Betting odds give Trump largest lead over Harris

Multiple election prediction platforms have shifted toward the Republican candidate

            Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Donald Trump has opened up his largest lead over Kamala Harris in the betting odds for the White House just three weeks before the November election.

Both US and international betting markets shifted in favor of a Trump victory over the weekend, with prediction sites such as BetOnline, Polymarket, PredictIt, and Kalshi all predicting Trump’s presidential chances are stronger than the Democratic nominee and current vice president.

It’s the first time Trump has been on top of the betting market since the September 10 presidential debate, form which Harris enjoyed a ratings jump. The Democratic candidate’s polling, however, has been stagnating since then, while Trump's has been on the rise.

The Republican nominee took a particularly sharp lead with BetOnline, where he stood at -140 to Harris’ +120 as of Monday. With Bet365, the vice president’s bookmaking position stood at +110 to Trump’s -138, while they were at +115 versus -135 respectively with Bovada, as of October 10.

A negative sign indicates that bookmakers believe the odds favor that person to win, while a plus sign indicates the underdog.

A slew of other bookmaking platforms also indicated a shift in Trump’s favor, helping the Republican to close the gap on his rival. According to prediction platform Kalshi, Trump had a 54% chance of winning the presidential election with Harris at 46% as of Monday.

The Election Betting Odds tracker showed that Harris’ chances of winning the race have slipped since the start of the month. A week ago, she had a 50.1% chance of taking the White House, but as of Tuesday this figure was down to 44.3%, while Trump now has a 55.1% chance of winning on November 5.

Meanwhile, Polymarket says the former president has the edge in six out of seven key swing states. The Republican candidate is predicted to win Arizona (68%), Georgia (64%), Pennsylvania (54%), Michigan (52%), North Carolina (63%), and Wisconsin (52%), the oddsmaker’s data shows.

The only battleground state where Harris has maintained a slight lead is Nevada, where she was given a 51% chance of victory, while Trump’s chances stood at 49%.

Source: RT 

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Lagos To Pay N85,000 Minimum Wage - Sanwo-Olu

 

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

 

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has disclosed that the state will pay N85,000 minimum wage to its workers, which is N15,000 higher than the N70,000 approved by the Federal Government in July.

President Bola Tinubu signed the new N70,000 minimum wage bill into law in July, ending months of deliberations between government representatives, labour unions and the private sector.

Sanwo-Olu, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, said the state is not paying N85,000 to outdo others but because it has the capacity to do so.

“I am glad to let you know that the minimum wage for Lagos which we conversed and discussed with our union is N85,000 today,” Sanwo-Olu said on the programme.

“It is not a competition, so I am not going to say we are paying more than some other people, it is a function of affordability and it is a function of capacity, but we know too well that when people live in Lagos, Lagos has a premium in terms of even the cost of living, we are fully aware.”

The governor also revealed that the state had earlier in the year increased the salary of workers, adding that it is his wish to be able to make the minimum wage of N100,000 in January 2025.

“We actually increased salaries earlier in the year and deserving so for our staff and we will continue to do that.

“I would like to come back to you in January to say I have been able to increase the minimum wage of Lagos to N100,000 not because I want to make anybody look bad, it is really because I want my people to have a living wage, I want them to really be able to know that government is working for them,” he said.

Lagos that works for everyone

Also on the programme, Governor Sanwo-Olu shared his dream of what he would want to be the Lagos identity in the nearest future.

According to him, his administration is aiming to grow Lagos to a city that truly works for everyone irrespective of where they are coming from.

Lagos is known for heavy traffic congestion, but the governor said it is also his dream to have a Lagos that has a predictable journey time.

“The dream identity will be a Lagos that truly works for everyone, a Lagos where you can have predictable journey time.

“You can come out of your house or your office and be able to safely say that in 30 minutes, 35 minutes plus or minus 5 minutes, you can be able to get to a predictable destination.”

He also wishes to make Lagos an enabling environment and the government continues to provide environment where business continue to grow and thrive.

Source: Channels Television 

North Korean troops desert frontline days after arriving to support Russia against Ukraine

 

Ukrainian media suggested the soldiers would be deployed in combat roles inside Russia as part of a “special Buryat battalion” named after Mongolic ethnic groups indigenous to Siberia, Mongolia and northern China.

In June, Vladimir Putin visited North Korea for the first time in 24 years signing a “comprehensive strategic partnership pact” with Kim Jong-un.

The treaty acts as a mutual defence agreement meaning if either Russia or North Korea “get into a state of war due to an armed aggression” the other must provide military and other assistance.

Last week, the New York Times reported that Russia had suffered 600,000 casualties – dead or wounded – since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

US officials blamed the high casualty rate on a grinding war of attrition that over the past year has not seen much in the way of territorial changes.

September this year was said to have been the bloodiest month of the war so far for Russia, according to US officials.

Source: NEW YORK TIMES POST

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NATO dares Russia, plans to move nuclear-capable fighters to Putin's doorstep

 

The United States reportedly planning an expansion of a European military base to house nuclear-capable fighter jets, as it looks to counter the growing threat of Russia.

Government procurement contracts reportedly show plans to enhance the facilities at Kecskemet air base in Hungary as part of Washington’s European Defence Initiative.

The project was revealed in an online notice, with the works described as being necessary to “accommodate North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)-equivalent Tactical Fighter Aircraft (TFA) and Strategic Transport Aircraft.”

It’s envisaged that planes accommodated at the base will include the F-15 Eagle, an all-weather fighter aircraft capable of dropping B61-12 nuclear gravity bombs, as well as A-10 Warthog, and C-5 Galaxy transport jets, according to the report.

The US has a strong presence in Europe, with bases across the continent including in Germany and the UK.

An implementation agreement was signed with Budapest in July 2021 allowing the US to access Kecskemét air base, and the Pápa air base, an old soviet air force fighter facility in the west of the country, as per Newsweek.

That same year, another memorandum allowed the US access to Tata and Várpalota Garrisons.

US F-15 and F-16 fighters have previously been stationed at Kecskemet while training exercises were being held, but not on permanent deployments, according to The Telegraph.

As part of the project, a parking apron will be installed at the Hungarian base for tactical fighter jets, as well as a parallel taxiway, new lighting and a cargo delivery roadway to the site, as well as a $21 million (£17.4m) jet fuel storage facility.

The works come amid horror warnings from intelligence bosses that Russia could be ready to launch an attack on NATO by the end of the decade.

Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, said the Kremlin wants to divide the West, weaken support for Ukraine and lay the ground for a potential war with NATO. It’s feared a Russian attack on a country in the military alliance would trigger the alliance’s Article 5, dragging America and Britain into a war.

“Putin will continue to test the West’s red lines and further escalate the confrontation,” Kahl said, adding: “The Russian armed forces will probably be in a position, in terms of personnel and material, to launch an attack against NATO by the end of this decade at the latest.

“Whether we like it or not, we are in a direct confrontation with Russia.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry plans to enlist 133,000 young men for mandatory military service in the second half of this year, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian military will have conscripted 283,000 men by the end of 2024, including the 150,000 troops drafted in the spring. Putin’s administration is also drastically increasing military spending, Kahl warned.

The latest planned increase in spending will take Russia’s defence budget to a record 13.5tn rubles (£109bn) in 2025, up 25 percent on the previous year.

According to Kahl direct confrontation between Moscow and the U.S.-led military alliance was “becoming an option” for the Kremlin. The US has been gradually bolstering its defences in Europe since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The Kecskemet air base upgrades are part of wider efforts by NATO to strengthen its eastern borders with Russia, as the US and NATO allies of Ukraine continue to provide Kyiv with military aid to support the country’s war effort.

Top Russian officials have previously said Moscow would respond with “counter-measures” to any increased US presence in Europe.

Source: NEW YORK TIMES POST

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Woman Inspector demands N1m to cover Sergeant who r@ped 17-year-old detainee, threatens to release video

                              Policeman

The Edo State Police Command has launched an investigation into the shocking action of a Woman Inspector who allegedly demanded a bribe of N1 million from a Sergeant to continue to conceal his crime of bringing out a 17-year-old suspect from a cell to r@pe her.

A Situation Report said the suspect, arrested for receiving stolen property, was raped by the Sergeant who brought her out of the cell.

She was said to have been shocked when the Sergeant, identified as Abraham Uzuobor, with Force Number: 504694, suddenly unlocked the cell and dragged her out.

Uzubor took her to the Administration Office, which was void of any occupant at that hour, and then swooped on her.

Incidentally, while Uzuobor was in the act with the detainee, a Woman Inspector, Edith Eduma, with Force Number: 228719, who was on the day of the incident the Charge Room Officer (the person in charge of counter duty who keeps records and attends to complaints), realised that the cell key was no longer with her.

She quickly rushed to the cell, where she noticed that the female suspect had disappeared from the holding facility.

It was in the process of looking for her, fearing that she had escaped, that she stumbled on Uzuobor r@ping the girl.

Eduma, who discovered Uzuobor s$exually abusing the suspect, rather than reporting to the appropriate authority, allegedly started blackmailing him.

She first collected N45,000 from Uzuobor to conceal the crime.

However, the following day, she demanded an additional N1 million.

Before taking the bold steps to start extorting the perpetrator, Eduma alerted her husband, who is also a policeman, and two other policemen. 

It was after discussing with these policemen that she collected the first N45,000.

The SITREP stated: On the 10th of October 2024 at about 9:pm, F/No. 504694 Sergeant Abraham Uzuobor removed a female suspect (names withheld), who is 17 years old from the cell.

“He took her to the admin office, where he had carnal knowledge of her. 

“The Charge Room Officer, who noticed the cell key was not with her, rushed to the cell and discovered the suspect detained for receiving stolen property was not in the cell.

“She subsequently went to the admin office where she caught the sergeant in the act and recorded the incident.

“The Charge Room Officer (CRO) AP/No. 228719 W/Inspector Edith Eduma refused to inform the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) or the Incident Duty Officer.

“Rather she called her husband, and two others who are policemen and then collected the sum of N45,000 from the sergeant to conceal the crime.

“On the 11th of October 2024, at about 4am, she called the sergeant again to either pay her an additional one million naira or she would post the video on social media.

“Both officers are currently detained and have been defaulted, now undergoing orderly room trials at area command.”

 

 Source: The Eagle Online

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War at NASS amid Akapbio impeachment as DSS takes over

 

                            Akpabio

The premises of the national assembly appears like a war zone this morning as men of the Department of State Security (DSS) have taken over amidst speculations of an impeachment move against Sen. Akpabio 

Operatives of the DSS have taken control of the national assembly amid allegations of a potential impeachment threat against Senate President, Goodswill Akpabio.

Speculations have swirled that some aggrieved northern senators, allegedly dissatisfied with President Bola Tinubu, are reportedly reviving an earlier attempt to remove Akpabio from office. Globally, parliaments have dedicated internal security personnel responsible for maintaining order and safety within and around the premises of parliament.

Other security agencies attached to the parliament are present to ensure the safety of lives and property in the event of any security breach or threats that might disrupt the proceedings of lawmakers and staff, particularly when internal security is overwhelmed.

OrderPaper observed this morning that from the main entrance to the second gate and all entrances within the premises, DSS men and women dressed in dark-colored suits, wearing intimidating dark shades have been stationed.

Source: Order paper 

Israeli arrested for plot to assassinate Israeli scientist in exchange for $100K from Iran

Illustrative: A police car in Rishon Lezion on July 3, 2022. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

A resident of Petah Tikva has been arrested on charges of planning to assassinate Israeli figures on orders from Iran, according to a statement from the Israel Police.

The statement names the suspect as Vladimir Verhovski, 35, from Petah Tikva, and says he was arrested “after he carried out different tasks” for Iranian sources in exchange for payment. The actions included spray painting graffiti, hanging up flyers and gathering information on an Israeli official, police say.

According to police, Verhovski agreed to assassinate an Israeli scientist in exchange for a payment of $100,000, and went so far as to acquire a weapon for the plot.

The suspect is slated to appear before a court hearing this morning for an extension of his remand, police say.

Source: The Times of Israel

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