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Michelle Obama backs Harris in Michigan as Trump courts Muslim vote
World News

Michelle Obama backs Harris in Michigan as Trump courts Muslim vote

By James Oliphant, Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters Supporters of former US president Donald Trump arrive for a campaign rally in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday 26 October. Photo: AFP - Drew Angerer Trump appeals to Muslim voters in Michigan, pledges peace in the Middle East Obama joins Harris on stage with emphasis on abortion rights Michigan's early voting sees 19.5 percent turnout, mostly absentee ballots Republican Donald Trump appealed to Muslim voters in Michigan on Saturday local time as Michelle Obama made an impassioned plea on behalf of Kamala Harris at the Democrat's own rally in the battleground state. In Michigan, Harris and Trump are battling for voters that include an Arab American and Muslim population concerned about Israel's bombardment of Gaza, and union workers worried ab...
Iran’s president warns against further attacks after Israel airstrikes hit military targets | World News
Business

Iran’s president warns against further attacks after Israel airstrikes hit military targets | World News

Iran's president has warned against further attacks on his country after Israel targeted military sites in pre-dawn airstrikes on Saturday.In a statement on X, Masoud Pezeshkian gave his condolences to the families of the four people killed in the attacks and said Iran would continue to defend itself. "Enemies of Iran should know these brave people are standing fearlessly in defence of their land and will respond to any stupidity with tact and intelligence," he wrote.Analysis:Scale of any retaliation will dictate whether Iran and Israel are on path to all-out warUS pressure over Israel's retaliation against Iran appears to have paid off - for now Image: A map of where Israel struck in Iran The Israeli military said its airc...
NASA astronaut released from hospital after return from International Space Station
World News

NASA astronaut released from hospital after return from International Space Station

The International Space Station Photo: NASA A NASA astronaut who was hospitalised upon return from the International Space Station for an unspecified medical condition was released Saturday in "good health," the US space agency said. The four-member Crew-8 mission splashed down off the coast of Florida early Friday after nearly eight months aboard the orbital laboratory. NASA did not reveal which of the astronauts was hospitalised nor the reason, citing medical privacy. However, it said in a blog post that the crew member has returned to the Johnson Space Center in Houston "in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members." On its way back to Earth, the SpaceX Dragon executed a normal re-entry and splashdown, and recovery of the crew and spacecraf...
Australian Liberal National Party claims victory in Queensland election
World News

Australian Liberal National Party claims victory in Queensland election

Australia's Queensland Liberal National Party leader David Crisafulli speaks on 27 October, 2021. Photo: Bradley Kanaris The conservative Liberal National Party in Australia's Queensland state was on track on Sunday to end almost a decade of centre-left Labor government, after a general election held on Saturday. Votes were still being counted on Sunday, but a partial count showed the Liberal National Party was polling well at a primary vote of 41.9 percent with the governing Labor Party on 32.8 percent, according to the Electoral Commission of Queensland. "Today Queenslanders voted for hope over fear, they have voted for a fresh start, and they have voted for a majority LNP (Liberal National Party) government," the party's leader David Crisafulli told supporters on Saturday night. Cris...
Donald Trump open to eliminating income taxes, repeats ‘enemy from within’ rhetoric on Joe Rogan podcast
World News

Donald Trump open to eliminating income taxes, repeats ‘enemy from within’ rhetoric on Joe Rogan podcast

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign appearance on 31 July, 2024 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Images / AFP By Kate Sullivan and Shania Shelton, CNN Former US President Donald Trump has said on Joe Rogan's podcast that he would be open to eliminating income taxes, while pushing his sweeping tariff proposal and praising the economic policies of the late 19th century. While talking about tariffs, Trump was asked by Rogan, "Did you just float out the idea of getting rid of income taxes and replacing it with tariffs?" "Well, OK," Trump said during the interview on The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan asked, "Were you serious about that?" "Yeah, sure. Why not?" the former president responded. "Because, we, ready, our country was the richest in the, relati...
Foreign interference in the U.S. election is up – and being swiftly exposed – National
Politics

Foreign interference in the U.S. election is up – and being swiftly exposed – National

WASHINGTON — A presidential candidate’s phone is hacked. A fake video falsely shows ballots burned in Pennsylvania. National security officials warn that U.S. adversaries may incite violent protests after Election Day. These developments — all revealed in the past week — show how Russia, China and Iran have increased the pace of efforts to meddle in American politics ahead of next month’s election, just as intelligence officials and security analysts had predicted.At the same time, officials, tech companies and private researchers have adopted a more aggressive defense by swiftly exposing foreign election threats, highlighting the lessons learned from past election cycles that revealed America’s vulnerability to disinformation and cyberespionage.Officials say the U.S. election system is so...
You might think Israel’s airstrikes on Iran could lead to all-out war – but that doesn’t look likely | World News
Business

You might think Israel’s airstrikes on Iran could lead to all-out war – but that doesn’t look likely | World News

Israel's unprecedented night of airstrikes across Iran may be just what was needed to pull the Middle East back from all-out war.That might sound odd because for hours, it seems, Israeli jets ranged freely across Iranian airspace, apparently attacking targets and air defences at will in a flagrant violation of Iranian sovereignty and provocation, you might say. It was, you might have thought, just the sort of escalation to lead to Iran upping the ante and launching thousands of ballistic missiles to rain down on Israel's towns and cities.But that is not likely to happen.Why? Because neither side wants all-out war. For months now, Israel and Iran have been trying to act tough while trying desperately to avoid one. Last night's operation is no different. The reasons are clear. Iran cannot af...
Iran warns it will defend itself after Israeli strikes
World News

Iran warns it will defend itself after Israeli strikes

By Ramin Khanizadeh, AFP A general view of Tehran after several explosions were heard in Tehran on 26 October, 2024. Photo: AFP/Atta Kenare Iran warns it will defend itself after Israeli air strikes killed at least two soldiers and further stoked fears of a full-scale regional war in the Middle East. Israel warned Iran would "pay a heavy price" if it responded to the strikes, and the United States, Germany and Britain demanded Tehran not escalate the conflict further. US President Joe Biden said he hoped "this is the end" after the pre-dawn Israeli strikes, noting that "it looks like they didn't hit anything other than military targets". The European Union called for all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an "uncontrollable escalation". Other countries, including many of I...
Quebec Liberals seek probe of closing of newcomers’ French-language classes
Politics

Quebec Liberals seek probe of closing of newcomers’ French-language classes

The Quebec Liberal Party has called for the province’s French language commissioner to investigate the cancelling of some French-language training courses for newcomers. Citing an “ongoing series of closures of francization programs,” the Opposition party announced Saturday morning in a news release that its critics for the French language and French classes, André Albert Morin and Madwa-Nika Cadet, sent a letter to the Commissioner of the French Language.The letter asks commissioner Benoît Dubreuil to “investigate to ensure that the right to French language learning services, included in the Charter of the French Language, is respected,” the release said.The Liberals are blaming the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s budgetary decisions, which it says, “jeopardize the possibility for im...
Georgia’s ruling party leads key election race which could decide role in Europe | World News
Business

Georgia’s ruling party leads key election race which could decide role in Europe | World News

Georgia's ruling party is leading the crucial election race that could decide the country's role in Europe.The Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream party had won 52.99% of the vote after 97% of the electronic vote was counted. Not all paper ballots and votes cast by Georgians abroad have been counted. Both Georgian Dream and the opposition blocs trying to end its 12 years in power have portrayed the vote as an existential choice.After the polls opened Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who set up Georgian Dream and made his fortune in Russia, accused opposition parties of being "an agent of a foreign country that will only fulfil the tasks of a foreign country" - suggesting the West wants Georgia to go to war with Russia.He also pledged to ban all pro-Western oppositi...