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Final US Campaign Blitz for Harris and Trump

This combination of pictures created on November 03, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 2024, and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) speaks during a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 2, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS and CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
This combination of pictures created on November 03, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 2024, and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) speaks during a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 2, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS and CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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Final US Campaign Blitz for Harris and Trump

This combination of pictures created on November 03, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 2024, and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) speaks during a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 2, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS and CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
This combination of pictures created on November 03, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 2024, and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) speaks during a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 2, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS and CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Bitter rivals Kamala Harris and Donald Trump embark on a final frenzied campaign blitz Monday with both hitting must-win Pennsylvania on the last day of the tightest and most volatile US presidential election in memory.
Republican Trump has promised a "landslide" as he seeks a sensational return to the White House, while Democrat Harris said the "momentum" was on the side of her bid to be America's first woman president, AFP reported.
But the polls suggest a different story on the eve of Election Day -- total deadlock in surveys nationally and in the seven swing states where the result is expected to be decided.
Now a race of dramatic twists, including two bids to kill Trump and Harris's shock late entrance, is coming down to the most viciously fought-over battleground.
Harris will spend the whole day campaigning in the rust-belt state of Pennsylvania, culminating in a huge rally in its biggest city Philadelphia featuring singer Lady Gaga. Trump will travel to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and then Michigan.
In a sign of how crucial Pennsylvania is to their chances of occupying the Oval Office, Trump and Harris will even hold dueling rallies in the industrial city of Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania is the single biggest swing state prize under the US Electoral College system, which awards influence in line with population.
'You're fired'
Both sides say they are encouraged by huge early turnout numbers, with over 78 million people having voted already, around half of the total number of ballots cast in 2020.
The incredible closeness of the 2024 White House race reflects a deeply divided United States, as it chooses between two candidates whose visions could scarcely be more different.
Former president Trump has doubled down on his dark and violent rhetoric in his pursuit of a second term which would make him, at 78, the oldest major party candidate ever elected.
Vice President Harris has meanwhile made an astonishing rise to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July.
Harris is hoping abortion is a key issue that can hurt Trump, especially with woman voters, while Trump has focused on migrants and the economy and dubbed political opponents the "enemy from within."
They have both embarked on a frenetic zig-zag through the swing states, with raucous rallies and even an appearance by Harris on the famed television show "Saturday Night Live."
On the campaign trail Sunday, Trump mused to supporters that he wouldn't mind if journalists were shot, raised baseless allegations of election fraud and dwelt in gory detail on crimes by undocumented immigrants.
"Kamala -- you're fired, get out," Trump told cheering supporters in Macon, Georgia.
Trump also said he "shouldn't have left" the White House after he lost his 2020 reelection bid to Biden, and then tried to overturn the results, culminating in the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.
Fears are mounting that he would again refuse to accept defeat.
'We have momentum'
For Harris's part, after a series of more encouraging recent polls, she told a raucous rally in Michigan on Sunday that "we have momentum -- it's on our side."
Harris also courted the large Arab-American community in Michigan that has denounced US handling of the Israel-Hamas war, saying she would do "everything in my power to end the war in Gaza."
The world is anxiously watching the election, which could have profound implications for conflicts in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine.
The final days of the campaign have meanwhile seen both candidates roll out high-profile surrogates.
Right-wing tech tycoon Elon Musk has been making controversial $1 million giveaways to registered voters, while Harris has relied on the star power of former president Barack Obama and ex-first lady Michelle Obama and singer Beyonce.
But outgoing President Biden has been notably absent from the trail since a gaffe in which he referred to Trump's supporters as "garbage" last week.
Biden will spend most of the last day of the campaign at the White House, while Harris will start her day with an event in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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Humanitarian Needs Remain Pressing a Month After Myanmar’s Deadly Quake 

Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
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Humanitarian Needs Remain Pressing a Month After Myanmar’s Deadly Quake 

Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)

The humanitarian needs of hundreds of thousands of survivors remain desperately pressing a month after Myanmar’s deadly earthquake, compounded by airstrikes that the military government is reportedly carrying out despite ceasefires meant to aid relief efforts during the country’s civil war.

The 7.7 magnitude March 28 quake hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states, including the capital, Naypyitaw. Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology reported Monday there had been 157 aftershocks after the big quake, ranging in magnitude from 2.8 to 7.5.

State-run MRTV television reported on Sunday the quake’s death toll had reached 3,769, with 5,106 people injured and 107 still missing. The earthquake left many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaged roads and bridges, in addition to tens of thousands of buildings.

In some quake-hit areas, bereaved relatives and friends of the disaster’s victims on Monday offered donations to monks, a Buddhist tradition to transfer merit and blessings to the deceased.

A report released Monday by the Myanmar Witness project of the London-based Centre for Information Resilience said the group had documented 80 post-quake airstrikes by the military across multiple regions, including 65 after the army declared its unilateral ceasefire on April 2, following similar declarations by its battlefield foes.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army’s 2021 takeover ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into armed resistance, uniting pro-democracy activists and ethnic minority guerrilla groups that have long been fighting for autonomy

“Myanmar’s population was already on its knees after years of SAC aggression and armed conflict,” said Myanmar Witness project director Robert Dolan, referring to the military’s ruling State Administration Council. “The layers of suffering are hard to comprehend — we’ve seen regions wrecked by war and then the earthquake, only to sustain further damage from continued airstrikes.”

The shadow National Unity Government, the main opposition group coordinating resistance to military rule, said Saturday in a statement that the post-quake bombings “have primarily targeted civilian areas — markets, residential zones, Buddhist monasteries, and Christian churches — resulting in the deaths of over 200 civilians, including at least 24 children, from March 28 to April 19, 2025.”

The military government hasn’t directly commented on the airstrikes, but when it extended its ceasefire on April 22, it reserved the right to respond as “necessary” to certain activities by the resistance forces.

Independent evaluation of most war claims by either side is impossible, due to the military’s restrictions on reporting and the remoteness of where many incidents take place.

Dire living conditions

UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations, meanwhile, stress that living conditions remain dire for earthquake survivors. They note that even before the earthquake, the civil war had displaced more than 3 million people and left nearly 20 million in need.

“Critical needs remain for safe shelter, clean water and sanitation, physical and mental health care, comprehensive protection services and cash assistance,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday in its latest situation report.

Many who lost their homes are still in makeshift tents with little to protect them from pre-monsoon storms ahead of the months-long rainy season, which normally begins in May, humanitarian services say.

“The delay in removing earthquake debris is increasing the risk of vector-borne diseases, as stagnant water and poor sanitation create breeding grounds for disease-carrying insects,” said the UN report. “Limited access to safe drinking water and clean sanitation poses a significant threat of waterborne diseases, compounded by the absence of rapid diagnostic tests, which delays the detection of potential outbreaks."

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a report released Monday that displaced people were living outdoors in temperatures of up to forty degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), with an overwhelming fear of further aftershocks.

Reconstruction starts In Naypyitaw, the damaged buildings of the labor and foreign ministries have been demolished for new construction, said a resident who asked not to be named for security reasons. Debris at markets and schools has been cleaned by municipal workers, while thousands of people, who lost their homes, were still living under tarpaulin sheets, he said.

He said that he was told that the departments and offices of several ministries will be temporarily relocated to Yangon, the country’s former capital and largest city, until their offices can be rebuilt.