Clinton, Trump kick off White House war
AP
WASHINGTON
The protagonists are set: Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump. The battleground? Fifty states. Voters will now be treated to a historic, bruising spectacle as two of America's most polarizing figures wage war for the White House.
On the Democratic side is a candidate rich with political experience, a pioneering if controversial stateswoman embracing her chance to become the nation`s first female commander-in-chief.
The Republican standing in her way is the brash billionaire businessman and political neophyte who rewrote the campaign playbook as he vanquished his many rivals for the nomination with a mudslinging unparalleled in modern American politics.
The ferocity of the primaries - Americans and many around the world had never seen a modern US presidential race play out with such insulting and denigrating attacks - promises to be just a preview of what is in store for the general election.
Hillary, the former secretary of state, euphorically seized the Democratic Party mantle on Tuesday, seizing the nomination in dramatic fashion with primary wins in four of six states including the grand prize, California.
On perhaps the biggest night of her political career, as she declared a historic milestone for women, she assailed Trump for his divisiveness and his trademark slogan, "Make America Great Again."
"That`s code for let`s take America backward," she said, "back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all."
"Don`t let anyone tell you that great things can`t happen in America," she said.
Trump was pledging a tough fight, choosing to lay into Hillary in his own presumptive victory speech and accusing her and her former president husband Bill of enriching themselves by "selling access, selling favors, selling government contracts."
And he signaled there would be no honeymoon, announcing a "major speech" for early next week in which he will address "all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons."The trajectory of the race is unlikely to soar into loftier issues.
Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, feared the race will be less a battle over substance like the economy or foreign policy than a clash of two outsized personalities.
"(Hillary) Clinton has deep knowledge and detailed platforms, but because Trump doesn't have any, nobody focuses on the differences," Ornstein told AFP in an interview.
"And because we have two candidates who are more distrusted than trusted, more disliked than liked, this becomes a race to the bottom."
Hillary will be looking to exploit the various controversies ensnaring Trump - most recently his criticism of a Mexican-American federal judge, which sparked uproar within his own party - as a way to enhance her own resume.
"There`s no out-trumping Trump, he is an extremely talented unique character," said Tim Miller, a former communications adviser to Republican Jeb Bush, one of the many candidates defeated by Trump in the primaries.
------------------------------------------
Obama hopeful Sanders
will wind up campaign
WASHINGTON: Barack Obama expressed hope that Bernie Sanders in "the next couple of weeks" will finally concede having lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton, despite having vowed to fight on through the party's convention next month.
Speaking to late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, Obama said that on balance, Sanders's candidacy in the hard-fought Democratic campaign was a positive.
"It was a healthy thing for the Democratic Party to have a contested primary," Obama told Fallon during recording of an episode of The Tonight Show.
"I thought that Bernie Sanders brought enormous energy and new ideas. And he pushed the party and challenged them. I thought it made Hillary a better candidate."
He added, "My hope is that over the next couple of weeks, we're able to pull things together."
The US president made his remarks one day after Clinton prevailed in four of six primary and caucus election contests, and declared herself to be her party's undisputed flag bearer for the November presidential election.
Sanders has refused to concede defeat, and vowed to "continue the fight" for the nomination.
Obama, however, has a meeting planned with Sanders today, at which he is expected to urge him to formally wrap up his campaign so that the divided party can reconcile and focus its energies on defeating Republican Donald Trump.
------------------------------
Clinton begins search
for vice president
WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton said she'll consider "the most qualified people" for the Democratic vice presidential nomination - which would include women.
Now that she's clinched the party's presidential nod, Clinton told CNN's Anderson Cooper that she is turning her attention to selecting a running-mate ahead of the party's convention in Philadelphia in July.
"I'm looking at the most qualified people, and that includes women, of course, because I want to be sure that whoever I pick could be president immediately if something were to happen - that's the most important qualification," Clinton said.
Progressive senator expects Sanders will campaign with Clinton
"I'm going to really begin to pay attention to that now that we've wrapped up the primary process," she said. "But it doesn't matter to me who the person is, as long as that person can really do the job that is required."
Clinton said she's not sure when she'll name a vice presidential choice.
"I don't know because I don't know how long it's going to take to try to sort all this out," she said.
The former secretary of state also defended her family's Clinton Foundation, saying she is "proud of the work it has done" and arguing that foreign countries' contributions to the foundation do nothing to influence her political actions.
===============================
Nationwide
strike hits
Nepal
PTI
KATHMANDU
A nationwide strike called by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) on Thursday crippled life in many parts of Nepal.
The party, led by General Secretary Netra Bikram Chand, launched the strike demanding the release of its cadres arrested during previous protests, Xinhua news agency reported.
Vehicular movement came to a standstill while educational institutions, private offices and markets were closed.
However, the strike had little impact in the Kathmandu valley.
The strike enforcers torched a taxi and vandalised a public micro bus in the capital for defying the strike.
According to the Metropolitan Police Range, nearly two dozen party cadres were arrested from different parts of the city for forcing people to shut down their businesses.
Police also nabbed two people with petrol bombs in Bhaktapur.
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
Bounty offered
to kill Philippine
president-elect
AFP
MANILA
Philippine police on Thursday said it discovered offers promising a million dollars to whoever kills the country's President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who has declared a war on criminals and drug dealers.
In an interview with state-broadcaster GMA, the soon-to-be Philippine police chief, Ronald Dela Rosa said a 50-million pesos (over $1 million) bounty has been offered for killing him or Duterte. He did not reveal details of who might be behind these offers, EFE news reported.
Dela Rosa, set to become police chief after Duterte is sworn in on June 30, said around $217,000 was offered initially as bounty but as there were no takers, the amount was raised.
Dela Rosa's statements come after Duterte, who has vowed to wipe out crime and drugs from the Philippines in under six months, also announced significant financial rewards on several occasions for citizens who kill drug lords.
At a party held in his honour Wednesday in the city of Cebu, Duterte said he would pay 5 million pesos (around $108,000) to the person who kills the most noted drug traffickers in the region.
Recent months have seen Duterte's popularity skyrocket in the Philippines, due to his tough-talking against crime and drugs, two of the principal problems affecting the country
