Biden cites Afghan military, Trump role in messy Afghanistan exit

       President Joe Biden on Tuesday defiantly rejected criticism of his decision to stick to a deadline to pull out of Afghanistan this week, a move that left up to 200 Americans in the country along with thousands of US-aligned Afghan citizens.

       In a televised address, Biden offered a sweeping defence of his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, saying he inherited an unstable situation from his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, and that the 20-year war “should have ended long ago.”

       “I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit,” he said, his voice rising with emotion as he spoke.

       Biden’s handling of the withdrawal has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans and his own Democrats as well as foreign allies, punctured his job approval ratings and raised questions about his credibility.

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       Twenty-six die as bus plunges off cliff in Peru

       Twenty-six passengers died, including a child, and 22 were injured when a bus plummeted from a cliff in Peru early on Tuesday, police said, in the country's third multiple-victim transport accident in four days.

       The accident happened on a narrow stretch of the Carretera Central road some 60km east of the capital Lima.

       Police commander Cesar Cervantes said on told TV Peru there was a child among the dead and two among the injured. There had been 63 passengers on the bus.

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       'Big John', the largest known triceratops, to go under the hammer

       The fossilised remains of "Big John," the largest triceratops dinosaur ever discovered by paleontologists, will be sold by a Paris auction house in late September, and could fetch up to €1.5 million (S$2.3 million).

       Big John roamed the lands of modern-day South Dakota more than 66 million years ago. Paleontologists unearthed the first piece of bone in 2014 and eventually found 60 per cent of his skeleton, including a near-complete skull.

       The Drouot auction house estimated Big John's skeleton would fetch between €1.2 million and €1.5 million.

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       Wild puma found living in New York apartment

       US authorities have rescued from a New York apartment a feline that was no house cat - she was a 36kg wild cougar.

       The 11-month-old puma - called Sasha - was living inside a home in the Bronx, officials said.

       She was rescued last week in a joint operation by police, the Humane Society of the United States, city officials and Bronx Zoo personnel.

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       Tennis: Tsitsipas toilet humour not funny to Zverev

       Third-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas has been reduced to a US Open punchline for extended disruptive toilet breaks during matches, with victims Alexander Zverev and Andy Murray ripping him on Tuesday.

       German fourth seed Zverev, who accused Tsitsipas of getting improper coaching during his toilet break in a match at Cincinnati, went out of his way to hurl a zinger at the Greek star after a first-round triumph.

       After saying top-ranked Novak Djokovic is the favourite, he warned others are playing well, saying, "Daniil is in very good form. Stefanos can play well - if he doesn't go to the moon and back for a toilet break, that will also help. I had to, I'm sorry."

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