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Biden to Give Farewell Address, Pass Torch to Harris at Democratic Convention

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Biden To Deliver Farewell Address And Pass The Torch To Harris At Democratic Convention

US President Joe Biden will deliver a bittersweet farewell address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, officially passing the torch to Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee for the November election. The speech comes less than a month after his stunning withdrawal and Harris’s astonishing ascent to the top of the ticket.

Biden can expect a hero’s send-off from many of the same people who helped push him out due to concerns about his age. The 81-year-old is expected to say that Harris — America’s first female, Black and South Asian vice president — is the best person to finish the job he started of protecting American democracy from Republican rival Donald Trump.

Harris is set to briefly appear with her boss on stage for his primetime speech in a symbolic moment designed to show unity among Democrats over his succession. First Lady Jill Biden, 73, a staunch defender of her husband who was with him throughout the final stages of his fateful decision on July 21, will also take to the stage in Chicago.

However, a planned protest in Chicago against the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza may cast a shadow over the event. Biden spent the weekend fine-tuning his address with top aides at the Camp David presidential retreat and expressed confidence in his speech, saying he felt “good, real good” about it.

As a lame-duck single-term president, Biden’s legacy hinges on whether Harris can go on to beat Trump — and that if she doesn’t, many will blame him for clinging on so long. Despite this, Biden is expected to use his speech to endorse Harris and reassure Democrats that she is the best person to lead the party forward.

However, there will undoubtedly be mixed emotions for the ageing president, who has watched Harris chase down Trump in the polls and enthuse voters in a way he never managed during his time as a candidate. Biden now also finds himself as the warm-up act for Harris, who will give her headline speech on Thursday in a slot that just a few weeks ago would have been his. He won’t be hanging around for her big night. Instead, he is heading off immediately after his speech to start a six-day holiday in California while the conference continues without him.

Yet as he enters the final stretch of a five-decade political career, Biden will also be assured of a warm welcome from Democrats in Chicago.

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Court, Congress Pile Pressure on DHS Over Minnesota Operations

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US Congress to Review Relations with South Africa, Sudan

Court, Congress Pile Pressure on DHS Over Minnesota Operations

 

US House Democrats have threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her handling of the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, unless President Donald Trump removes her from office.

 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned that Democrats could proceed “the easy way or the hard way,” describing the actions of Noem’s department as “disgusting.”

 

The crisis follows the fatal shooting of US citizen Alex Pretti by a federal agent, which has triggered backlash in Minneapolis and led to the planned departure of Border Patrol Chief Gregory Borvino and some agents from the city.

 

Trump has deployed his “border tsar,” Tom Homan, to take charge of on-the-ground operations, while a Minnesota judge has ordered acting ICE director Todd Lyons to appear in court over alleged violations of court orders.

 

Trump has distanced himself from claims by senior adviser Stephen Miller that Pretti was a “would-be assassin,” saying he did not believe the victim was acting as one.

 

Video footage shows Pretti holding a phone while filming agents, not a gun, although police say he was a legal firearm owner.

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UN Raises Alarm Over ‘Spare No-One’ Rhetoric by South Sudan Army Chief

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Trafficking: Libya Deports 700 Sudanese Migrants

UN Raises Alarm Over ‘Spare No-One’ Rhetoric by South Sudan Army Chief

 

The United Nations has expressed concern after South Sudan’s Deputy Army Chief, Gen. Johnson Oluny, was heard urging troops to “spare no-one,” including children and the elderly, ahead of military operations in opposition-held areas of Jonglei State.

 

In a video posted on Facebook, Oluny, addressing members of his Agwelek militia, called for total destruction during the deployment.

 

The UN Mission in South Sudan condemned the remarks, describing them as “utterly abhorrent,” and warned that inflammatory rhetoric targeting civilians must stop immediately.

 

South Sudan’s government, however, said the statement did not amount to an official order, insisting it remains committed to protecting civilians.

 

Minister of Information Ateny Wek Ateny said civilians were being warned only to avoid being caught in crossfire.

 

The development comes amid escalating fighting in Jonglei, where forces loyal to suspended Vice-President Riek Machar have seized several areas.

 

The military has ordered civilians, UN personnel and aid workers to evacuate three counties—Nyirol, Uror and Akobo—ahead of an imminent operation.

 

The UN says more than 180,000 people have been displaced by the renewed violence.

 

Meanwhile, tensions remain high as opposition forces threaten to advance towards the capital, Juba, a claim dismissed by the army.

 

South Sudan has been unstable since a 2018 peace deal ended a five-year civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people, but lingering political rivalry and ethnic tensions continue to threaten fragile peace.

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Diplomacy

Rwanda sues UK over scrapped migrant deal payments

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Rwanda sues UK over scrapped migrant deal payments

 

The Rwandan government has initiated arbitration proceedings against the United Kingdom, seeking payments it says are owed under the now-abandoned asylum partnership agreement between both countries.

 

Rwanda has filed the case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, arguing that the UK failed to honour financial commitments contained in the deal signed under the former Conservative government.

 

The agreement, designed to relocate some asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, was scrapped in 2024 by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, with the Home Office saying about £220m in future payments would no longer be made.

 

UK authorities insist the policy was costly and ineffective, pledging to defend the case to protect taxpayers’ funds.

 

Rwanda, however, says the arbitration concerns unmet treaty obligations and is seeking a legal determination of both parties’ rights under international law.

 

The PCA lists the case as pending, with no timetable yet announced for hearings or a ruling.

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