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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on 13 July, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/AFP Donald Trump's former White House physician disputed on Friday a suggestion by the FBI director that shrapnel, not a bullet, could have caused the injury to the Republican presidential candidate's right ear during an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July. The narrative that a bullet ripped through Trump's ear, and that he escaped death by just a quarter of an inch, has become a major element of the former president's White House campaign. Many of his supporters say the fact he survived was divine intervention and Trump mentions his brush with death in his speeches. "I took a bu...

Smoke rises from a wildfire burning at the Jasper National Park in Canada. Photo: Jasper National Park / AFP A massive wildfire that destroyed about a third of the western Canadian tourist town of Jasper is still out of control but rain and cooler conditions are helping firefighters, authorities said on Friday. Jasper, located in the middle of Alberta's picturesque Jasper National Park, is a major tourist destination. The town and park, which draw more than 2 million tourists a year to this area of the Rocky Mountains, were evacuated on Monday. "Rain and cooler temperatures and the incredibly hard work of firefighters have resulted in fire activity that is significantly subdued," said Alberta premier Danielle Smith. "It is important to note that the fire is still out of co...

Former US President Donald Trump and current Vice-President Kamala Harris. Photo: AFP By Anthony Zurcher for the BBC Analysis - At a moment of unprecedented turbulence in modern American political history, Kamala Harris is having a remarkably smooth ride. It may not last long. Tony Fabrizio, Donald Trump's campaign pollster, calls it a "Harris Honeymoon" - where a combination of good press and positive energy have combined to give the Democrat a surge of momentum. The thing about honeymoons, of course, is that they come to an end. The realities of married life, or in this case the relationship between Ms Harris and the American voting public, has a way of reasserting itself. For now, the champagne corks are flying for team Harris and Democrats may be experiencing an unfami...

Justin Timberlake will be re-arraigned virtually in court next month. Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP By Ruth Comerford, BBC News Justin Timberlake's lawyer has said the popstar was "not intoxicated" when he was arrested by police officers last month for driving under the influence. The 43-year-old pop star was detained in New York for running a stop sign and failing to stay on the right side of the road. His first court hearing took place on Friday, where his lawyer Edward Burke said police made "a very significant number of errors" in the case. "The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI," he added. Speaking outside Sag Harbor Village Justice Court, Mr Burke said Timberlake "respects law ...

A waxwork of the late Sinéad O'Connor in Dublin will be remade after the original came under criticism Photo: Facebook The National Wax Museum in Dublin is "committed" to creating a new wax figure of Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor after significant public backlash. It comes after the museum unveiled a waxwork of the late singer and activist to coincide with the first anniversary of her death. O'Connor was found dead at the age of 56 in her south London home last July. The figure was first unveiled on Thursday as a tribute to the singer, but the museum has now said it will be removed in order to create "a more accurate representation". Among those who criticised the original figure was O'Connor's brother, John. He said he was shocked when he first saw the waxwork online and s...

New Caledonia's four MPs Emmanuel Tjibaou, Nicolas Metzdorf, Georges Naturel and Robert Xowie with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday 25 July 2024 Photo: Palais de l'Elysée Hours after New Caledonia's French Parliamentarians met with President Macron in Paris, the French Pacific archipelago's hours were further relaxed on Friday. The new hours for the dusk-to-dawn curfew that was initially imposed following violent civil unrest that broke out on 13 May are now from 10 pm to 5 am, starting on Monday 29 July, the French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said in a release. The announcement comes in the wake of a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and a bipartisan delegation of all four elected members for New Caledonia at the French National Assembly (tw...