LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected a claim by Donald Trump’s campaign that his Labour Party is illegally interfering in the U.S. presidential election.
A statement on Trump’s website on Tuesday night said an official complaint had been filed with the Federal Election Commission against the Labour Party and the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris alleging “illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference in our elections.”
The complaint referred to media reports about meetings between Labour and Democrat officials, and a now-deleted LinkedIn post in which a Labour staffer said there were “nearly 100 Labour Party staff (current and former) going to the U.S. in the next few weeks” to swing states.
Starmer said any party members in the U.S. were there as volunteers.
“That’s what they’ve done in previous elections, is what they’re doing in this election,” he told reporters as he traveled to Samoa for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders.
Starmer said the matter would not jeopardize the relationship he has tried to build with Trump.
“I spent time in New York with President Trump, had dinner with him, and my purpose in doing that was to make sure that between the two of us, we established a good relationship, which we did, and I was very grateful to him for making the time,” he said.
Starmer added: “Of course, as prime minister of the United Kingdom, I will work with whoever the American people return as their president in the elections.”
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his visit to a NHS Healthcare Facility in East London, Monday Oct. 21, 2024. (Jaimi Joy/Pool Photo via AP)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Torrential rain set off by an approaching tropical storm swamped the eastern Philippines overnight with widespread flooding that killed at least seven people, trapped others on their roofs and sparked frantic appeals for help, officials said Wednesday.
The government shut down public schools and government offices — except those urgently needed for disaster response — on the entire main island of Luzon to protect millions of people as Tropical Storm Trami blew closer from the Pacific.
At least seven people died before the storm's expected landfall on the northeastern Philippine coast, including drownings, officials said, adding that about 11 were reported missing.
The storm was last tracked about 175 kilometers (109 miles) east of Echague town in the province of Isabela. It had strengthened with sustained winds of 95 kilometers (59 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 115 kph (71 mph).
The storm was forecast to hit Isabela’s coast Wednesday night to early Thursday, then barrel across northern Luzon before exiting to the South China Sea late Thursday.
Its wide rain band could dump up to 20 centimeters (8 inches) of rainwater in one day of intense downpours in the most vulnerable provinces on its path, according to state forecasters.
Thousands of villagers have evacuated to emergency shelters in northeastern provinces. Storm warnings were raised in more than 30 northern and central provinces, including in the densely populated capital of Manila, which was not in the storm’s direct path but could be lashed by its pounding rains.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. canceled all his appointments Wednesday and convened an emergency meeting to discuss disaster mitigation efforts, Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said.
“The worst is yet to come, I'm afraid, so let's all prepare,” Marcos said.
During the meeting, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the military’s aircraft and ships would be used for evacuations and disaster response. He said additional airlift power could be provided by friendly countries, including Singapore, if needed.
“People have been stuck on roofs of their houses for several hours now,” former Vice President Leni Robredo, who lives in the northeastern city of Naga, said in a post on Facebook early Wednesday. “Many of our rescue trucks have stalled due to the floods.”
Coast guard personnel have been rescuing residents in flooded villages in the eastern provinces of Sorsogon, Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and outlying regions since Tuesday, but provincial authorities said the number of rescue boats and personnel was not enough.
Thousands of passengers and cargo workers were stranded in several seaports after the coast guard said it suspended inter-island ferry services and barred fishing boats from venturing into the increasingly rough seas.
"We need national intervention,” Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur province told DZRH radio network, saying his flood-prone province has about 50 rescue boats but needs about 200.
Thousands of villagers were evacuated from low-lying communities and landslide-prone areas starting two days ago there.
“Last night, my phone was filled with nonstop calls and text messages from people pleading 'Help us, rescue us,’” Villafuerte said. “It’s sad when you feel helpless because of this deluge of problems.”
In nearby Quezon province, Governor Angelina Tan said floods in some areas reached up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) and at least 8,000 villagers have evacuated from low-lying communities.
About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago also lies in the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the Southeast Asian nation one of the world’s most disaster-prone.
In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in the world, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines.
Residents negotiate a road covered with volcanic mud that flowed down from Mayon volcano after heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Trami hit Guinobatan town, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
Residents are ferried on a rubber boat after being rescued from their roofs where they stayed to avoid high floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami hit Libon town, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Michelle Ricasio via AP)
A resident walks beside a van buried by volcanic mud that flowed down from Mayon volcano after heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Trami hit Guinobatan town, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
A resident swims despite the strong waves caused by Tropical Storm Trami in Manila, Philippines Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A man wades in floods outside his house caused by Tropical Trami, locally named Kristine, in Polangui, Albay province, Philippines on Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
Residents collect mud as they start cleaning their area after floods caused by Tropical Trami, locally named Kristine, hit in Polangui, Albay province, Philippines on Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
Debris from a damaged road and electric posts caused by Tropical Trami, locally named Kristine, in Polangui, Albay province, Philippines on Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
Residents pass by a muddied road after floods caused by Tropical Trami hit Polangui town, Albay province, Philippines Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
A resident collects mud as they start cleaning their area after floods caused by Tropical Trami, locally named Kristine, in Polangui, Albay province, Philippines on Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
Debris from damages are gathered along a bridge after floods caused by Tropical Trami, locally named Kristine, hit Polangui, Albay province, Philippines on Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
Residents walk along a muddied road as they start cleaning their area after floods caused by Tropical Trami, locally named Kristine, in Polangui, Albay province, Philippines on Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/John Michael Magdasoc)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, residents wait on top of their roofs to avoid floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami in Libon, Albay province, Philippines on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2024. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, rescuers carry a resident to safer grounds as they navigate floods caused by Tropical Storm Trami in Guinobatan, Albay province, Philippines Tuesday Oct. 22, 2024. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
