On Halloween this Wednesday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott will dress up as a candidate who wants to appear with President Trump on the campaign trail.
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Saudi prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb held talks with Istanbul's prosecutor on Monday and Tuesday about Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which has escalated into a crisis for the world's top oil exporter. Riyadh at first denied any knowledge of, or role in, his disappearance four weeks ago but Mojeb has contradicted those statements, saying the killing of Khashoggi, a critic of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was premeditated. The case has put into focus the West's close relationship with Saudi Arabia - a major arms buyer and lynchpin of Washington's regional plans to contain Iran - given the widespread scepticism over its initial response.
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Conservationists have issued a demand for urgent international action after a major report uncovered an unprecedented crisis in nature that threatens to devastate the world economy and imperil humanity itself. Only a global pact on the scale of the Paris Agreement on climate change will save the natural world from irreversible collapse, the World Wide Fund for Nature said after publishing a report showing a cataclysmic decline in global wildlife populations. Global vertebrate populations have fallen by 60 per cent since 1970 as human activity destroys their natural habitats in grasslands, forests, waterways and oceans, the organisation said. Until the turn of the 20th century, humanity’s consumption of the world’s natural resources was smaller than Earth’s ability to replenish itself. But over the past 50 years expanding agricultural activity and the over-exploitation of natural resources to feed a growing world population, particularly its booming middle class, has pushed many ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, is being cleared for soy monoculture Credit: Adriano Gambarni/ PA “Humans are living beyond the planet’s means and wiping out life on earth in the process,” the report warns. From the savannahs of Africa to the rain forests of South America and oceans across the world, few wildlife populations have been spared. While great attention has been given to the impact of poaching on elephants and rhinos in Africa, the story has been more dismal in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 89 percent of indigenous mammals like the jaguar and anteater have been wiped out. Statistics are just as grim in the world’s rivers, lakes and seas. More than 80 per cent of freshwater populations has vanished, with freshwater fish accounting for a higher rate of extinction than any other vertebrate. Since 1950 nearly 6bn tonnes of fish and other seafood have been removed from the world’s oceans. Employees move freshly caught fish at a factory in the Angolan coastal city of Benguela Credit: AFP For surviving populations the impact of human activity is also stark: some 90 per cent of the world’s seabirds have plastic in their stomach, compared to just 5 per cent in 1960. Plastic pollution now stretches across the seas of the earth, even reaching the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific, the deepest natural point in the world. With just a quarter of the planet’s land now free from human impact, the space bird, reptile and mammal populations' need to recover is growing ever more limited. “We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last that can do anything about it,” said Tanya Steele, chief executive of the WWF. “The collapse of global wildlife populations is a warning sign that nature is dying." As tragic as the collapse of wildlife populations is, the impact of habitat loss will have a profound impact on human wellbeing, conservationists say. Man’s encroachment on nature threatens agriculture itself, because crops pollinated by animals account for 35 per cent of global food production, while habitat loss means that the soil for crops to grow is not being replenished with nutrients. Under threat | The 19 species on the World Wildlife Fund's critically endangered list The loss of South American rainforests has reduced rainfall thousands of miles away, also imperilling crop production. As many as 70,000 species of plants are used commercially or in medicine, posing a danger to efforts to fight disease and protect industry. Yet the issue, conservationists say, is not being taken as seriously as climate change — even though protecting nature can help mitigate the impact of global warming — which is why it is essential for big business and government to come together to find a solution to the crisis. “The statistics are scary, but all hope is not lost,” said Ken Norris, director of science at the Zoological Society of London, which collaborated on the report. “We have an opportunity to design a new way forward that allows us to coexist sustainably with the wildlife we depend on.”
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The UN rights chief called Tuesday for "international experts" to help investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and called on Riyadh to reveal the whereabouts of his body. "For an investigation to be carried out free of any appearance of political considerations, the involvement of international experts, with full access to evidence and witnesses, would be highly desirable," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement. Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork ahead of his upcoming wedding.
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(This story corrects paragraph four to show non-profit group helps all refugees, not only Jewish refugees) By Trevor Hunnicutt and Paresh Dave (Reuters) - Gab.com, the website where the suspected Pittsburgh synagogue gunman posted anti-Semitic views, said on Sunday it was offline for a period of time after being asked by its domain provider to move to another registrar. The move comes after GoDaddy Inc asked Gab to change the domain, while PayPal Holdings Inc , Stripe Inc and Joynet Inc blocked the website. "We have informed Gab.com that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another registrar," a spokesman for GoDaddy said, adding the site violated its terms of service and hosted content that "promotes and encourages violence against people." The 46-year-old suspect Robert Bowers in the shooting incident has been charged with murdering 11 people on Saturday in the deadliest attack ever on the Jewish community in the United States.
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Move over Bruno: Another thicc cat's found his happy home. The enormous 28-pound cat's name is Doughnut, and the internet fell in love with him on Friday when the Jacksonville Humane Society posted photos of him on Facebook. OH LAWD HE COMIN! #chonk pic.twitter.com/ZeZc0iI9A3 — Jax Humane Society (@jaxhumane) October 26, 2018 According to the original post showing off all of Doughnut's curves, one requirement for his new home was "an owner who is willing to keep him on his strict diet." They acknowledged that while many of us might like a chunky cat, it's really not very healthy for Doughnut to be that overweight. "His new family will need to work with a vet to get him to the right weight at the right pace," the post stressed. But all is well, according to a recent Facebook update sharing that Doughnut is now in a happy home with a new owner. The Jacksonville Humane Society Facebook page said that pictures of the cat in his new home will be posted soon. Hopefully by the time we get new photos of Doughnut, he'll look a little slimmer. After all, a healthy cat is a happy cat. We all wish Doughnut the best of luck on his weight-loss journey. [H/T: NBC New York] WATCH: This smart feeder will stop your pets from mooching off each other
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During the hearing, Assange said the new rules were a sign Ecuador was trying to push him out, and said Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno had already decided to end his asylum but had not yet officially given the order. "If Mr. Assange wants to stay and he follows the rules ... he can stay at the embassy as long as he wants," said Attorney General Inigo Salvador, adding that Assange's stay had cost the country $6 million. Foreign Minister Jose Valencia declined to comment on Assange's assertion that Ecuador sought to hand him over to the United States.
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After a decade of stagnant production, Brazil’s offshore mega-projects are about to deliver a double whammy with exports set to surge and Brent prices comfortably above $70 a barrel. This means more revenue for a country beset with fiscal deficits, and more activity in a key industry, said Decio Oddone, the head of Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency. The oil turnaround gives the government more than just cash -- it promises to revive the fortunes of Petrobras, the much-maligned state-controlled state oil company that’s a source of pride for many Brazilians but which has spent the past few years mired in scandal.
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The suspect in the Saturday massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left eleven dead appeared in court Monday and is being held without bond by the U.S. Marshals Service. Robert Bowers, 46, appeared in federal court in Pittsburgh in a wheelchair and was mostly silent as the 29 charges against him — including eleven counts of obstruction of religious exercise ending in death and eleven counts of use of a firearm to murder — were read. Because he is unable to afford a private attorney, he will be represented by a public defender as the case proceeds.
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Khashoggi's death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul nearly four weeks ago has escalated into a crisis for the world's top oil exporter, which initially denied any knowledge of or role in his death. Saudi public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb arrived in Istanbul overnight, days after he contradicted weeks of Saudi statements by saying that Khashoggi's killing was premeditated. On Monday he met Istanbul's chief prosecutor.
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Pope Francis has vowed to end clerical sexual abuse, but bishops from Asia and Africa have shown a mixed response to a scandal some have termed a "Western problem". As the talks began, Francis warned again that abuse and cover ups would not be tolerated. Eamon Martin, the President of the Irish Episcopal Conference, said some churches were "in denial" and had not given the anti-paedophilia campaign "its proper place".
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The Duchess of Sussex opened up about the pressures of social media during a conversation with mental health advocates in New Zealand. During a visit to a beachside cafe in Wellington, Meghan talked to people supporting others in the area of mental health about the impact that unrealistic images on the likes of Instagram and Twitter can have on youth. “Young people find it so difficult,” she said during a conversation with staff and volunteers from Live For Tomorrow, an online youth initiative focused on reaching millennials with messages of hope and positive change. “You see photos on social media and you don’t know whether she’s born with it or maybe it’s a filter. Your judgement of your sense of self worth becomes really skewed when it’s all based on likes.” The Duke added: “Issues stemming from social media and gaming are a major problem for young people in the UK — and globally. "Fingers are often pointed at the parents but that’s not always fair as they too need to be educated about these things.” The Duchess of Sussex talks people from a number of mental health projects Credit: Ian Vogler Harry and Meghan — who are both strong advocates for mental health awareness — were at Wellington’s Maranui Cafe on Monday, October 29, to learn about initiatives and programmes supporting mental wellbeing in New Zealand, with a focus on youth. They arrived just after 10am and were escorted in by Lucia Kennedy, founder of Luminary Legacies, which honours people who have impacted positively on individuals, families and communities. “It smells so great in here,” Harry said after walking past the cafe’s colourful cake counter. Before sitting at their first table, the couple were offered drinks by the cafe’s co-owner Bronwyn Kelly, with the Duke asking for water, the Duchess having a “milk tea”. At the first table the couple met Jazz Thornton and Gen Mora from Voices of Hope. “We’ve both had battles with mental health of our own and so we wanted to create a platform where people can share stories of hope,” Thornton said of their website, which contains videos and personal blogs which promotes mental wellbeing, empowerment and recovery. Harry and Meghan heard the two women from Voices of Hope share how their 2017 viral video “Dear Suicidal Me” - which features young people who have overcome mental health problems reading their own suicide notes - saved the life of a 15-year-old young girl in Canada. “Her mother contacted us and said that her daughter was planning to take her life but then saw the video and went to speak to her instead,” explained Thornton. “It saved her life.” “It’s amazing what you have done,” Harry remarked. “I think anyone who has overcome mental health problems often go out of their own way to help others.” The Duke spoke about his own struggles with mental health during the conversations, admitting that it took him years to confront his own inner turmoil. “It took me about three or four years to start the journey and then after that you still have to find the right people to speak to,” he started. On the same table the couple also spoke with volunteers and staff from Lifeline Aotearoa, a 24-hour crisis service offering free community helplines and text message support to people of all ages in New Zealand. The organisation has been established for 53 years and has over 200 volunteers and 50 staff. “Kidsline buddy” volunteer Leroy, told the couple about how the service doesn’t just offer support but also gives callers tools to cope with mental health struggles in their daily lives. The Duchess of Sussex pours herself a tea Credit: Ian Vogler Harry was interested to learn that around 50% of the callers that phone in to the three helplines are men. “They’re able to call from a private number if they want and it’s a place they can open up and speak freely, without judgement,” said Lifeline’s Clinical Manager, Renee Matthews. “What’s great about this is that it’s done without judgement, it’s a safe place for people that just need to talk,” Meghan commented. Added Harry, “It’s a real topic that doesn’t just need to be openly discussed amongst the younger generation but also parents.” At the third table Harry and Meghan met 21-year-old Ezekiel Raui, founder of Te Kotahi (which means to stand as one), a peer-support programme run by young volunteers that focuses on creating a positive society and removing judgmental attitudes that come prior to crisis. The programme has already been rolled out in four New Zealand schools and will reach even more in the months ahead. Raui received a Queen’s Young Leader award in London earlier this year for his service, which he started in 2012 after a series of suicides, including that of a nine-year-old boy, rocked his Auckland high school and the Northland region of the country. “It’s about educating children at school from an early age so they don’t grow up feeling isolated or anxious about mental health problems or being judged... and hopefully they will pay that forward in the future,” said Raui. “It’s a programme built by young people and it’s great to see how far it has come. “Our goal is long term, to push for an intergenerational change that will create better methods of understanding and communication between young people and their peers, young and adult, and also help create a better representation of [young people] in society.” “I take my hat off to you,” Harry said. “Having a 10 or 20-year strategy is much better than three or four. You want to take it to the point where you’re out of a job, that the work you have done is so successful that the issue you have been tackling is no longer an issue.” “It’s important to focus on longterm planning and then creating that ripple effect,” added Meghan. At the age of 18 Ezekiel Raui took part in the first White House United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) conference and met President Obama. Harry was so impressed by the young man’s dedication to philanthropy that he asked for his name badge so he could get in touch again at a later date. “We need more people like you,” Harry said. The last initiative they spoke to was youth mental health project Live for Tomorrow, which is part of New Zealand youth organisation Zeal. Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex with Meghan Markle the Duchess of Sussex meet young people from a number of mental health projects operating in New Zealand, at the Maranui Cafe in Wellington Credit: Reuters Manager Andrew Sutherland told the couple how their project tells real-life stories from young people, both online and in school, through documentaries, music videos and other resources. “There’s a fear of embarrassment of having these problems in the first place,” Harry said, “The fact you’re going to schools and offering it online, which is where so many people spend most of their time, is really important.” After the group chats concluded, Harry and Meghan took photographs with each table and seemed motivated by their chats, both smiling and laughing. “This has been so inspiring,” said Meghan, who started a round of applause. “You’re all doing really excellent work.” The volunteers from Lifeline handed over gifts to the couple — two goody bags containing a baby onesies and t-shirts from their 72 Club campaign. “This is so sweet of you,” Meghan said after thanking the group. Maranui Cafe owners Kate Richardson and Bronwyn Kelly also handed gifts for the couple — t-shirts and a book about the history of the Maranui Surf Life Saving Club, which was founded in 1912, and trains Wellington lifeguards. “They were both so warm and friendly,” Richardson later remarked. “What they’re doing is so important.” After leaving the venue, Meghan had an aide return to the venue and request that the plates of small pastries that had been laid out on each table were shared with the children from Houghton Valley School they earlier met outside the venue. Sign up for Your Royal Appointment – for everything you need to know about the Royal Family, direct to your inbox each week.
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Shackled and wearing a beige jumpsuit, the man accused of sending at least 14 pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and critics of the president has been formally charged with five federal crimes in a Miami courtroom. The first court appearance of Cesar Sayoc, 56, came just hours after a 15th suspicious package was intercepted in Atlanta on its way to the CNN headquarters - what may have been the last in a series the suspect was able to mail from a list of, reportedly, hundreds of potential targets. In response to that package, CNN president Jeff Zucker said all domestic mail had been screened at off-site locations since last week, when it received two other packages addressed to the network's contributors, and bomb squads were called in to the Atlanta post office where the package was detected.
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The pair spent their second day in New Zealand on the northern tip of the nation's South Island, having taken a short helicopter flight from Wellington, the capital, where they arrived on Sunday following visits to Australia, Fiji and Tonga. Inside a marquee set up on the grass, Meghan smiled as elder Barney Thomas addressed the couple in the Te Reo Maori language, wishing them "kia kaha", or strength, for the baby she is expecting next year.
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Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., has one big advantage over his opponent, Democratic challenger Kathy Manning: The 13th District’s map was intentionally drawn to privilege Republicans. Budd defended gerrymandering, saying that unless the Supreme Court says otherwise, “it is constitutional to politically gerrymander.” Gerrymandering, which has helped Democrats in the past, is more likely to help Republicans this time because the GOP controlled the redistricting process in more states after the 2010 census. Two-term Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is spending much of her reelection campaign’s final stretch stumping in and around heavily Republican Webster County, which President Trump won by nearly 80 percent of the vote two years ago.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia's top diplomat said Saturday that the global outcry and media focus on the killing of a Saudi journalist earlier this month has become "hysterical" as he urged the public to wait for the results of an investigation before ascribing blame to the kingdom's top leadership.
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A mural depicting the American senate candidate Beto O’Rourke as a superhero has been vandalised just days after it was unveiled. It comes as the hotly contested race to be Texas senator between the Democrat candidate and Republican Ted Cruz was described as a “toss-up” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Initially, the mural, created by the artist Chris Rogers, featured Mr O'Rourke in front of a Texas flag with his shirt unbuttoned and revealing the letter B reminiscent to that of Superman’s S.
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A Lion Air passenger flight carrying 189 passengers crashed into the sea on Monday, shortly after taking off from the capital Jakarta. The plane was heading to the city of Pangkal Pinang off the island of Sumatra when it lost contact with air traffic control around 6.30 am (2330 GMT), 13 minutes after takeoff. "The plane had requested to return to base before finally disappearing from the radar," Sindu Rahayu, directorate general of Civil Aviation at the transport ministry, said. Lion Air said the aircraft, which was a brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8, was carrying 181 passengers, including one child and two babies, and eight crew members. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the rescue agency, tweeted photos of debris including a crushed smartphone, books, bags and parts of the aircraft fuselage that had been gathered by search and rescue vessels. Items believed to be from the wreckage of the Lion Air flight JT 610, recovered off the coast of Indonesia's Java island Credit: AFP Indonesian TV broadcast pictures of a fuel slick and debris field, while other debris thought to be from the plane, including aircraft seats, were reportedly found near an offshore refining facility. Distraught friends and relatives prayed and hugged each other as they waited at Pangkal Pinang's airport. At the National Search and Rescue Agency headquarters in Jakarta, family members turned up, hoping desperately for news. Feni, who uses a single name, said her soon to be married sister was on the flight, planning to meet relatives in Pangkal Pinang. Relatives of passengers comfort each other as they wait for news on a Lion Air plane that crashed off Java Island Credit: AP "We are here to find any information about my younger sister, her fiance, her in-law to be and a friend of them," said Feni. "We don't have any information," she told Associated Press. "No one provided us with any information that we need. We're confused. We hope that our family is still alive." Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani also arrived at the agency and met with its chief, seeking information about 20 finance ministry staff who were on the flight. An official of Indonesia's safety transport committee said the cause of the crash would not be known until the plane's cockpit voice recorder and data flight recorder were recovered. An oil slick where Lion Air flight JT 610 reportedly crashed into the sea off the coast of Indonesia's Java island Credit: AFP "We will collect all data from the control tower," Soerjanto Tjahjono said. "The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review too. But the most important is the blackbox." The Flightradar website tracked the plane, showing it looping south on take-off and then heading north before the flight path ended abruptly over the Java Sea, not far from the coast. Preliminary flight tracking data from the website shows the aircraft climbed to around 5,000 feet (1,524 m) before losing, and then regaining, height, before finally falling towards the sea. We're following reports that contact has been lost with Lion Air flight #JT610 shortly after takeoff from Jakarta. ADS-B data from the flight is available at https://t.co/zNM33cM0napic.twitter.com/NIU7iuCcFu— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 29, 2018 It was last recorded at 3,650 feet (1,113 m) and its speed had increased to 345 knots, the site showed. The search and rescue agency said the flight ended in waters off West Java that are 30 to 35 meters (98 to 115 feet) deep. The agency's chief Muhammad Syaugi told a news conference that divers were trying to locate the wreckage. Lion Air said the aircraft was airworthy and had only been in operation since August. Items believed to be from the wreckage of the Lion Air flight Credit: AFP Its pilot and co-pilot had together amassed 11,000 hours of flying time, the airline said in a statement. The accident is the first to be reported that involves the widely-sold Boeing 737 MAX, an updated, more fuel-efficient version of the manufacturer's workhorse single-aisle jet. The first Boeing 737 MAX jets were introduced into service in 2017. Boeing was aware of the reports and was "closely monitoring" the situation, its spokesman told Reuters. A Boeing 737 MAX Credit: Reuters Indonesia relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands but has a poor aviation safety record and has suffered several fatal crashes in recent years. A 12-year-old boy was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed eight people in mountainous eastern Indonesia in August. In August 2015, a commercial passenger aircraft operated by Indonesian carrier Trigana crashed in Papua due to bad weather, killing all 54 people on board.
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