News in Brief(2023-08-11)
Friday, 11 August 2023
NE Ukraine town urges evacuations in face of Russian attacks
KYIV, Aug 10: Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk urged vulnerable residents to leave the area on Thursday citing an uptick in Russian attacks on the settlement. "Vulnerable citizens: women with children, the elderly, the sick and those with limited mobility. Given the difficult security situation and the increasing number of attacks by Russian terrorist forces on the territory of the Kupiansk community, you have the opportunity to evacuate to a safer place," Kupiansk city council said in a statement on social media. —AFP
Call to protect the world's rainforests
BELEM, Aug 10: Brazil's Amazon Summit closed Wednesday with a roadmap to protect tropical rainforests that was welcomed as an important step in countering climate change, but without the concrete commitments sought by some environmentalists to end deforestation. Leaders and ministers from eight Amazon nations signed a declaration Tuesday in Belem, Brazil, that laid out plans to drive economic development in their countries while preventing the Amazon's ongoing demise "from reaching a point of no return." —AP
Trump won't sign loyalty pledge
NEW YORK, Aug 10: Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he won't sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee if he loses the GOP presidential primary, flouting a requirement for appearing in the first debate later this month. "Why would I sign it?" Trump said in an interview on the conservative cable network Newsmax. "I can name three or four people that I wouldn't support for president. So right there, there's a problem." He declined to name the candidates he wouldn't support, saying "there's no reason to insult them. — AFP
Man who threatened Biden shot dead
PROVO, Aug 10: A man who posted violent threats against President Joe Biden and other officials online was shot dead during an FBI raid on Wednesday. Agents were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Craig Robertson at his home in Utah, just hours ahead of a planned visit to the state by Mr Biden. A criminal complaint said Robertson posted threats on Facebook against Mr Biden and a prosecutor pursuing criminal charges against Donald Trump. The FBI declined to give more details. —BBC