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By Howard Schneider, Reuters Donald Trump aired falsehoods including the baseless claim that immigrants are eating pets in his debate with his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Photo: Win McNamee / Getty Images via AFP Rose Joseph and Banal Oreus followed different paths from Haiti to this struggling Midwestern industrial city that suddenly finds itself at the centre of the US presidential race. Joseph arrived in 2022 after landing in Florida two years earlier to escape violence in Haiti, journeying north on word of good job prospects. Oreus, after stops in Brazil, Portugal and Mexico over an eight-year stretch, was drawn to Springfield in 2023 by family and friends who had already found their way here. "The first motivation was job and work opportunities," Joseph, n...

By Joseph Ax, Reuters Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris prepared to debate for the first time. Photo: AFP Former Republican president Donald Trump and current Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will take part in the only scheduled debate of the US election at 1pm. Everything you need to know about watching the debate from New Zealand. The US election will be held on 5 November. Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris prepared to meet for the first time in their only scheduled debate of the US presidential campaign, a key moment in a close-fought contest. The nationally televised debate beginning at 9pm local time (Wednesday 1pm NZT) takes place just eight weeks before the 5 November election, and days before early v...

By Ammu Kannampilly, Reuters Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei. Photo: FERENC ISZA / AFP The man accused of dousing in petrol and setting alight Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died from burns sustained during the fatal attack on the Ugandan athlete, a hospital official said on Tuesday. Cheptegei, 33, who competed in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, suffered burns to more than 75 percent of her body in the 1 September attack and died four days later. Her former boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, died at 1830 (1530 GMT) on Monday, said Philip Kirwa, chief executive officer of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret in western Kenya where Marangach was being treated and where Cheptegei also died. "He developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe airway burn...

Former minister Robert Jenrick is considered the frontrunner to lead the party. Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP Four hopefuls were left in the race to become leader of the Conservatives on Tuesday after centrist former work and pensions minister Mel Stride was knocked out of a race set to shape the future direction of Britain's once dominant party. The contest to replace former prime minister Rishi Sunak as leader will run until 2 November, after Conservative members cast the final ballots for a new head charged with turning around the fortunes of a party that suffered the worst result in its history in a July election defeat at the hands of Labour. Tuesday's second round of voting again handed pole position to Robert Jenrick, a right-winger who quit as immigration minister as he believed t...

King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel to Australia and Samoa in October. Photo: AFP / JANE BARLOW By Matthew Doran and Maani Truu, ABC political reporters King Charles and Queen Camilla will make their first visit to Australia and Samoa since taking the throne. The royal pair will not be visiting New Zealand. They will visit Canberra and Sydney from 18-23 October. Buckingham Palace has released new details of King Charles and Queen Camilla's first visit to Australia since taking the throne. The visit, scheduled for next month, will be a slimmed-down, five-day affair, taking into account the king's ongoing health concerns. It will be the first time in more than a decade that a reigning monarch has touched down on Australian shores, after Queen Elizabeth II's last tour in 2011. The...

Sponges and cloths often breed bacteria due to staying damp between washes. Photo: Unsplash By Kellie Scott of the ABC My approach to replacing the sponge I use to wash dishes is less about time frame and more about when it looks manky. Sarah McLean, a lecturer in environmental health at Swinburne University of Technology, says that's probably not a satisfactory guide. Dr McLean says bacteria, and sometimes even viruses, can live on the tools we use to wash dishes - whether that's a sponge, brush, or cloth. "It's one of those tricky things, because you want to be sustainable, but you also don't want to put yourself or family at risk" by using these items for too long, she says. So, how often should we be changing or cleaning the sponges, brushes, and cloths we use to wash dishes? What l...

By Nandita Bose, Gram Slattery and Joseph Ax Donald Trump and Kamala Harris went on the offensive at the start of the first presidential debate. Photo: AFP / SAUL LOEB Republican Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris immediately went on the offensive in the opening segment of their first presidential debate, each seeking a campaign-altering moment in their closely fought election. Harris, 59, attacked Trump's intention to impose high tariffs on foreign goods - a proposal she has likened to a sales tax on the middle class - while touting her plan to offer tax benefits to families and small businesses. "Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression," Harris said, referring to his years as president from 2017-2021. Unemployment peaked at 14.8...