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Stunning Verstappen wins wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th on the grid

Stunning Verstappen wins wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th on the grid

The Red Bull driver wins a chaotic race, tightening his grip on the title as McLaren’s Norris plunges from pole position to sixth. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has his fourth Formula One title within reach after a stunning drive to victory from 17th on the grid in Brazil, dealing a shattering blow to Lando Norris’s hopes. Norris, who started the wet and chaotic Sao Paulo race in pole position and 44 points behind Verstappen, finished sixth for McLaren on Sunday. The title gap blew out to 62 points with three rounds remaining and 86 points still to be won. If results go his way, Verstappen could hit the championship jackpot in the next race down the floodlit Las Vegas Strip on November 23. In a crash-strewn race shortened to 69 laps, halted after 33 and restarted, Verstappen took his eighth win of the season – and one of the best of his career – by 19.477 seconds and with a bonus point for the fastest lap. “We stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls and stayed calm and we were flying so all of these things together made that result possible,” Verstappen said. “But I mean unbelievable, to win here from so far back on the grid.” The win stopped the rot at Red Bull, ending a 10-race losing streak for their Dutch driver dating back to Spain in June. Verstappen now has 393 points to Norris’s 331, with Leclerc on 307. McLaren lead the constructors’ standings with 593 points to Ferrari’s 557. “It was a tough day, I did my best. I’ve had a lot of good races, it was about time that something didn’t go right,” said Norris, who won the Saturday sprint. Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina waves the chequered flag to Max Verstappen as he wins the Sao Paulo Grand Prix [Sebastiao Moreira/AFP] ‘Like driving a jet-ski’ Verstappen was described as “insane” and “invaluable” after delivering one of the greatest wet weather drives in chaotic, rain-lashed conditions. “I was feeling all over the place, a roller-coaster,” he said. “My emotions went from wanting to destroy the garage after qualifying to winning the race.” Verstappen said driving under those conditions was akin to “driving a boat or a jet-ski”. “The rain came and we stayed out, which was sketchy, and I just had to keep the car on track and the conditions were undriveable – so it was special today.” Verstappen’s victory was also an emphatic statement of intent as he reeled off five successive fastest laps in the closing stages and 17 altogether as he came home 19.4 seconds clear of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. His win made him the first driver since Kimi Raikkonen at the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix to win from as far back as 17th on the grid. “He was insane today,” his father Jos, a former F1 driver, said. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner described the world champion as “invaluable”. “It’s impossible to put a number on that. That was a champion’s drive. There’s some great drivers out there, but to stand out and shine like that today – that marks him out, I think, with some of the greats now,” said Horner. “The way he’s driven, and even when we’ve had a difficult car this year, he’s never given up. He’s gone about collecting the points, he’s always trying to get maximum out of the car.” DRIVER STANDINGS (after 21/24 rounds) Max Verstappen surges ahead with just three races to go#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/7PezUcF3om — Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024 Adblock test (Why?)

With North Korea’s troops in Russia, South Koreans weigh role in Ukraine

With North Korea’s troops in Russia, South Koreans weigh role in Ukraine

Seoul, South Korea – When Yang Seung-ji heard that thousands of North Korean soldiers had been sent to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, she began searching online for the nearest emergency shelter. Yang is concerned that tensions between North and South Korea, which have been aggravated by Pyongyang’s reported involvement in the war in Ukraine, could spill over into an armed confrontation. “I worried that public transportation would be down and make me unable to go back home,” the 25-year-old job seeker, who recently moved from the regional city of Chungju to Seoul, about 50 km (30 miles) from the inter-Korean border, told Al Jazeera. “We thought about packing our stuff and stacking some food in our apartment.” “Ever since hearing about North Korea’s balloons carrying rubbish landing in parts of Seoul, there’s just a sense that things are escalating,” Yang added. Yang Seung-ji (left) and her sister in Seoul [David D. Lee/Al Jazeera] The United States Department of Defense said last week that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers are undergoing training in Russia as Moscow looks to reinforce its troop strength in the nearly three-year-long war, corroborating earlier statements by Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence. For South Korea, the cooperation has raised fears North Korea could receive nuclear technology from Russia as compensation. On Thursday, North Korea test-launched a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Hwasong-19, which logged a record flight time of 86 minutes. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to respond to North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine, including by potentially supplying weapons to Kyiv. “If North Korea dispatches special forces to the Ukraine war as part of Russia-North Korea cooperation, we will support Ukraine in stages and also review and implement measures necessary for security on the Korean Peninsula,” Yoon said last week during a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Directly supplying weapons to Ukraine would mark a significant change in South Korea’s involvement in the war, which has so far been confined to humanitarian aid and helping backfill weapons by supplying arms to NATO members. Such a move would also require revisions to South Korea’s Foreign Trade Act, which prohibits the country from sending lethal weapons to live conflict zones except for peaceful uses. Since the division of the Korean Peninsula following the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea has focused heavily on diplomacy to forge the trade relationships that drive its export-driven economy. During its rapid transformation into one of the world’s most developed economies during the 1960s and 1970s, the country honed its soft power, including cultural exports such as K-pop and Korean film, to exert influence. Its military involvement overseas, such as in the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been mostly confined to small deployments of troops in noncombat roles. “As a country that has been able to manage decades of relative stability without involvement in any direct warfare, it goes against the tendencies of our society and the government’s policies to jump into a war,” Son Key-young, a professor of international relations at Korea University, told Al Jazeera. “Even looking at the outlier instance, which was the Vietnam War, South Korea sent a significant amount of troops only because we didn’t want US forces in South Korea leaving their bases.” Between 1964 and 1973, South Korea deployed about 320,000 soldiers to Vietnam to fight alongside the US army in exchange for US aid to revive the then-ailing economy. “Hearing from my students, it’s quite obvious how young people are against being involved in the Russia-Ukraine War. And the slow state of the economy is likely to make other South Korean citizens frown upon the idea as well,” Son said. “South Korea’s role in this conflict looks to be very limited, but President Yoon seems to be searching for a way to be involved as his administration has shown to be active in national security issues.” South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a news conference at the Presidential Office in Seoul on October 24, 2024 [Jeon Heon-Kyun/pool via AFP] Han Jun-seo, a 27-year-old advertising professional, said he would support South Korea sending weapons to Ukraine, but only if the government could do so without “catching too much attention”. “One thing that does worry me is that North Korean troops will get real field experience while the last time our troops got any live experience was in Vietnam,” Han told Al Jazeera. Park J. R., an office worker in Seoul, said South Korea should only take action in Ukraine in cooperation with the international community and the United Nations. “Russia won’t remain our enemies forever, so we don’t want to damage relations for good. Acting by ourselves and making hasty decisions is a fast lane to being used,” Park, 54, told Al Jazeera. Park also said he was uncertain about North Korea’s true motives. “I don’t know if North Korea is doing this as a form of aggression towards our country or if they want to just strengthen their alliance with Russia. Either way, both scenarios don’t look good for us,” he said. For some older South Koreans, who grew up when military clashes between the Koreas were a more regular occurrence, it is crucial not to show weakness to the North. “I don’t think it’s right for South Korea to be overly conscious about North Korea when we make these decisions,” Kim Shin-gyu, a 65-year-old apartment complex janitor, told Al Jazeera. “If the situation calls for it, we should be able to confidently make our own decisions.” Taking a break from a game of janggi, a board game sometimes compared to chess, at Seoul’s Tapgol Park, Oh R. M. said South Korea should learn to fight fire with fire. “If our country also had nuclear weapons, the north wouldn’t be able to put fear in us all the time,” Oh, 68, told Al Jazeera. “If we become capable of defending our country from outside threats first, why not send weapons

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 983

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 983

As the war enters its 983rd day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Monday, November 4: Fighting Debris from destroyed Russian drones started park and grass fires in Kyiv, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said on Monday. Emergency crews were dispatched, with no immediate reports of casualties. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air defence units tried to repel a Russian drone attack on Kyiv, the military administration said on Monday. “Stay in shelters!” Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration posted on Telegram. A Russian guided bomb attack late on Sunday, which hit a supermarket in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, injured four people. An earlier strike had hit a forested area of the city. Russia’s military said on Sunday its forces had taken control of the village of Vyshneve in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as they pursue their advance towards the logistical centre of Pokrovsk. One man was killed by a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Belgorod region on Sunday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. A second Taiwanese volunteer fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers against Russia has been killed, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday. The man was a member of Ukraine’s military legion of foreign fighters, the ministry said in a statement. Diplomacy United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he is “very concerned” about reports that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to possibly aid in its war against Ukraine, said Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief’s spokesperson, on Sunday. Europe will need to rethink its support of Ukraine if Donald Trump is elected president of the United States, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday, as the continent “will not be able to bear the burdens of the war alone”. Orban opposes military aid to Ukraine and supports Trump in the election, believing he shares his views and would negotiate a peace settlement for Ukraine. Adblock test (Why?)

Actor Will Ferrell ‘threatens’ voters in new Harris campaign ad: ‘Shut the f–k up, Gary’

Actor Will Ferrell ‘threatens’ voters in new Harris campaign ad: ‘Shut the f–k up, Gary’

Actor and comedian Will Ferrell is throwing his star power behind Kamala Harris – it’s just another in a long list of celebrity endorsements for the vice president. In an official Harris campaign ad, Ferrell jokingly threatens voters if they don’t vote for Harris. “This election is going to be one of the closest in history. Your vote will make the difference,” Ferrell begins. He then mocks a voter disagreeing about their vote making a difference.  HOLLYWOOD OUTLET REPORTS THAT INDUSTRY INSIDERS ARE DREADING VERY POSSIBLE TRUMP WIN: ‘FEELS LIKE 2016’ “That means you, Gary. ‘Oh, blah blah blah, I’m just one person.’ No. Shut the f–k up Gary,” Ferrell says.  “Last time, only a few thousand votes kept Trump out of office. And this time, we will hold you personally responsible, Gary” Ferrell threatens. Critics took to X, telling the actor to stick to comedy and stay out of politics. “Democrats have now resorted to physically threatening people to vote for Kamala. Will Ferrell should’ve stuck to comedy. This isn’t funny at all,” one user wrote. “Will Ferrell is making it REAL tough for me to watch Elf this season,” another user commented.  Ferrell joins a list of actors and celebrities who have used their status to endorse Harris in the homestretch of the campaign.  On Thursday, actors Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Danai Gurira, Don Cheadle and Paul Bettany took part in a video endorsement, mocked as “new cringe” for Harris and Tim Walz, that was posted on Ruffalo’s X account. LEBRON JAMES DOUBLES DOWN ON CONTROVERSIAL HARRIS ENDORSEMENT VIDEO: ‘DAMN SURE WASN’T GOING THE OTHER WAY’ “We’re back. Let’s #AssembleForDemocracy. In the #ElectionEndgame, every vote counts,” Ruffalo wrote, encouraging people to vote for Harris and Democrats. In the video, they jokingly suggested Harris needed a catchphrase, referencing their past movies. Bettany remarked, “How about ‘I’m down with democracy’? It’s clean and simple.” “I’m Kamala Harris and I say down with democracy,” Cheadle joked, adding, “Yeah, together we got to tear down democracy.” Near the end of the video, he phrased it saying, “I’m Kamala Harris, and I am down with democracy.” Singer Beyoncé introduced Harris at a rally in Houston, Texas. ‘AVENGERS’ STARS ASSEMBLE IN ROASTED HARRIS AD: ‘NEW CRINGE JUST DROPPED’ The final New York Times/Siena College Battleground poll of the 2024 race shows a razor-tight election in the battleground states just days before the election. Trump leads in Arizona, while Harris has a lead in Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and Wisconsin. Michigan and Pennsylvania are tied between the two candidates, according to the poll. The poll comes just two days before an election that promises to be one of the closest in recent memory, with the New York Times/Siena poll not being the only one showing tight margins. Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick, Michael Lee, and Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.