More than 23 million votes already cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states

More than 23 million votes already cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states
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Students at The University of Wisconsin-Madison fill out ballots during the first day of Wisconsin's in-person absentee voting on the campus in Madison, Wisconsin, on Oct. 22, 2024. (Wisconsin State Journal/AP)
More than 23 million votes already cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states
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Students at The University of Wisconsin-Madison wait in line to cast their ballots in the 2024 election during the first day of Wisconsin's in-person absentee voting on the campus in Madison, Wisconsin on Oct. 22, 2024. (Wisconsin State Journal/AP)
More than 23 million votes already cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states
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People wait in line to vote on the second day of early voting in Wisconsin at the American Serb Hall Banquet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 23, 2024. (REUTERS)
More than 23 million votes already cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states
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A woman puts her ballot in a ballot box on the second day of early voting in Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Area Technical College on October 23, 2024. (REUTERS)
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More than 23 million votes already cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states

More than 23 million votes already cast as Harris, Trump hit battleground states
  • Harris seeks support from undecided voters in Pennsylvania
  • Trump campaigns in Georgia with Tucker Carlson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr

With millions of US voters already heading to the polls, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Wednesday will seek support from undecided voters at a televised town hall in battleground Pennsylvania, while Republican Donald Trump sweeps through Georgia.
More than 23 million voters have cast ballots, either through in-person early voting or mail-in ballots, according to tracking data from the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Several states, including the battlegrounds of North Carolina and Georgia, set records on their respective first day of early voting. The robust early turnout comes as Vice President Harris and former President Trump remain neck and neck in the seven most competitive states with less than two weeks to go until the Nov. 5 election.




Voters wait in line on the second day of early voting in Wisconsin at the American Serb Hall Banquet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 23, 2024. (REUTERS)

Trump had two stops planned in Georgia on Wednesday, first at a religious-themed “believers and ballots” event in Zebulon and later a rally in Duluth with former Fox News star Tucker Carlson and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Trump in recent days has sought to rally turnout from Christian evangelicals, hoping they will set aside any concerns about his frequent off-color commentary like his tale about Arnold Palmer’s anatomy.
Harris will participate in a CNN town hall in Chester Township, Pennsylvania, an attempt to persuade the dwindling number of undecided voters to support her and help turn the tide in a closely divided race where even a small percentage of votes could be critical. Harris tried and failed to push Trump to agree to a second presidential debate on CNN after she was considered to have won the first and only presidential debate between the two candidates, which took place in September on ABC News. Pennsylvania and Georgia are among the seven battleground states that will decide who wins the presidency, and both candidates are likely to spend much of the rest of their campaigns visiting them. Harris held a marginal 46 percent to 43 percent lead nationally over the former president in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Allies campaigning for Trump and Harris also are fanning out across the United States this week. Harris’ vice presidential pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will travel to North Carolina and Pennsylvania after campaigning with Democratic former President Barack Obama in Wisconsin on Tuesday.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance will head to Reno, Nevada, on Wednesday.


Liverpool sink Leipzig to continue strong start under Slot

Liverpool sink Leipzig to continue strong start under Slot
Updated 5 min 54 sec ago
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Liverpool sink Leipzig to continue strong start under Slot

Liverpool sink Leipzig to continue strong start under Slot
  • Nunez jumped high to tap in the goal-bound ball, grabbing his first Champions League goal since February 2023

LEIPZIG, Germany: A 27th minute Darwin Nunez header took Liverpool to a controlled 1-0 win at RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday, continuing their excellent start under new coach Arne Slot.
Liverpool broke through some early Leipzig pressure just before the half-hour mark when Mo Salah hit a perfect header across his body.
Nunez jumped high to tap in the goal-bound ball, grabbing his first Champions League goal since February 2023.
Despite a late Leipzig flurry, Liverpool again showed the control and resilience that has taken them to the top of the Premier League table just days out from Sunday’s clash at Arsenal.
Slot has won 11 of his first 12 games in charge in all competitions, the best start of any manager in Liverpool history, while Leipzig are now zero from three in Europe this season.
Both sides had impressed domestically this season on the back of strong defensive records, with Liverpool conceding three in eight Premier League games and Leipzig just two in seven.
Slot made three changes to the side which beat Chelsea 2-1 at home on Sunday, benching Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones for Kostas Tsimikas and Alexis Mac Allister, while Nunez replaced Jota.
Leipzig coach Marco Rose’s starting XI made his intentions clear, the coach going for the all-out attack of Lois Openda, Xavi Simons, Benjamin Sesko and Antonio Nusa.
Rose’s constellation worked early, with Leipzig pressing Liverpool hard and hitting them on the counter.
Sesko went close after 19 minutes, pouncing after Caoimhin Kelleher surged out of his box and failed to clear, but the big Slovenian’s long-range effort curled just wide of the post.
Openda scored from well outside the box on the 26-minute mark but the Belgian’s stunner was ruled out for offside.
Liverpool made Leipzig pay immediately, Nunez tapping in a goal-bound Salah header, just his second strike in nine appearances this season.
Nunez went inches from doubling up shortly after but his point blank header was well saved by Peter Gulacsi.
With one eye on Sunday’s match at Arsenal, Liverpool tried to take the sting out of the game in the second-half, controlling the match and keeping Leipzig at bay.
Salah was upset to be subbed with half an hour remaining, but by then Slot clearly had Arsenal in mind.
The home side rallied late, Openda again having a goal struck off for a clear offside, but Liverpool held on to make it three from three in the Champions League.


US says at least 3,000 N.Korea troops training in Russia

US says at least 3,000 N.Korea troops training in Russia
Updated 10 min 48 sec ago
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US says at least 3,000 N.Korea troops training in Russia

US says at least 3,000 N.Korea troops training in Russia

WASHINGTON: At least 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia and are training there, the United States said Wednesday, warning that they would become legitimate targets for Kyiv if they engage in combat in Ukraine.

Russia and North Korea have boosted their political and military alliance amid the Ukraine war, with Pyongyang facing long-standing accusations of supplying arms to Moscow’s army.

But the deployment of troops to support Russian forces would be a significant escalation in that support and has prompted warnings from Kyiv and its Western backers, who separately said Wednesday that they would make $50 billion in lending available to aid Ukraine.

“We assess that between early to mid-October, North Korea moved at least 3,000 soldiers into eastern Russia,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists.

The troops traveled by ship from North Korea to Vladivostok, and then went to “multiple Russian military training sites in eastern Russia, where they are currently undergoing training,” Kirby said.

“We do not yet know whether these soldiers will enter into combat alongside the Russian military,” but “if these North Korean soldiers decide to join the fight against Ukraine, they will become legitimate military targets,” he said.

North Korea’s state media has not commented since Seoul’s spy agency said last week said Pyongyang had decided to send a “large-scale” troop deployment to Russia to fight Ukraine.

Moscow on Wednesday refused to confirm or deny the reports, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling reporters to “ask Pyongyang” where its troops are.

After a briefing by the National Intelligence Service, South Korean lawmaker Park Sun-won said earlier that 1,500 more troops had been sent to Russia, taking the total deployment to 3,000.

Seoul says Pyongyang plans to deploy 10,000 soldiers to Russia by December, with international concerns escalating.

Germany said Wednesday it had summoned North Korea’s envoy to warn the reclusive state against sending troops.

“North Korea’s support of the Russian war of aggression directly threatens Germany’s security and the European peace order,” the German foreign ministry said on social media platform X.

Kyiv on Wednesday called on any North Korean troops deployed by Russia to lay down their arms and save their lives.

“We address fighters of the Korean People’s Army who were sent to help Putin’s regime. You must not die senselessly in a foreign land,” said a statement issued by a group run by Kyiv’s military intelligence.

“You must not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home!” it added.

South Korea has said the nuclear-armed North is supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine. The fresh alarm comes after the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a military deal in June.

South Korea will send a delegation to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week to brief the alliance on the situation, officials said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for Kyiv’s allies to respond and repeatedly said a North Korean deployment risks further escalating and prolonging the war.

“It is important that our partners do not hide from this challenge. All partners,” he said in an address published late Tuesday.

“And if Russia is still able to make this war bigger and longer, then everyone in the world who is not helping to force Russia to peace is actually helping Putin to fight,” he added.

Experts have said that in return for the troops, North Korea is likely aiming to acquire military technology, ranging from surveillance satellites to submarines, plus possible security guarantees from Moscow.

North Korea and Russia are under UN sanctions — Kim for his nuclear weapons program, and Moscow for the Ukraine war.

Kyiv meanwhile obtained significant new international financial backing on Wednesday in the form of $50 billion in lending that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said G7 nations are committed to making available this year using profits from the interest on frozen Russian assets.


Turkiye hits PKK targets in northern Iraq, Syria after deadly attack in Ankara

Turkiye hits PKK targets in northern Iraq, Syria after deadly attack in Ankara
Updated 16 min 36 sec ago
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Turkiye hits PKK targets in northern Iraq, Syria after deadly attack in Ankara

Turkiye hits PKK targets in northern Iraq, Syria after deadly attack in Ankara

ANKARA: Turkiye has hit outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq and northern Syria after a deadly attack on an aviation site in Ankara, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Perpetrators of the attack in Ankara were highly likely PKK members, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said earlier.

(Developing story)

 


US approves $7.3 bn sale of F-16 upgrades for Poland

US approves $7.3 bn sale of F-16 upgrades for Poland
Updated 16 min 52 sec ago
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US approves $7.3 bn sale of F-16 upgrades for Poland

US approves $7.3 bn sale of F-16 upgrades for Poland

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday announced the approval of a $7.3 billion sale of upgrades for Poland’s F-16 warplanes, boosting the defenses of a NATO member that shares a lengthy border with war-torn Ukraine.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally that is a force for political and economic stability in Europe,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.
“The F-16 Viper Midlife Upgrade (MLU) will bolster Poland’s air defense and surveillance capabilities, support national security, and strengthen Poland’s defense and contributions to NATO,” it said.
The State Department approved the possible sale and the DSCA on Wednesday provided the required notification to Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transaction.


Raphinha hat-trick helps Barca thrash Bayern in Champions League

Raphinha hat-trick helps Barca thrash Bayern in Champions League
Updated 26 min 32 sec ago
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Raphinha hat-trick helps Barca thrash Bayern in Champions League

Raphinha hat-trick helps Barca thrash Bayern in Champions League

BARCELONA: Raphinha scored a stunning hat-trick as Barcelona hammered Bayern Munich 4-1 on Wednesday in a riveting Champions League clash.
The Catalans had lost their last six games against Bayern but outplayed the six-time winners at the Olympic stadium with Robert Lewandowski also on the scoresheet, while England star Harry Kane struck for the visitors.
Hansi Flick, who was in charge of the Bundesliga side in a humiliating 8-2 romp over Barca in 2020, led the Catalans to an emphatic triumph which indicated they may be capable of winning the trophy for the first time since 2015 after a decade of disappointment.
Defeat leaves Bayern with only one victory from their opening three group games and in the bottom half of the table, while Barcelona have two wins and are in the top third.
Hansi Flick brought Spanish midfielder Fermin Lopez in for his first start of the season after injury, while his Bayern counterpart Vincent Kompany opted for Serge Gnabry in place of Jamal Musiala, who was only fit enough for the bench.
Barcelona had not scored in their last four matches against Bayern but were ahead inside one minute, with Lopez playing Raphinha in behind the visitors’ high line.
The Brazilian winger, on his 100th appearance for the club since joining from Leeds, and proudly sporting the captain’s armband, stayed cool to dribble around Manuel Neuer and roll home.
Former Tottenham striker Kane had a similar chance to equalize at the other end but took a heavy touch and Inaki Pena raced out of his goal quickly to deny him.
The Englishman, who ended a four-game drought with a hat-trick against Stuttgart on Saturday, beat Pena with a header moments later but was ruled marginally offside.
Bayern kept pouring forward and Kane found the net once more after 18 minutes, and this time it counted.
The striker finished acrobatically from Gnabry’s inviting cross with Barcelona’s defense all at sea, like Bayern playing high and inviting the Germans to break in behind.
Barcelona recovered their composure and began to threaten, with former Bayern striker Lewandowski firing wide and Lamine Yamal sliding in to tackle Neuer but seeing the ball roll beyond the post.
Joshua Kimmich was booked for taking out Lopez, who was charging into space in Bayern territory.
The Barcelona midfielder, a ball of energy, created his team’s second for Lewandowski. Lopez left Kim Min-jae for dead with a clever nudge, which Bayern complained about to no avail, before knocking the ball across for Lewandowski to turn home.
The veteran Polish striker, 36, has been the chief beneficiary of Flick’s arrival after struggling last season and now has 15 goals in 13 appearances.
The unstoppable Raphinha rattled home a superb third before the interval, driving into the area after Marc Casado spread the play out to the left flank and arcing a shot through Dayot Upamecano’s legs and beyond the reach of Neuer at full stretch.
Raphinha completed his hat-trick 10 minutes into the second half, controlling Yamal’s ambitious pass brilliantly on his chest while on the sprint, before planting a rasping effort into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.
Kompany reacted with a quadruple substitution, bringing on four household names in Musiala, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka.
At 4-1 up Barcelona’s fans began to cheer their team’s passes as Bayern chased the ball, the style of the victory continuing the team’s potential redemption arc after nearly 10 years of hurt in the competition.
Having not reached the Champions League semifinal since 2019, belief is starting to grow in Catalonia that Flick could help restore their position among Europe’s elite.
Another test of that theory soon follows — Barcelona’s next match is a visit to face reigning Spanish and European champions Real Madrid in a tantalising La Liga Clasico on Saturday.
Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior netted a treble for Madrid on Tuesday against Dortmund but his compatriot Raphinha matched him in style against Bayern as Barca sent a message of their own.