WASHINGTON: Hollywood star George Clooney — one of the first high-profile Democratic activists to urge Joe Biden not to seek reelection — on Tuesday announced his backing for Kamala Harris, while hailing Biden’s exit.
“President Biden has shown what true leadership is. He’s saving democracy once again. We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest,” Clooney said in a statement to CNN.
A major fundraiser for Democratic candidates and longtime Biden booster, Clooney broke ranks two weeks ago by openly calling on the 81-year-old president to give way to a younger candidate so that the party would have a better chance of beating Donald Trump in November.
“I love Joe Biden,” Clooney wrote in The New York Times, shocking many. “I consider him a friend, and I believe in him... But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.”
With Biden at the top of the ticket, the Oscar-winner said, Democrats “are not going to win in November,” will lose control of the Senate, and won’t gain a majority in the House of Representatives.
After days of mounting pressure, Biden on Sunday abruptly announced he was leaving the race and endorsed his vice president. Harris has rapidly garnered overwhelming support from party leaders and raked in a huge quantity of donations from voters.
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George Clooney backs Harris, lauds Biden for ‘saving democracy’
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George Clooney backs Harris, lauds Biden for ‘saving democracy’
- Clooney announced his backing for Kamala Harris, while hailing Biden’s exit
- Harris has rapidly garnered overwhelming support from party leaders and raked in a huge quantity of donations from voters
UK to deploy aircraft carrier group to Arctic this year: PM
- The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s largest warship
MUNICH, Germany: The UK will deploy its aircraft carrier group to the North Atlantic this year in a “powerful show of force” against Russian threats in the Arctic, British officials said Saturday.
“I can announce today that the UK will deploy our carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the US, Canada and other NATO allies in a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the Munich security conference.
The group will include Royal Navy warships, F-35 jets and helicopters in what has been dubbed “Operation Firecrest,” the ministry of defense said in a statement.
It will be a “powerful show of force … to deter Russian aggression and protect vital undersea infrastructure.”
The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s largest warship and US aircraft are also expected to operate from its deck.
The operation will involve thousands of personnel from all three services of the Armed Forces, the MoD statement added.
“The deployment will include activity under NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, launched this week, strengthening the Alliance’s security in a region where melting sea ice is opening new routes and increasing threat from hostile state activity,” the ministry said.
France has also announced that it will deploy its aircraft carrier group in the region in 2026.
Starmer told the Munich conference that Britain must be “ready to fight.”
Leaders must not dither as “Russia has proved its appetite for aggression,” he said.
“The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age,” he added.
“We must be able to deter aggression, and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight.”
The defense ministry said the deployment would reinforce “NATO’s deterrence at a time of rising Russian threats in the region.”
It added that “over the past two years, there has been a 30 percent increase in Russian navy vessels threatening UK waters.”
US President Donald Trump has also unnerved European countries by saying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic, should come under US control.
Trump said last month however that an understanding had been reached with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte that would give the United States greater influence in the mineral-rich and strategically placed territory.
“I can announce today that the UK will deploy our carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the US, Canada and other NATO allies in a powerful show of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the Munich security conference.
The group will include Royal Navy warships, F-35 jets and helicopters in what has been dubbed “Operation Firecrest,” the ministry of defense said in a statement.
It will be a “powerful show of force … to deter Russian aggression and protect vital undersea infrastructure.”
The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s largest warship and US aircraft are also expected to operate from its deck.
The operation will involve thousands of personnel from all three services of the Armed Forces, the MoD statement added.
“The deployment will include activity under NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, launched this week, strengthening the Alliance’s security in a region where melting sea ice is opening new routes and increasing threat from hostile state activity,” the ministry said.
France has also announced that it will deploy its aircraft carrier group in the region in 2026.
Starmer told the Munich conference that Britain must be “ready to fight.”
Leaders must not dither as “Russia has proved its appetite for aggression,” he said.
“The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age,” he added.
“We must be able to deter aggression, and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight.”
The defense ministry said the deployment would reinforce “NATO’s deterrence at a time of rising Russian threats in the region.”
It added that “over the past two years, there has been a 30 percent increase in Russian navy vessels threatening UK waters.”
US President Donald Trump has also unnerved European countries by saying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic, should come under US control.
Trump said last month however that an understanding had been reached with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte that would give the United States greater influence in the mineral-rich and strategically placed territory.
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