by Mogomotsi Magome JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police have asked the courts to halt planned marches by anti-illegal immigration groups in the coastal city of Durban following alleged threats of violence and plans to burn down a refugee reception office in the city. The application to block the marches follows recent violence at some of the demonstrations, which reportedly left a foreign national dead last week. The KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Wednesday granted an interim order against the demonstrators, but will consider Friday whether to make the order permanent. Some African countries have repatriated their citizens following the violence.…

by Steve Peoples NEW YORK — The nation’s major political parties are at a crossroads. A decade after he began to remake the Republican Party in his image, President Donald Trump is facing the prospect of a voter rebellion Tuesday that could force conservatives to rethink their undying allegiance to the 80-year-old lame-duck leader and his “Make America Great Again” movement. Already, some Republican candidates have begun to distance themselves from him. And Democrats, who remain unpopular despite midterm momentum, are speeding toward a tug-of-war between establishment leaders and emboldened progressives demanding nothing less than transformative change. Whether either party…

by Joey Capperlletti The data compiled by The Associated Press offers a glimpse of early voter participation five days before an election that will determine control of Congress and other key contests across the country. Across the country, more than 43 million Americans had voted early in person or returned mail ballots, nearly 10 million more than in 2022. The figures cover 47 states and Washington, D.C., compared with 48 states and the nation’s capital four years ago. In states that provide information on voters’ party affiliation, about 6.8 million Democrats and 5.2 million Republicans have cast ballots early. Those…

LAKE FOREST, Ill.  — Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat didn’t explain why he failed a performance-enhancing drug test and received a two-week suspension, but he did make it clear how much it hurt absorbing the penalty. The former Pro Bowl defensive end missed the last two games while serving the suspension but returned this week and is practicing for Monday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. “I just want to apologize to my teammates, the fan base, everybody, but I’m moving forward now,” Sweat said Tuesday. Sweat reportedly will lose some guarantees on his contract as a result of…

By Emeka Obasi He is Chief of the Air Staff wearing the rank of an Air Marshal. Beyond that,  the name Sunday Kelvin Aneke animates celebrations in many bases around the country, beginning from the Sam Ethnan Barracks,home of 651 Base Service Group, Ikeja. In the past, an Air Force base commander was like a tin God, dreaded by his subordinates and avoided by kids in the community. Now, Aneke has brought himself to the level of tiny tots and families of service personnel. I sat down recently to chat with people from Sam Ethnan Barracks. One of them opened…

ALGIERS, Algeria — Algeria’s parliament approved a resolution Sunday to send troops to Niger, making it the first time Algerian soldiers will be deployed abroad since 1973, when they were sent to support Egypt during the Arab-Israeli war. Authorities have not released any information about when and where exactly the Algerian army detachment will be deployed, or how many soldiers will be involved. Algerian Sen. Belkacem Boulghiti said troops would be sent “to protect Algeria’s economic and strategic interests, particularly its oil facilities in Niger.” “We are not sending our soldiers to wage war in Niger, but for a mission…

by David Crary Two Catholic bishops have expressed regret about agreeing to a White House meeting that produced a publicly distributed photo of them praying with President Donald Trump. Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob, in a statement titled “A Public Apology,” said Sunday that he had received many questions and comments — some of them distraught — about the meeting on Thursday which he and 11 other bishops attended. He said the meeting was speedily publicized by the White House with photos and a video, without consent of the participants, and less than two weeks away from the midterm elections. “I…

by Jesse Bedayn McALLEN, Texas  — The Ford Expedition rumbled to a stop and Cindy Banda’s bedazzled flip-flops landed on the asphalt of the Houston cancer center’s vast parking lot. She threaded through the rows of cars, a tally of patients who gather here to sit with chemotherapy needles or lie on radiation machines. The elevator dinged open. A year ago in this building, surgeons removed Banda’s right breast, and she still didn’t know whether treatment had expunged the cancer from her body. Doctors had told her it would be tough to beat. “I’m more of a positive person myself,”…

by Jacqurline Ganun and Steve Peoples DETROIT — Former President Barack Obama on Saturday seized on what he described as cruelty and indecency coming from President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, stepping into one of the nation’s ugliest midterm fights as he worked to rally Democratic voters in two Midwestern battlegrounds. First in Ohio, Obama took aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an advertising campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also defended the ad, even as Republican leaders across Ohio, including…

by Josh Boak and Jill Colvin WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — President Donald Trump cast his ballot in the midterm elections Saturday, saying he voted for all Republicans in Florida before speaking at a Georgia rally. Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived at their West Palm Beach polling location at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections office together after the president spent the morning at his nearby golf course. Trump has been criticized in the past for voting by mail despite his long history of railing against that method of submitting ballots. Asked if he voted the party…