Recent outages highlight need for stronger African internet

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Nairobi, Kenya — Experts say Africa needs to invest in robust infrastructure if the continent is to have reliable internet after recent outages due to underwater cable failures highlighted the continent’s reliance on single-path connectivity. Disruptions in March and May caused online banking problems and communication delays. Businesses experienced interruptions in many countries. In March, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, four submarine cables that deliver the internet to at least 17 countries went offline. Less than two months later, Eastern and Southern Africa experienced outages after two undersea cables were damaged. In Tanzania, the U.S. Embassy in Dar esmore

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JD Vance will introduce himself to the nation at the RNC as Trump’s running mate

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MILWAUKEE — Introducing himself to the nation after being tapped as Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance is planning to use his Wednesday night address to the Republican National Convention to share the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and make the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans. The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown. In his first primetime speech since becoming the nominee for vice president, Vance is expected to talk about growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent, and how he later went onmore

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Biden tests positive for COVID, cancels Nevada campaign event

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Washington — President Joe Biden on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said in a statement, shortly after he abruptly canceled a Las Vegas speech where he planned to appeal to Latino voters. The 81-year-old president tested positive before his first event in Las Vegas Wednesday and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in the statement. She added that he is vaccinated and boosted against the virus and will return to his home in Rehoboth, Delaware, where he will self-isolate. “The White House will provide regular updates on the President’s status as he continuesmore

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Trump’s VP pick Vance is pro-Israel, anti-China and creating anxiety in Europe

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washington — Senator J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s newly announced running mate, will take center stage Wednesday evening at the Republican National Convention, focusing on the day’s theme, “Make America Strong Again.” Vance, 39, a former venture capitalist, has less than two years in public office and little foreign policy background. His recent comments mostly align with Trump’s “America First” doctrine and have revealed a worldview that can be summed up as pro-Israel, anti-China and causing anxiety in Europe. A former U.S. Marine who was deployed in Iraq, Vance is skeptical of American military intervention overseas and, with the exceptionmore

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Democrats aim to nominate Biden in early August, as some push him to exit race

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washington — U.S. Representative Adam Schiff of California on Wednesday became the highest-profile Democrat to call for President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid, as the party pushed ahead with plans to formally nominate Biden via a virtual vote in early August before the party’s convention two weeks later. The move to schedule the vote comes after nearly 20 Democrats in Congress have called on Biden to exit the presidential race in the wake of his halting debate performance against Republican former President Donald Trump last month. Among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should let his party nominate amore

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Increased security around Trump is apparent, agents wall him off from RNC crowds

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Milwaukee —  On the floor of the Republican National Convention Tuesday evening, vice presidential candidate JD Vance greeted and shook hands with excited delegates as he walked toward his seat. It was a marked contrast from former President Donald Trump, who entered the hall a few minutes later and was separated from supporters by a column of Secret Service agents. His ear still bandaged after an attempted assassination, Trump closely hugged the wall. Instead of handshakes or hellos for those gathered, he offered fist pumps to the cameras. The contrast underscores the new reality facing Trump after a gunman opened firemore

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In speech to Black voters, Biden links violence on Trump to racial, gun violence

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President Joe Biden addressed Black supporters in the battleground state of Nevada Tuesday, his first campaign appearance since the assassination attempt on his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. He linked the attack on Trump to racial and gun violence, imploring Americans to “condemn violence in any form.” White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …

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Republicans lean into Trump’s border message during a convention night focused on immigration

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MILWAUKEE — Immigration took center stage as the Republican National Convention resumed Tuesday, with speakers spotlighting a key element of former President Donald Trump’s political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015. Among speakers slated for Tuesday night were families who’ve been impacted by violent crime — part of a GOP strategy to link crime to border policies. They include the family of Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman whom prosecutors say was killed and raped by a fugitive from El Salvador and whose story has been frequently highlighted by Trump onmore

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Biden stands ground on gun policy, asks Americans to cool down

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white house — With the recent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, the conversation around guns and gun policy is heating up — even as President Joe Biden is asking the country to cool down. This is the first assassination attempt on a former or current U.S. president since 1981, when Ronald Reagan was shot “First of all, that is preposterous,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas when asked about rumors that the assassination attempt was an inside job involving the current administration. “It is also dangerous to propagate rumors that are so unequivocally false and provocative,” hemore

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Vice presidential nominee Vance calls China ‘biggest threat to our country’

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Washington — In his short time in the U.S. Senate, J.D. Vance, the newly tapped Republican vice presidential nominee, has been a hawk on China. He has introduced legislation to restrict Chinese access to U.S. financial markets and to protect U.S. higher education from Chinese influence. In an interview with Fox News shortly after being named as former President Donald Trump’s running mate on Monday, Vance called China “the biggest threat” to the United States. When asked about Russia’s war in Ukraine, Vance said Trump would negotiate with Moscow and Kyiv to “bring this thing to a rapid close so Americamore

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US voters consider impact of Trump assassination attempt

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U.S. voters are assessing the impact of Saturday’s attempted assassination of presidential candidate Donald Trump. As VOA correspondent Scott Stearns reports, they are considering what the shooting means for the country and this November’s election. VOA’s Russian, Spanish, Persian and Korean language services contributed to this report. …

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Biden returns to campaign trail after rival Trump’s assassination attempt

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Washington — All eyes will be on Joe Biden as he addresses Black supporters Tuesday in the battleground state of Nevada, his first campaign appearance since the assassination attempt on his Republican rival, former president Donald Trump. The U.S. president is expected to sharpen the choice voters will face this November, while calling for unity amid concerns of escalating political violence in the country. In Las Vegas, at a convention of an American civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, Biden will highlight his administration’s support for Black voters who have been part ofmore

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What is a nominating convention?

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Presidential nominating conventions are a relatively recent tradition that progressed from lengthy party debates into a political spectacle televised for the world. Take a closer look at the history, surprises, and stakes behind the quadrennial events that, come November, will set the shape of America’s political landscape. From marathon balloting to pandemic adaptations, VOA explores how conventions have changed and why they still matter in modern elections. …

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Donald Trump enters Republican convention hall with a bandaged ear and gets a hero’s welcome

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Milwaukee — Two days after surviving an attempted assassination, former President Donald Trump appeared triumphantly at the Republican National Convention’s opening night with a bandage over his right ear, the latest compelling scene in a presidential campaign already defined by dramatic turns. Delegates cheered wildly when Trump appeared onscreen backstage and then emerged in the arena, visibly emotional, as musician Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA.” That was hours after the convention had formally nominated the former president to head the Republican ticket in November against President Joe Biden. Trump, accompanied by a wall of Secret Service agents, did notmore

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Biden, Trump call for unity in aftermath of Trump assassination attempt

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The White House — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Monday made high-profile appearances, each man acknowledging in his own way how the weekend assassination attempt against Trump has reshaped both of their presidential campaigns. Trump briefly appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention late Monday, a white bandage taped over his right ear where a bullet clipped him Saturday as he addressed a Pennsylvania rally. On Monday, the Biden administration announced a separate, independent investigation into the shooting, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation leads the main inquiry. The stark differences between the two main presidentialmore

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Biden says ‘bull’s-eye’ reference to Trump was a mistake

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday he made a mistake when he told supporters to put rival Donald Trump in a “bull’s-eye” in an effort to focus attention on his rival’s behavior but said Trump regularly employed rhetoric that was inflammatory. “It was a mistake to use the word,” Biden said in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt. “I meant focus on it, focus on what he’s doing,” Biden said. On July 8, Biden, 81, spoke to some of his biggest donors and said they needed to shift the election campaign’s focus from him and his poor debatemore

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