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Why do millions of Americans vote for Donald Trump? In the latest episode of 30 with Guyon Espiner, author Mark Manson takes a stab at it. The US presidential election race is close - it's very close. Latest modelling suggests an almost even possibility of either Democract Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump winning the White House on 5 November. Just as in New Zealand, a cost of living crisis fuelled by high inflation has made the current administration unpopular with many people. And as in Europe, a lot of voters are worried about immigration - the pressure it places on public services and the cultural changes that come along with it. There are other reasons voters have for wanting a change from the status quo, which vice-president Harris more-or-less represents. But for many people...

By Napat Wesshasartar and Panarat Thepgumpanat, Reuters The remnants of the school bus which caught fire in Bangkok. Photo: AFP / Manan Vatsyayana At least 23 people died in Thailand when a school bus carrying more than 40 students and teachers on a field trip caught fire in the outskirts of the capital Bangkok, police said on Tuesday. Twenty-three bodies have been identified, Trairong Phiwpan, forensic science commissioner told reporters, with an investigation on the causes underway. Sixteen students and three teachers were sent to a hospital for treatment, Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said. Images posted on social media and carried by local news outlets showed thick grey smoke pouring out of the bus, parts of which were still on fire. The blaze was later extinguishe...

The vice presidential candidates in the US election are set for their first and only debate before the November election. Republican JD Vance, a US Senator from Ohio, will face off against Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in a debate in New York City hosted by CBS News. The race between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris remains close a little over a month before the 5 November (US Time) election. While vice presidential debates have historically rarely moved the needle much in past elections, there's always the chance for a big surprise or gaffe that US political tragics will be talking about for the next several news cycles. And with no other debate scheduled between Trump and Harris after their first one last month, this might be one of the last...

By Steven Scheer, Reuters A member of the Israeli police's forensics department walks past a special forces member at the scene of the shooting attack in Tel Aviv. Photo: AFP At least six people were killed and nine wounded when two gunmen got off a tram in Tel Aviv and opened fire on passers-by, before themselves being shot dead by security forces and an armed civilian, Israeli police said. Police labelled the incident a terrorist attack but there was no immediate claim of responsibility from armed Palestinian factions or other militant groups. Shortly after the attacks, air raid sirens sounded as Iran launched missiles toward Israel. Israel has been on high alert for months as the war in Gaza approaches its first anniversary and the escalating conflict in Lebanon appeared set to dr...

JD Vance and Tim Walz. Photo: AFP By Steve Holland and Stephanie Kelly, Reuters Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance, US politicians whose histories and rhetoric have amassed more headlines than many past No 2 candidates, will go head-to-head on Wednesday (NZT) at the only vice presidential debate before the November election. Walz, 60, a liberal governor and former high school teacher, and Vance, 40, a bestselling author and conservative firebrand senator, will portray themselves as sons of America's Midwestern heartland but polar opposites on the issues gripping the US Walz has called his Republican opponents "weird," and Vance came under fire for past comments disparaging some Democrats as "childless cat ladies." Aides to the two men expect fireworks during the 90-minute debate ...