Blog

By Felix Light and Lucy Papachristou, Reuters Georgian oligarch and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili gives a speech during a gathering at the party's headquarters after exit polls were announced Photo: AFP / Giorgi Arjevanidze Georgian Dream party wins 54 percent of vote, electoral commission says Opposition parties reject results, citing violations Monitoring group reports incidents of ballot-stuffing, voter intimidation and bribery Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party received more than 54 percent of the vote in a parliamentary election on Saturday, with more than 99 percent of precincts counted, the electoral commission said on Sunday. The result is a blow to pro-Western Georgians, who had cast the election as a choice between a ruling party that...

By Jonathan Landay, Reuters Fire erupts near Tel Aviv, Israel, following an Iranian missile attack on 1 October. Israel has been striking missile factories and other sites in western Iran in retaliation for the barrage. Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP One struck building was used in Iran's defunct nuclear weapons programme, researcher says Other buildings mixed fuel for Iranian missiles, researchers say Israel hit sites at Parchin and Khojir An American researcher said an Israeli airstrike on Saturday hit a building that was part of Iran's defunct nuclear weapons development programme, and he and another researcher said facilities used to mix solid fuel for missiles also were struck. The assessments based on commercial satellite imagery were reached separately by David Albright, a forme...

By Hadas Gold, CNN US media frequently announce formal endorsements of political candidates: The Washington Post's decision not to endorse a US presidential candidate, less than 2 weeks before the US election, has been divisive. Photo: Ajay Suresh/ Creative Common BY 2.0 One day after The Washington Post announced it would not endorse a presidential candidate in this year's election or in the future, its billionaire owner remains silent as the newspaper's staff are in turmoil. Jeff Bezos has so far declined to comment on the situation, even as his own paper's journalists reported that it was Bezos who ultimately spiked the planned endorsement. A source with knowledge told CNN on Friday that an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris had been drafted, before it was squashed. In th...

By Esther Taunton of Immigration New Zealand is assessing a visa application from controversial right-wing broadcaster Candace Owens. Photo: AFP/ Getty Images - Jason Davies Controversial right-wing broadcaster Candace Owens has applied for a visa to visit New Zealand for a speaking engagement next month. Owens has more than 18 million followers on social media and a history of making controversial claims, including doubting the holocaust was real. Her entry to Australia was recently blocked, with the country's immigration minister saying her narrative had "the capacity to incite discord in almost every direction." A controversial right-wing US broadcaster, whose entry to Australia was recently blocked, has applied for a New Zealand visa. Candace Owens has more th...