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 06:00

1720152060

Bird’s eye view: Hurricane Beryl pictured from International Space Station

Hurricane Beryl pictured from the International Space Station on Monday as it raced through the Caribbean Sea (NASA)

Hurricane Beryl pictured from the International Space Station on Monday as it raced through the Caribbean Sea (Hurricane Beryl pictured from the International Space Station on Monday as it raced through the Caribbean Sea)

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 05:01

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ICYMI: Mexico evacuates sea turtle eggs from beaches ahead of Beryl

Mexican officials evacuated sea turtle eggs from beaches ahead of Hurricane Beryl, the Associated Press reports.

For some eggs, experts transferred them to safer areas. In other cases, they created corrals with sandbags to keep the eggs safe where they were laid, the outlet reports.

“Look, it’s not the best thing to do, but we are facing an emergency in which if they don’t take them out, they all could be lost,” biologist Graciela Tiburcio told the AP.

“In a normal situation this would not be right, because this will surely cause mortality,” Tiburcio continued. “There will be a lower rate of hatched eggs, that is the reality. But it’s also a reality that if the nests are left there, they’ll all be lost.”

Two state officials transfer turtle eggs to a safe location ahead of Hurricane Beryl in Cancun, Mexico on Wednesday (AP)

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 04:00

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Video: When will Hurricane Beryl hit Texas?

When will Hurricane Beryl hit Texas?

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 03:00

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Hurricane Beryl could bring significant rainfall to Texas: meteorologist

AccuWeather Meteorologist Geoff Cornish says Hurricane Beryl could bring four to eight inches of rain to Brownsville, Texas if it hits the region early next week.

“San Antonio and Austin will likely see several inches of rain from Beryl as well,” Cornish said on Thursday.

AccuWeather’s Paul Pastelok warns the storm could stall in the Gulf Coast, driving longer storm conditions.

“There is a chance that this storm may stall once it gets onshore in northern Mexico and southern Texas, which could lead to more rainfall and flooding concerns,” Pastelok said. The National Weather Service said Beryl has the potential to hit Texas on Monday into Tuesday.

For now, the Category 2 storm is set to make landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in the coming hours.

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 02:00

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In pictures: Mexico braces for Hurricane Beryl

Workers board up a business to avoid damage ahead of Hurricane Beryl, in Merida, Mexico on July 3 (REUTERS)

A worker installs wood boards on a building's windows ahead of Hurricane Beryl in Playa del Carmen, Mexico on July 3 (REUTERS)

Workers remove a billboard advertisement ahead of Hurricane Beryl in Playa del Carmen, Mexico on July 3 (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 01:00

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Hurricane Beryl no longer a ‘major’ hurricane

Hurricane Beryl weakened to a Category 2 storm this afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 110mph.

This means the storm is no longer a “major hurricane,” which is defined as Category 3 and above.

However, it will still bring life-threatening storm conditions to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula — including several popular tourist destinations along the coast — in the coming hours.

Katie Hawkinson5 July 2024 00:00

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Biden faces donor pressure as he digs in on re-election bid - BBC

Reuters

Nadine Yousif

BBC News

3 hours ago

President Joe Biden is facing pressure from some major Democratic donors as he faces a critical few days in his campaign for re-election.

A number of donors are publicly warning they will withhold funds unless Mr Biden is replaced as the party's candidate following his disastrous debate performance last week.

They include Abigail Disney, an heiress to the Disney family fortune, Hollywood producer Damon Lindelof, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, and philanthropist and entrepreneur Gideon Stein.

Mr Biden is seeking to shore up his candidacy this weekend, including with a rare primetime TV interview on Friday and a rally in Wisconsin.

Pressure on Mr Biden, 81, to step aside has grown following a debate marked by several instances where he lost his train of thought and was incomprehensible.

While he admitted that he "screwed up" that night, he has vowed to stay on as his party's standard-bearer taking on Donald Trump in the November presidential election.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said on Thursday at a White House gathering marking 4 July Independence Day in the US.

Ms Disney told the US business news channel CNBC that she did not believe that Mr Biden could win against Trump in November.

She said her intent to pull support was rooted in “realism, not disrespect”.

“Biden is a good man and has served his country admirably, but the stakes are far too high,” Ms Disney, who has supported a number of Democrats and Democratic causes over the years, said.

“If Biden does not step down the Democrats will lose. Of that I am absolutely certain. The consequences for the loss will be genuinely dire.”

With her warning, she joined a handful of other wealthy donors.

Mr Stein told the New York Times that his family was withholding $3.5m (£2.8m) to non-profit and political organisations active in the presidential race unless Mr Biden steps aside.

Mr Lindelof, who has donated more than $100,000 to Democrats this election cycle, wrote a public essay urging other donors to withhold their funds in what he dubbed a “DEMbargo”.

“When they text you asking for cash, text back that you’re not giving them a penny and you won’t change your mind until there’s change at the top of the ticket,” Mr Lindelof wrote in Deadline.

Mr Emanuel - the brother of Rahm Emanuel, a former Barack Obama chief of staff - told a conference in Colorado that withholding funding was the key to ensuring Mr Biden's exit from the race, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

“The lifeblood to a campaign is money, and maybe the only way . . . is if the money starts drying up,” he said, according to the newspaper.

“You’ll see in the next couple weeks, if the money comes in . . . I talked to a bunch of big donors, and they’re moving all their money to Congress and the Senate.”

Some other major donors have not threatened to cut funding but are putting public pressure on the president to withdraw.

Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix and one of the biggest donors to the Democratic Party, told US media that Mr Biden "needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous”.

Others have expressed concerns about the possibility of a damaging and chaotic race to replace Mr Biden if he does leave.

Getty Images

Ramesh Kapur, a Massachusetts-based Indian-American industrialist, has organised fundraisers for Democrats since 1988.

“I think it’s time for him to pass the torch,” Mr Kapur told the BBC this week. “I know he has the drive, but you can’t fight Mother Nature.”

“What I know of him, he will decide what’s good for the country,” he added.

There are some who are worried there's not enough time left for a new candidate to join the race, and they have decided to back Biden if he stays on.

A mega-donor the BBC spoke to this week, who declined to be named, said he planned to go ahead with a fundraiser for the president scheduled for later this month at his Virginia home.

"We all want to keep Donald Trump out of the White House, and probably that will keep us together," he said.

The Biden campaign has said it raised $38m from debate day through to the weekend, mainly through small donations - and a total of $127m in June alone.

The Biden team and the president have conceded he had a difficult debate but have said he is ready to show the public he has the stamina for the campaign.

On Friday, he is scheduled to sit down with ABC - the first television interview after the debate - to help quell concerns about his age and mental faculties.

He will also travel to Madison, Wisconsin to campaign with Governor Tony Evers.

But the president is facing a series of negative polls which suggest his Republican rival’s lead has widened in the wake of the Atlanta debate.

A New York Times poll published on Wednesday suggested Trump was now holding his biggest lead yet at six points.

And a separate poll published by the BBC’s US partner CBS News suggested a slight shift towards Trump, who had a three-point lead over Mr Biden in the crucial battleground states.

Brajesh Upadhyay contributed to this report

More on election

• Where Biden and Trump stand on key issues

• What’s in Trump’s second term wish list, Project 2025

• What Moscow, Delhi and Beijing make of rematch

• Who will be Trump’s vice-president?

Related Topics

• US election 2024
• United States
• Joe Biden

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