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Age in focus as Biden faces Trump in first presidential debate

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For 90 minutes on Thursday night, U.S. President Joe Biden has the chance to show doubting Americans that, at age 81, he is capable of handling the rigors of another four-year term, when he faces off in a debate against Republican Donald Trump.

A strong showing could help neutralize those concerns and focus voter attention on policy issues. A weak performance could dampen fundraising and push Trump further ahead in the polls.

Both men are under scrutiny over their age and stamina. Trump is 78 and prone to making outlandish statements and mangling his sentences on the campaign trail.

Biden has a stiff gait, makes verbal slip-ups and has inconsistent public appearances, sometimes veering from solidly delivered speeches to rushed, mumbled public remarks in the same day.

A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll showed that mental fitness is one of the key issues for undecided voters ahead of the Nov. 5 election, and they are more worried about Biden.

Another Reuters-Ipsos poll this year showed that 78% of respondents – including 71% of Democrats – thought Biden too old to work in government. Some 53% said the same of Trump.

Biden’s age has been relentlessly targeted by political opponents and conservative media, who have used a stew of real, fake and misleadingly edited video clips aimed at portraying him as feeble and erratic.

The White House and Biden campaign have pushed back on the effort, with limited success.

Aware that this debate could be a defining moment for his campaign, Biden has confined himself to nearly a week of “debate camp” with top advisers at the Camp David presidential retreat in the mountains of western Maryland, where he will remain until departing for Atlanta on debate day.

The goal: Show U.S. voters a wise and steady leader with a record of success, in contrast to Trump’s often chaotic 2017-21 presidency, and highlight differences on abortion rights, democratic norms and fiscal policy.

To do so, Biden is spending hours each day preparing while also taking his usual daily security briefings.

Many Democrats are anxious about how well Biden will do because the stakes are so high.

“It (the age issue) is obviously a challenge and an obstacle for Biden,” said one Democrat close to the White House. “I think it’s always about, does he project strength and confidence? I think he’s just got to demonstrate that he’s in command of his agenda and confident on stage, and I think he’ll do that.”

The debate will take place at a CNN studio in Atlanta with no audience. The men may not bring pre-written notes on stage.

Final 2020 U.S. presidential campaign debate in Nashville

John Morgan, a Florida attorney and Biden donor, said he would like to see Biden address the question of age right away during the debate.

Biden should “talk about his physical and mental fitness compared to the other guy. He should challenge Trump to a Peloton ride and let the country see who is fitter and stronger. I’m not joking,” Morgan said.

PROTECTING BIDEN

Biden’s team has built a campaign aimed at protecting the president, who for most of his decades in public life was a loquacious presence, back-slapping with colleagues over a long Senate career and bantering with reporters.

Aides now stroll alongside him when he walks to his helicopter as a way of shifting focus away from his slow gait.

He wears comfortable soft-soled shoes and now gets aboard Air Force One via a shorter set of stairs, to limit the possibility of a misstep in front of the cameras.

The accommodations are more aesthetic than anything, said one former White House official, who does not believe they have worked.

“All these things that they do … maybe mitigate risk for aesthetic reasons, (but) they don’t necessarily help him,” the former official said. “They all add up to this over-handling that makes him look more feeble than he actually is.”

Democratic critics say Biden should spend more time engaged with the public and the press to sharpen his image and allay age concerns.

His allies say age is not the issue.

“This election’s not about age. Joe and the other guy are about the same age. This election is about character, wisdom and ability,” first lady Jill Biden said at an event in Philadelphia on Monday.

Biden’s schedule and workload remain robust.

A Boston Globe analysis of Biden’s 2023 travel found it to be on a par with Barack Obama and Trump during their third years in office. Biden visited 29 different states in 2023, compared with 30 states for Trump and 31 states for Obama, it said.

So far in 2024, Biden has made stops in 21 states at least once, according to statistics compiled by former CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

Earlier this month he did back-to-back trips to Europe, attending D-Day anniversary celebrations in France and a G7 summit in Italy.

SourceReuters

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Crime

Drama in court over stolen goats

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There was drama at an Accra Circuit Court when two out of three accused persons admitted stealing goats at Teshie Camp Two area in Accra. 

Emmanuel Agyei, aka Obama, a fisherman and David Agyei, a borehole driller, pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy and stealing. 

The accused persons, said it was true that they had been stealing goats and that on August 8, 2024, they stole locally bred goats within the vicinity, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reports. 

The police is holding them for allegedly stealing nine foreign goats from Germany valued at $13,500 belonging to one Seidu Yakubu, the complainant in the case. 

Emmanuel Agyei told the court that: “The goat I stole doesn’t belong to the complainant. I have not seen the kind of goats the police are talking about. I have shown the complainant and the places where I stole the goats. I don’t know anything about the kind of goats the police are talking about in the pictures taken.” 

In the case of David Agyei, he told the court that, “We did not steal from the complainant, the goats we stole were African breed. We are not the group of people who sell to the buyer.” 

The court, after listening to the accused persons, convicted them but deferred their sentence to September 2, 2024. 

Baba Musah, aka Baba Talatu, a butcher, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of dishonestly receiving, has also been remanded into police custody. 

The police said three accomplices, whose names were given as Nat, Aapah, Boola Gee, were at large. 

The prosecution, led by Superintendent of Police Augustine Yirenkyi, said the police were searching for other accomplices on the run. 

The prosecution said the complainant, Yakubu Seidu, was a driver and an animal farmer at Teshie Camp 2. 

The court heard that on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at about 0400 hours, the complainant woke up and detected the theft of nine of his foreign-breed goats. 

On the same day, the prosecution said the Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) received intelligence about a syndicate that snatched victims’ cars and used them to steal goats, and hide at Teshie and James Town. 

The prosecution said the PID mounted surveillance and arrested Emmanuel Agyei, David Agyei and Baba Musah, but the other accomplices managed to escape. 

During interrogation, Emmanuel and David admitted the offence and told the Police that they used to steal and sell.  

Emmanuel and David led the Police to Boola Gee’s house at James Town, where four sheep and two goats were found in a blue-black 2002 model Honda CRV with registration number GN 438-14 and a blue-black Nissan Altima with registration number GT3107-18.  

Emmanuel and David admitted to the Police that they stole with one Nathaniel and Aapah and sold the livestock to Boola Gee. 

The court was told that Baba Musah admitted having bought five goats from Emmanuel, David and Nathaniel at GH₵2,500. 

On August 12, 2024, the prosecution said the complainant came to the Directorate and identified two goats as his. 

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Crime

Police destroy large quantity of narcotics by court order

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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has destroyed a significant quantity of narcotic substances following orders from the Accra Circuit Court.

The items destroyed included 248 fertilizer sacks, 315 wraps, 24 sachets, and 68 compressed slabs of various narcotics, along with three medium-sized buckets of heroin.

“We are here to destroy some substances; cocaine, dry leaves thus cannabis, after those cases have been dealt with by the court,” Registrar at the Accra Circuit Court Prosper Kingsley Damakah revealed to journalists

The substances were seized and used as evidence in cases tried by the circuit court between 2020 and 2024.

“Some of the cases started in 2020. The people were arrested by the Police, charged and brought to court. Judgments have been delivered in the cases’ Mr. Damakah clarified.

The burning of the narcotics was carried out at the shore behind the Black Star Square in Accra and was witnessed by representatives from the Narcotics Control Commission and the Judicial Service.

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Crime

4 remanded in Tumu for alleged robbery of MoMo vendor

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The Tumu Magistrate Court in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region has remanded four individuals in custody on charges of allegedly robbing a mobile money vendor.

The suspects have been under police surveillance in Tumu due to a series of robberies targeting commuters in the Sissala East Municipality. 

Their arrest was the result of an investigation into an attack on the mobile money vendor.

The suspects, Sumaila Tembieru (a mechanic), Hamidu Muniru (a farmer), Sumaila Issahaku (also a mechanic), and Salifu Abu (a farmer), were apprehended on July 19 following thorough police investigations in Tumu related to a robbery in the Kong community. 

The mobile money vendor was deprived of his cash and two mobile phones during the incident.

At the Tumu Magistrate Court, Sissala East Municipal Police Commander Superintendent Kumpe Dieku Gbele reported that on June 17, around 9:30 PM, three armed individuals stormed the mobile shop, discharged firearms, and stole GH¢25,000 from the owner. 

The victim, Voguworun Gadafi, who also trades in agrochemicals, recognised Hamidu Muniru, who had visited the shop earlier that day. 

A police report led to Muniru’s arrest, who subsequently identified his three co-conspirators.

Presiding Judge Frederick Kaar Tiem ordered the four suspects to be held in police custody until their next court appearance on July 29.

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