Philadelphia: Accusing President Donald Trump of being "divider-in-chief" by fomenting racism, hatred and bitterness among fellow citizens, former US Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday formally launched his 2020 bid for the White House and asserted that his campaign is all about restoring the soul of the nation, rebuilding the middle class, and unifying the country.
Giving a clarion call "Defeat Trump" amidst chanting We want Joe by several thousands of his die-hard supporters, 76-year-old Biden formally launched his 2020 presidential bid from Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy.
"So why do we begin this journey in this place Philadelphia? Because this was the birthplace of our democracy. It was here that two of the most important documents in the world's history were written," Biden said.
The city of Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution. The city is where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were signed.
Accusing Trump of stroking fear and bringing racial division among Americans, Biden said, "The threat to our democracy and our nation is real. Our politics today is traffics in division. And our President is the divider-in-chief."
"If the American people want a president to add to our division...they don't need me. They already have a president who does just that," Biden told a cheering estimated crowd of 6,000 supporters.
"I am running to offer our country - Democrats, Republicans and Independents - a different path," said the former US vice president, who had played an important role in strengthening the India-US relationship during his tenure in the Obama administration.
"At the core of our campaign is a simple idea: we are at our best when we're one America," Biden, who was introduced to his supporters by his spouse Jill, said.
Biden has emerged as the frontrunner among nearly 20 Democratic presidential aspirants, including Indian-American Senator Kamala Harris, first Hindu US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Senator Bernie Sanders.
The winner of the Democratic presidential primaries, beginning early next year, would be declared as party's nominee for the November 2020 presidential elections at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 16.
If nominated, Biden will be pitted against incumbent Trump, 72, for the November 3, 2020 presidential elections.
First elected as the US Senator from Delaware at the age of 29, Biden has nearly five decades of public service including eight years as the Vice President from 2009-2016.
Biden's campaign also attracted several Indian-Americans from various parts of the country.
"We are here to support Joe Biden. I believe it is only he who can put the US back on the path of development. The United States needs to lead the world," said Ajay Jain Bhutoria, a Democrat who flew in from California for the launch event.
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Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.