Uniquely Nelson

Sparks flew and tempers frayed at the second and final US presidential debate between the incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, though measures to control interruptions made for a more constructive discussion. The final US presidential debate before the 3 November election. At Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: AFP The debate, held at Belmont University in Nashville today was planned to revolve around six topics; fighting Covid-19, climate change, American families, national security, leadership and race in the US. It was one of the last big events the candidates have to convince Americans they are the best person to be President for the next four years, before the election on 3 November. See how the debate unfolded with RNZ's live blog Mute buttons were introduced for this debate following the chaos that ensued during the last one - and each candidate was given two minutes at the start of each topic - to speak without being interrupted. The opening topic was fighting the coronavirus in the US. Trump said the country had rounded a corner and Covid-19 is going away. "More and more people are getting better, we have a problem that's a world-wide problem... but I've been congratulated by the heads of many countries on what we've been able to do. If you take at look at what we've done in terms of goggles and masks and gowns and everything else." Biden said anyone who doesn't take responsibility for 220,000 deaths from the pandemic shouldn't be President. "Anyone who's responsible for not taking control - in fact not saying 'I take no responsibility' initially. Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America. "We're in a situation where there are a thousand deaths a day now - a thousand deaths a day, and there are over 70,000 new cases per day." Photo: AFP Questions about issues threatening national security became a discussion about tax returns. Last month the New York Times revealed Trump paid just $750 in tax the year he took office. Biden again called on the President, to release his returns. "I have released all of my tax returns - 22 years of my tax returns, go and look at them. You have not released a single solitary year of your tax returns, what are you hiding? "Why are you unwilling? The foreign countries are paying you a lot, Russia's paying you a lot, China's paying you a lot, and your hotels and all your businesses all round the country, all around the world." Trump responded by saying he wants to release them and will do as soon as he can. Photo: AFP He also said his accountants told him he had prepaid his taxes. "They said 'sir you prepaid tens of millions of dollars... over the last number of years'. "Tens of millions of dollars I prepaid, because at some point they think - it's an estimate, they think I may have to pay tax. So I already prepaid it. Nobody told me that. "And it wasn't written: they keep talking about $750, which I think is a filing fee." There are 12 days until the election, and more than 40 million early ballots have already been cast.

Several US states, many of them in the Midwest, have reported record single-day increases in Covid-19 infections, further evidence that the pandemic is accelerating anew as cooler weather takes hold in many parts of the country. A person walks past a Covid-19 Testing Center in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn. Photo: AFP Indiana, North Dakota, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Ohio posted daily records today, according to a Reuters analysis, while Florida reported more than 5500 new cases, its highest single-day increase since 15 August. Twenty-eight states have reported their daily record high of Covid-19 cases in the month of October alone. Today, the number of coronavirus deaths reported across the country reached its highest in two months. Increases in deaths tend to trail spikes new infections by several weeks. The US Food and Drug Administration has formally approved Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir, which has been in wide use under an emergency authorization, for treating patients hospitalized with Covid-19. It is the first drug officially approved for the disease in the United States. Since the pandemic reached the United States earlier this year, the nation has lost more than 222,000 lives, the world's highest total as well as one of the highest per capita death rates, especially among developed nations. The autumn resurgence and dire predictions that the spread would further accelerate in the cold winter months have once again cast a harsh spotlight on President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic. The Republican incumbent will debate Democratic challenger Joe Biden today for the last time before the 3 November election. But with less than two weeks before the election, Trump's seemingly dismissive approach to the coronavirus has clouded his re-election prospects, with polls showing Americans losing confidence in his ability to handle the pandemic. A report released on Wednesday by Columbia University estimated that between 130,000 and 210,000 Covid-19 deaths could have been avoided in the United States, calling the federal government's response to the pandemic an "enormous failure". "The weight of this enormous failure ultimately falls to the leadership at the White House - and among a number of state governments - which consistently undercut the efforts of top officials at the CDC and HHS," the report said, referring to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. White House spokesman Judd Deere blamed the pandemic's toll on China, where the virus originated, and the World Health Organization - two favourite Trump targets - and said Trump's actions saved American lives. Last month on the Fox & Friends show, Trump said he would give himself an "A+" for his coronavirus response. Hospitals strained Along with spikes in cases and deaths, the number of Covid-19 patients in US hospitals climbed to a two-month high. There are now over 40,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients across the country, up 33 percent from 1 October, according to a Reuters analysis. In Wisconsin, a Covid-19 hotspot and a pivotal battleground state that could help decide the presidential election, hospitals were feeling the strain from the surge in cases. "We have a tremendous volume of patients in our hospitals right now," Dr Jeff Pothof, an emergency medicine physician at University of Wisconsin Health in Madison, told Reuters. "I think a lot of the hospital systems in Wisconsin are feeling really stretched." Pothof said some medical facilities were beginning to turn additional space into areas where coronavirus patients could be treated. "The good news is we had lots of plans in place," he said. "It's that tightrope of meeting the need of Covid patients but not potentially harming patients who don't have Covid because we need to think about postponing their care." On top of the health toll, the pandemic has weighed heavily on the finances of millions of Americans, who say they are barely getting by as Washington wrangles over another round of financial aid. In Illinois, some residents planned to protest a fresh round of Covid-19 restrictions announced this week by Governor J.B. Pritzker. A petition to the governor posted on change.org by a restaurant owner in St. Charles, Illinois, urged businesses to stay open tomorrow, when Pritzker's restrictions in some counties, including a ban on indoor dining, are set to go into effect. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot today announced a 10pm curfew for bars, restaurants and non-essential businesses in the city for at least the next two weeks starting tomorrow, to help stem the spread of the virus. Lightfoot, in a news conference, said the city is on a path for tougher restrictions in the holiday season, including another stay-at-home order, if the virus spread is not better controlled. - Reuters

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has renewed his attacks on President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in today's final debate. Biden is seeking to bolster his lead in opinion polls with 12 days to go to the election. The televised encounter in Nashville, Tennessee, represents one of the Trump's last remaining opportunities to reshape a campaign dominated by a pandemic that has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States and devastated the economy. "Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America," Biden said. Trump, who was far more restrained than at the first debate in September when he aggressively talked over Biden, defended his approach to the outbreak and claimed the worst of the pandemic was in the past. "We're rounding the corner," said Trump, who has played down the virus for months. "It's going away." See how it all unfolded with RNZ's live blog:

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has renewed his attacks on President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in today's final debate. Biden is seeking to bolster his lead in opinion polls with 12 days to go to the election. The televised encounter in Nashville, Tennessee, represents one of the Trump's last remaining opportunities to reshape a campaign dominated by a pandemic that has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States and devastated the economy. "Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America," Biden said. Trump, who was far more restrained than at the first debate in September when he aggressively talked over Biden, defended his approach to the outbreak and claimed the worst of the pandemic was in the past. "We're rounding the corner," said Trump, who has played down the virus for months. "It's going away." Follow all the latest developments with RNZ's live blog:

France extended curfews to around two thirds of its population today and Belgium's foreign minister was taken into intensive care with Covid-19, as the second wave of the pandemic surged across Europe. French Health Minister Olivier Veran (right) and French Prime Minister Jean Castex at a media conference in Paris, announcing the changeover of several departments to "maximum alert" and new curfew measures in order to curb the spread of Covid-19. Photo: AFP French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a curfew imposed last week on Paris and eight other cities would be extended to 38 more departments, confining 46 million out of the country's 67m population to their homes from 9pm to 6am. "A second wave of the coronavirus epidemic is now under way in France and Europe. The situation is very serious," Castex said at a news conference. Shortly after the measures were announced, French health authorities reported a record 41,622 new confirmed cases, bringing the cumulative total to 999,043. According to a Reuters tally, Thursday saw the highest total of infections reported in a single day across the world, at 422,835. Slovakia will impose a partial lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus infections, Prime Mister Igor Matovic said today. The lockdown will be imposed from 24 October until 2 November. In Spain, which this week became the first European country to pass 1 million cases, Health Minister Salvador Illa said the epidemic was now "out of control" in many areas. Regional authorities debated a curfew but stopped short of taking a decision. After Europe appeared to have gained a measure of control over the epidemic following the dramatic lockdowns of March and April, a surge in cases over recent weeks has put the continent back at the heart of the crisis. While hospitalisations and deaths have not so far overwhelmed health systems as they did during the initial wave early this year, authorities in many countries worry the situation is rapidly reaching a tipping point. Germany, which reported more than 10,000 daily cases for the first time, extended travel warnings for Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, most of Austria and Italian regions including Rome. "We still have a chance to slow a further spread of the virus," Lothar Wieler, of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's infectious diseases agency, said in Berlin. More than 5.3m people across Europe have contracted the disease and over 204,000 have died, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. That compares with 8.3m cases in the United States and 7.7m in India. Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes went into intensive care today, just a day after German Health Minister Jens Spahn tested positive. The resurgence over recent weeks stands in contrast to several countries in Asia, from China to South Korea or New Zealand, where draconian lockdowns and rigourous contact tracing have helped contain the disease. 'We are swamped' Grappling with the enormous costs of the coronavirus, Europe's leaders are desperate to avoid a repeat of the blanket lockdowns that shut down their economies in the spring. As cases have surged and health services have come under increasing pressure, they have been forced to impose and expand local restrictions aimed at reducing public gatherings to ever wider areas. Italy's three most populous regions - Lombardy around Milan, Lazio, around Rome and Campania around Naples - have already imposed overnight curfews. Britain today also tightened restrictions on three more areas. Amid the growing public alarm, Germany's statistics office noted that sales of toilet paper rose almost 90 percent last week from pre-crisis levels with almost equally sharp jumps in sales of disinfectants and soap. Only Sweden, a European outlier which has relied largely on voluntary measures to promote social distancing, was an exception, declaring senior citizens no longer need to isolate themselves given lower Covid infection rates than in spring. As the crisis has intensified, much of the public goodwill seen in the first phase of lockdowns has evaporated and central governments have engaged in angry spats with local authorities from Manchester to Madrid over issues ranging from health and welfare to transport and schools. With winter coming, health services are looking ahead with apprehension as the wave of Covid patients coincides with the usual seasonal respiratory illnesses. "We are already swamped," said Bruno Megarbane, head of intensive care at the Lariboisiere hospital in Paris. "So, indeed, there is the fear that we will face a very difficult situation." - Reuters

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal has ruled that abortion due to foetal defects is unconstitutional, banning the most common of the few legal grounds for pregnancy termination in the predominantly Catholic country. Woman's rights activist and co-founder of All-Poland's Women Strike, Marta Lempart (left) argues with a pro-life supporter as a protest and counter-protest took place prior to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal issuing its decision on abortion. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto After the ruling goes into effect, abortion will be only be permissible in Poland in the case of rape, incest or a threat to the mother's health and life, which make up only around 2 percent of legal terminations conducted in recent years. "(A provision which) legalises eugenic practices in the field of the right to life of an unborn child and makes the right to life of an unborn child dependent on his or her health, ... is inconsistent ... with the constitution," said Julia Przylebska, head of the Constitutional Tribunal. Conservative values have played a growing role in public life in Poland since the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) came into power five years ago on a promise to defend what it sees as the nation's traditional, Catholic character. Curbing access to abortion has been a long-standing ambition of the party, but it has stepped back from previous legislative proposals amid widespread public backlash. A group of right-wing lawmakers asked the Tribunal to rule on the legality of aborting foetuses with abnormalities in December 2019. "Today Poland is an example for Europe, it's an example for the world," said Kaja Godek, a member of the "Stop Abortion" public initiative, a separate group. Women's rights and opposition groups reacted with dismay. "The worst-case scenario that could have come true has come true. It is a devastating sentence that will destroy the lives of many women and many families," said lawyer Kamila Ferenc who works with an NGO helping women denied abortion. "It will especially force the poor to give birth to children against their will. Either they have no chance of surviving, or they have no chance of an independent existence, or they will die shortly after giving birth." The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, called it a "sad day for women's rights". "Removing the basis for almost all legal abortions in Poland amounts to a ban and violates human rights. Today's ruling of the Constitutional Court means underground/abroad abortions for those who can afford and even greater ordeal for all others." Politicized courts? Critics say the Constitutional Tribunal may have acted on the party's behalf. While the Tribunal is nominally independent, most of its judges have been appointed by PiS, leading it to be dubbed a "pseudo-tribunal" by some. "To throw in the subject of abortion and produce a ruling by a pseudo-tribunal in the middle of a raging pandemic is more than cynicism. It is political wickedness," said Donald Tusk, the president of the European People's Party and a former prime minister of Poland. Poland's opposition said the tribunal was carrying out the political will of the ruling party leader, specifically. PiS denies trying to influence the court or taking advantage of the pandemic to push through the changes. Abortion rights activists say access to the procedure was often declined in recent years in Poland even in cases when it would be legal. Many doctors in Poland, which already had some of the strictest abortion rules in Europe, exercise their legal right to refuse to terminate pregnancies on religious grounds. Some say they are pressured into doing so by their superiors. Maria Kurowska, an MP with United Poland, a party in the ruling coalition with Law and Justice said: "We are glad with what the Constitutional Tribunal ruled because one can not kill a child for being sick. This is not a foetus, it is a child." - Reuters

US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell said she never witnessed "inappropriate underage activities" by him, according to transcripts of a 2016 deposition. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Photo: AFP The testimony was made in a now-settled civil defamation lawsuit brought by one of the late financier's accusers, Virginia Giuffre. Maxwell had long fought to keep the testimony secret. She has pleaded not guilty and will go on trial in a criminal case next year. Maxwell is accused of helping Epstein traffic and sexually abuse underage girls and of perjury for denying involvement in such a scheme when she gave her deposition under oath. The 58-year-old has been in custody since her arrest in July. If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to 35 years in prison. What does the deposition say? Giuffre (née Roberts) sued Maxwell in 2015 after the British socialite said she was a liar. Transcripts of the 2016 deposition from the now-settled case were released on Thursday under the orders of US District Judge Loretta Preska. Maxwell's lawyers had argued that releasing the documents would violate her constitutional right against self-incrimination and could impede her right to a fair trial next year. They said she had believed the deposition would remain confidential. But appeals judges ruled on Monday that Judge Preska had rightly determined that the public had a right to access the documents, and said arguments by Maxwell's lawyers were "meritless". In the 465-page document, Maxwell repeatedly denies and dismisses numerous allegations, and insists she never saw the financier have sex with anybody. "I never saw any inappropriate underage activities with Jeffrey ever," she said. Asked if she was aware of any non-consensual sexual acts between Epstein and masseuses, she replied: "All the time that I have been in the house I have never seen, heard, nor witnessed, nor have [had] reported to me that any activities took place, that people were in distress, either reported to me by the staff or anyone else." She also said she never hired anyone under the age of 18 to work in Epstein's homes and never participated in any sexual activities with them. Asked whether she believed that Epstein had sexually abused minors, she said: "I can only testify to what I know. I know that Virginia is a liar". Maxwell also called Giuffre an "awful fantasist". Giuffre alleges that Maxwell recruited her as a masseuse to the financier while she was a minor. She says Epstein kept her as a "sex slave" with Maxwell's assistance. Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? Maxwell is the daughter of the late disgraced UK newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, his ninth and youngest child. Born on Christmas Day in 1961 outside Paris, Maxwell is Oxford-educated and is said to speak several languages, A well-connected socialite, she is said to have introduced Epstein to many of her wealthy and powerful friends, including Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. Friends said that although Maxwell and Epstein's romantic relationship lasted only a few years, she continued to work with him long afterward, the Washington Post reports. "She had an upbringing and taste and knew how to run a house and a boat and how to entertain," an acquaintance was quoted by the UK's Daily Telegraph as saying. "You can't buy that. You can't buy access, either." In a Vanity Fair profile published in 2003, Epstein said Maxwell was not a paid employee, but rather his "best friend". In court documents, former employees at the Epstein mansion in Palm Beach describe her as the house manager, who oversaw the staff, handled finances and served as social coordinator, the Post reports. What are the charges she faces? Prosecutors allege that between 1994 and 1997, Maxwell helped Epstein groom girls as young as 14. They have said that they expect "one or more victims" to testify. Four of the charges Maxwell faces relate to the years 1994-97 when she was, according to the indictment, among Epstein's closest associates and also in an "intimate relationship" with him. The other two charges are allegations of perjury in 2016. The indictment says Maxwell "assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18". What about Epstein? Epstein, 66, was a New York financier known for socialising with celebrities and politicians. In 2002, Donald Trump - then a property tycoon - called Epstein a "terrific guy". Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell at the back. Photo: Screengrab / BBC In 2005, following a complaint from the parents of a 14-year-old girl in Florida, Epstein was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender. He avoided federal charges - which could have carried a life sentence - and instead received an 18-month prison sentence, during which he was able to go to work. He was released on probation after 13 months. But following allegations from former victims, he was arrested again in 2019 and accused of sex trafficking of underage girls. He was found dead in a New York prison cell on 10 August as he awaited trail. The death was ruled a suicide by hanging. Who is Virginia Giuffre? Giuffre has been one of Epstein's most prominent accusers. She alleges that she was forced into sex with the financier and his friends. She says she was trafficked to London by Epstein when she was aged 17 to have sex with Prince Andrew. "I knew I had to keep him [Prince Andrew] happy, because it's what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would expect from me," she told the BBC. The prince has "categorically" denied any sexual contact with Giuffre. In an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis last year, he said he didn't recall meeting her. Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties last November, saying the Epstein scandal had become a "major disruption" to the Royal Family. - BBC

At least 12 civilians have been killed in an air strike on a religious school in the northern Afghan province of Takhar, local officials say. A BBC reporter confirmed he says children at the hospital. Photo: BBC They said the strike on the madrassa in the village of Hazara Qurluq killed 11 children and their prayer leader. The Afghan government disputed the account, saying it had killed 12 Taliban fighters in the village. The strike came after more than 30 security force members were killed in a major Taliban ambush in the province. Local officials said 14 others were wounded in the strike late last night. The imam of the mosque attached to the seminary, Abdul Awal, who was among the wounded and was admitted to hospital, told the BBC that only he and children were in the mosque at the time of the strike. Takhar province Doctors at a hospital close to the site of the air strike in the provincial capital Taloqan said the majority of victims brought in were children, and Mohammad Jawad Hejri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, also said the strike had killed children. But Afghan government officials denied the reports that children had been killed, saying only Taliban fighters died. The Ministry of Defence did not deny that the strike hit a school. A spokesperson said an investigation team had been appointed to "assess allegations about civilian casualties resulting from this attack". The fighting the previous day, which reportedly began with a Taliban attack in Baharak district some 15km (nine miles) from Taloqan, came despite assurances from Taliban officials to the US that violence would be scaled back to facilitate historic peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Violence between government forces and the Taliban has worsened in recent weeks in Afghanistan and threatens to imperil the talks, which have stalled on preliminary issues. It is estimated that about 40,000 civilians have fled their homes in recent weeks in the southern Helmand province as fighting has intensified. The battle over Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah marks the first big Taliban offensive since the peace talks began last month. More than 220,000 Afghans have been displaced by the conflict so far this year, according to the UNHCR, taking the total since 2012 to about 4.1 million. -BBC

The Australian government is being urged to create a new visa for Pacific Islanders to relocate permanently to Australia, in a bid to manage the impact of climate change in the region. Tuvalu is highly susceptible to rises in sea level brought about by climate change. Photo: UNDP/LUKE MCPAKE The recommendation was outlined in a new policy paper released today by the University of New South Wales' Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law. The paper urges the government to do more to help neighbouring countries, with several Pacific island nations facing an existential threat from rising sea levels. Co-author Jane McAdam said it was a roadmap for Australia to deal specifically with the displacement of Pacific Islanders as a result of climate change and natural disasters. "What we do know is that because disasters are likely to increase, both their intensity and their frequency, it means that people's normal adaptation capacity is being almost overtaken," she told the ABC's Pacific Beat programme. "Things are happening too quickly for them to be able to respond and avoid displacement altogether. The Carteret Islands were the first place in the world to require population relocations due to climate change, with predictions they would be submerged by 2015. "If you look at where the trajectory is, unless you have major changes in mitigation and adaptation efforts, we're likely to see more displacement occurring." Co-author Jonathan Pryke, from the foreign affairs think tank the Lowy Institute, told the ABC he recommended about 3000 permanent residencies for Pacific Islanders each year. He said relocating even a small number of people on a voluntary basis would help ease pressure on vulnerable countries. "We are advocating for a real drop in the ocean here with regards to our overall migration scheme," he said. "This is not a radical proposal, we're not suggesting opening the gates to the region. It's an important component of helping improve welfare in the region but also being an important mitigating tool for climate change displacement." Australian prime minister Scott Morrison speaks to kids at a climate change display in Tuvalu ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders summit on Funafuti. August 2019 Photo: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat The Department of Home Affairs did not directly respond to the ABC's question of whether it would consider a new visa scheme, but highlighted Australia's existing migration pathways. "Supporting our Pacific neighbours is a key focus for the government," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Australia welcomes the contribution that people from Pacific Island nations have made to Australia for generations. "There are opportunities for individuals from Pacific countries to apply for a visa to permanently migrate to Australia through the skilled or family migration programme." Pacific visa could be a 'win-win', paper argues An Oxfam briefing paper last year found climate change displaces 20 million people each year within their own countries. The non-profit organisation said one person was internally displaced due to climate change every two seconds, and people were three times more likely to flee their homes due to climate-fuelled disasters than conflict. Australia was criticised last year for thwarting efforts by small island states to get consensus on a declaration for stronger action on climate change and a rapid phase-out of coal. Australia's prime minister is welcomed upon his arrival in Tuvalu for the Pacific Islands Forum leader's summit. August 2019 Photo: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Pryke said the move would be in Australia's national interest for a "stable and prosperous" region, adding the Pacific visa proposal was a "win-win". "These people come in and they are actually a boon to the Australian economy," he said. "They fill the labour shortage needs, they get fruit off the vine, they help in aged care and child care and other sectors. These people can remit money home, they can improve the wealth and prosperity of the nations they're coming from. "So it's a win-win policy that comes at a very low expense to the taxpayer." NZ visa model recommended The paper suggests Australia could use New Zealand's Pacific Access visa as a model, which has 1750 places for permanent residency each year, selected by a ballot. But the paper found demand was high, finding that "in the five years to 2014-15, the ratio of application numbers to available places was 16:1". Professor McAdam acknowledges the merits of Australia's existing visa programmes, which allow Pacific Islanders to live and work in Australia on a temporary basis. But she said offering permanent relocation would not only help at-risk Pacific countries adapt to climate change by taking the pressure of stretched resources, but it would also supplement Australian aid to the region. "If only 1 percent of the Pacific's population were permitted to work permanently in Australia, this would bring more benefits to the Pacific than Australia's aid contribution," the paper said. Australia's recent budget papers outlined $A4 billion in foreign aid, with more than $1.44 billion slated for the Pacific. Professor McAdam said migration could be one way to tackle climate change, but said disaster risk reduction policies, climate adaptation development and other strategies are essential as well. "This is a way of giving people options, a way of choosing their own destiny," she said. "The last thing that we are advocating for is the forcible movement of people to Australia. It's not about that, it's about giving people choices and arming them with the possibility to move in a dignified manner." - ABC

Former US president Barack Obama has returned to the campaign trail with a blistering attack on Donald Trump with less than two weeks to go before the Republican president's Election Day face-off with Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Photo: AFP Speaking at a drive-in rally in Philadelphia on behalf of Biden, his former vice president, and Democratic running mate Kamala Harris, Obama offered his fiercest critique yet of his successor. He took aim at Trump's divisive rhetoric, his track record in the Oval Office and his habit of re-tweeting conspiracy theories. "With Joe and Kamala at the helm, you're not going to have to think about the crazy things they said every day," Obama said. "And that's worth a lot. You're not going to have to argue about them every day. It just won't be so exhausting." Obama, who governed for two terms and remains one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, blasted Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, noting that the president himself had fallen victim to the virus. "Donald Trump isn't suddenly going to protect all of us," he said. "He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself." "This is not a reality show. This is reality," Obama said in a nod to Trump's past as a reality TV host. "And the rest of us have had to live with the consequences of him proving himself incapable of taking the job seriously." Obama's appearance filled a gap left by Biden, who has stayed at home in Delaware since Monday for meetings and preparation ahead of tomorrow's debate with Trump in Nashville, Tennessee. The drive-in rally was held in the parking lot of Citizens Bank Park, the baseball stadium in Philadelphia, the city's skyline visible in the distance. With nearly 280 vehicles spread throughout the lot, it was the largest event of its kind that the Biden campaign has staged during the pandemic. Photo: AFP Don't be complacent, Obama warns With a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing Biden with just a 4 percentage point edge in Pennsylvania, Obama warned Democrats against complacency. "We've got to turn out like never before," he said. "We cannot leave any doubt in this election." Americans are voting early at a record pace this year, with more than 42 million ballots cast both via mail and in person ahead of 3 November Election Day on concerns about the coronavirus and to make sure their votes are counted. The early vote so far represents about 30 percent of the total ballots cast in 2016, according to the University of Florida's US Elections Project. Four years ago, Obama participated in a rally in Philadelphia with then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the day before the election, only to see Trump narrowly take the state. The Biden campaign considers winning there a top priority. In remarks at an evening rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, Trump briefly mentioned Obama, noting that he had supported Clinton in her losing effort. "It was nobody who campaigned harder for Crooked Hillary than Obama, right?" Donald Trump won the state of Pennsylvania in the 2016 election. (file pic) Photo: AFP North Carolina is another battleground state where opinion polls show a tight race. Harris was also in the state today to mobilise voters in Asheville and Charlotte. Obama won North Carolina in 2008, but lost it in his 2012 campaign. Trump won it in 2016. Trump argued that coronavirus-related restrictions were harming the state's economy and complained that Democrats and the news media were overly pre-occupied with the pandemic. "All you hear is Covid, Covid," the president said. "That's all they put on because they want to scare the hell out of everyone." Top ally Even though today marked Obama's 2020 campaign debut, his support has been essential for Biden. He has appeared at joint fundraisers with Biden and Harris, and his network of well-connected former aides has been instrumental in helping the campaign outpace Trump in bringing in donations. Biden's team said Obama would campaign in Miami on Saturday (US time) for the Democratic ticket. Photo: AFP The last days of campaigning are taking place during a surge in cases of Covid-19 and hospitalisations in battleground states, including North Carolina and Pennsylvania but also Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan. Pennsylvania has averaged 1500 new cases a day over the past week, a level it has not seen since April, according to a Reuters analysis. North Carolina is averaging 2000 new cases a day over the past week, its highest level yet. The virus has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States. Polling shows a majority of voters are disappointed in the way Trump has handled the pandemic, which he has repeatedly said would disappear on its own. Biden and Trump are scheduled to meet in their second and final debate tomorrow, giving the Republican an opportunity to change the trajectory of a race that Biden is leading in national opinion polls. -Reuters