Red Bulls of Newcastle are still looking for their first league win of the season after Northampton Saints won the match 36-19 at Kingston Park.
Saints defeated reigning champions Bath, who will face Leicester Tigers on Saturday, with a five-try bonus-point victory.
Saints’ 30-minute lead in the contest was made even more impressive by JJ van der Mescht’s twice-sin-binned doubles on either side of the break.
Newcastle will cling to the positives because they were unable to make the most of their failure to come within two points of parity twice as a man to the good.
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In the opening seven minutes, Saints scored two converted tries, with Van der Mescht scoring from close range and scrum-half Alex Mitchell touching down after Tommy Freeman’s England team-mate burst down the right flank.
The big chance to come to an end was on 32 minutes when Van der Mescht was sent off for hands on the ball in a Newcastle maul, even though Oli Spencer picked a crossfield kick from Brett Connon.
The hosts cut the lead to two points before the South African lock, with Amanaki Mafi muscling his way over after 35 minutes. However, they were unable to add more pressure to Saints when Fin Smith teed up Freeman just before the break to restore breathing room at 21-12.
Van der Mescht’s second transgression on 50 minutes, when he hit a dipping Boeta Chamberlain, resulted in a second yellow and a red for the Red Bulls.
With their first touch in the corner, Stefan Coetzee scored the winning goal, putting Newcastle back within two points, 21-19.
However, Saints always seemed to have another gear in play, and this time, Edoardo Todaro put a final touch on a flowing right-to-left sweep through Mitchell and Rory Hutchinson to once more open up the dialogue between the two teams.
After Chamberlain’s swift break down the right wing, the TMO only decided to rule out a lifting tackle from George McGuigan in the build-up, which gave Newcastle a brief lead at 26-26.
Fletcher, McCallum, De Bruin, Usher, Lockwood, Elliott, Beeckmans, and Coetzee are the replacements.
Freeman, Todaro, Hutchinson, Dingwall, Litchfield, Mitchell, Fischetti, R Smith, Davison, Coles, Van der Mescht, Kemeny, Graham, Chick, and the Northampton Saints.
Wright, Iyogun, Green, Lockett, Prowse, Pollock, McParland, and Belleau are the replacements.
After proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) urged investors to vote against what might be the largest compensation package a company chief has ever received, Tesla’s proposed $1 trillion pay package for CEO Elon Musk has come under renewed scrutiny.
The ISS’s comments on Friday marked the second time in a row that it has urged Musk’s stockholders to reject a compensation plan.
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Proxy advisors frequently influence major institutional investors, including the passive funds that own significant amounts of Tesla.
Tesla’s board is under increased scrutiny of his compensation after a Delaware court earlier invalidated his $56 billion pay package in preparation for a closely watched November 6 shareholder meeting.
However, thanks to a system that rewards partial achievement and soared share prices, Musk’s record-setting Tesla pay plan could still pay him tens of billions of dollars even if he doesn’t meet the majority of its ambitious goals.
In what Tesla’s board described as the largest corporate pay package in history, Musk was given a $1 trillion compensation package, setting ambitious performance goals, and responding to his desire to have more control over the business.
The 2025 pay package “locks in extraordinarily high pay opportunities over the next ten years” and “reduces the board’s ability to meaningfully adjust future pay levels,” according to ISS. Musk’s goal was to be retained because of his “track record and vision.”
Following the unveiling of the compensation plan last month, Tesla’s shares rose, as investors believed Musk would be motivated to concentrate on the company’s strategy.
In a video posted to Tesla’s X handle on Friday, director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson stated that “many people come to Tesla to specifically work with Elon, so we recognize that retaining and incentivising him will, in the long run, help us retain and recruit better talent.”
Musk will be able to cast ballots this time using his shares, giving him roughly 13.5 percent of Tesla’s voting power, according to a securities filing last month. That certainty might be sufficient to secure approval on its own.
The proxy adviser cited the “astronomical” size of the proposed grant, potential dilution for existing investors, and design elements that could result in “very high” payouts for partially accomplished goals.
Tesla did not respond to the Reuters news agency’s request for comment right away.
Tesla’s own estimate of $ 87.8 billion was exceeded by ISS’s estimate of $ 104 billion for the stock-based award.
Tesla will only be able to fulfill its market capitalization milestones of $ 8.5 trillion and its operational goals, including the delivery of 20 million cars, one million robots, and $ 400 billion in adjusted core earnings.
A wider set of voting recommendations was released on Friday that included the proxy adviser’s advice on Musk’s pay.
No left-wing candidate has been cast on the ballot in Bolivia as the country’s final round of presidential elections approaches.
Since the last election, the current governing party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), has suffered an implosion, with party leaders splintering off and attacking one another.
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Amid the fracas, MAS failed to advance a candidate to the run-off election, meaning its leadership — nearly uninterrupted since 2006 — is slated to come to an end.
In Sunday’s highly anticipated run-off, a centrist and a right-wing candidate square off.
However, the election is unlikely to fracture Bolivian politics, which have been fracturing and destabilizing for a while, as a result of a persistent economic crisis.
Who are the candidates? What issues are voters’ top priorities? What difficulties might the incoming administration face in the near future? We answer those questions and more in this brief explainer.
When is the last day to vote?
The election’s winner will be formally inaugurated on November 8 for the run-off vote on October 19.
What was the result of the first round?
The election’s conclusion itself reflects the country’s shifting and unpredictable political climate.
Despite receiving less than 10% in early polling, Rodrigo Paz, one of the two final candidates, emerged as the unexpected winner in the first round of voting. He carried more than 32 percent of the votes in the August 17 general election.
With nearly 27% of the vote, his rival, former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, came in second.
No two candidates passed the required 50 percent or 40 percent with a 10-point margin over the closest rival in order to be elected president.
Who is Rodrigo Paz?
Senator Paz and former left-wing leader Jaime Zamora’s son are both senators.
He has worked with a number of different political parties throughout his career, but in this election he is a Christian Democratic Party candidate.
Paz has pitched himself as a more moderate voice who will embrace pro-market policies while taking a cautious approach to austerity measures. His campaign slogan reads “Capitalism for All.”
Edman Lara, a converted Christian and former police officer, quit and gained notoriety on social media for his outspoken criticism of corruption, as does his running mate.
Supporters of Rodrigo Paz and his running mate Edman Lara attend the closing campaign rally in Tarija, Bolivia, on October 15]Juan Karita/AP Photo]
Jorge Quiroga, who is he?
Former president and businessman Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga.
Early in his career, he worked in Texas for the multinational tech company IBM. However, his interests changed to politics, particularly in the 1990s, and he even served as Paz’s father’s finance minister in Bolivia.
Hugo Banzer, who had a military dictatorship in the 1970s, ran for president in 1997 with Quiroga as his running mate. But when Banzer was diagnosed with cancer and resigned in 2001, Quiroga succeeded him as president, serving the remainder of his term.
In his subsequent unsuccessful attempts to win the presidency, Quiroga lost in 2005, 2014, and 2020.
He is running for president of the Libre Alliance, a right-wing coalition, with a staunch pro-market campaign.
Quiroga’s running mate is Juan Pablo Velasco, a 38-year-old tech entrepreneur.
The polls’ answers: what are they?
Although polls currently favor Quiroga, analysts have pointed out that prior to the first round of voting, there had not been any evidence of support for Paz.
A poll taken between October 1 and 6 by the research firm CB Consultora found that Paz has an approval rating of 42.5 percent. Quiroga, however, has a 56% approval rating.
CB Consultora reported that protest votes, which are intended to be omitted or spoiled, are expected to rise while 75% of respondents said they would cast ballots in the run-off.
What happened to Bolivia’s left?
The left-wing MAS party, which presided over a period of robust economic growth while simultaneously reducing inequality, was a remarkable accomplishment.
Morales, who is regarded as the nation’s first indigenous president, seized control of the electoral system as a result.
But an electoral crisis in 2019 resulted in Morales fleeing the country after seeking a contested fourth term, in circumstances that his supporters have characterised as a coup.
The MAS leadership experienced a brief interruption as a result of the crisis, and the short-lived right-wing government was in charge of a deadly crackdown following the election.
When Luis Arce, Morales’ finance minister, replaced him as president in 2020, the left took over. But internal divides have critically weakened MAS, leading to Morales leaving the party.
Morales is prohibited from requesting a fourth term in courts because of an arrest warrant for alleged statutory rape. Morales has continued to support his efforts, calling the restriction on his candidacy an assault on his rights, though.
He has called upon his followers, many of whom are rural and Indigenous voters, to boycott the vote.
What are the priorities?
As Bolivians prepare to vote, concerns about the economy and the cost of living are on their minds.
High inflation and fuel shortages, along with dwindling foreign currency reserves, have been a source of hardship.
People are waiting in line for gasoline for hours, according to Kathryn Ledebur, the director of the Andean Information Network, a human rights advocacy organization in Bolivia. “Diesel, which is crucial for the transportation of other goods, is even worse.”
Polling compiled by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas (ASCOA) shows that 24 percent of Bolivians consider the economy their primary concern this election season. Another 17 percent cited price increases as a major concern, and 14 percent reported fuel shortages.
What controversy has shaped the election?
Velasco, Quiroga’s vice presidential running mate, has faced scrutiny over a series of racist social media posts he made in the past,  , celebrating violence against the country’s Indigenous population.
An Argentine social media user discovered the posts, some of which are nearly 15 years old. Since then, the posts have been verified by Bulgarian fact-checking organizations.
Velasco responded by denying that he authored the posts. The Bolivian press association issued a statement in support of the fact-checking organizations because of his further criticism of the fact-checkers.
What policies have the candidates suggested?
Both Quiroga and Paz are promising pro-market policies and a departure from the left-wing programme that has dominated Bolivian politics for the last two decades.
The only area of disagreement between the two candidates is how quickly those economic changes can be implemented.
Quiroga has stated that he will reduce funding for social programs, reduce subsidies, privatize state-owned businesses, and seek financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Paz has been more hesitant when it comes to embracing calls for austerity and steep cuts to social programmes, although he has also said that he would cut fuel subsidies.
He also questioned Bolivia’s ability to lower tariffs to encourage imports of goods that the nation does not produce itself, and expressed interest in greater integration into regional trade blocs like MERCOSUR.
On October 15, at the conclusion of his campaign in La Paz, Bolivia, President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga addresses supporters.
What will the election mean for relations with the United States?
Bolivia’s potential for a right-wing government has been approved by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Coexisting policies that were in conflict with MAS leadership’s efforts to grow coca, a major crop in Bolivia and the source of cocaine, had strained bilateral ties.
On October 14, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the election outright, calling it “important”.
Bolivia will hold elections later this month, according to Rubio. Both candidates running in the run-off election want strong and better relations with the United States after 25 years of hostile, anti-American governments. Another transformative opportunity there”.
Morales, a vocal critic of the US “war on drugs,” claimed in 2013 that the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was collaborating with USAID and that it was trying to influence Bolivian politics.
Washington, DC, according to Ledebur, “was a great deal of frustration because this refuted the notion that to govern successfully you need US funding and cooperation,” was said.
Both Paz and Quiroga have said that they will seek closer ties with the US. Particularly, Quiroga has criticized left-wing governments in Latin America, including those in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, with whom MAS had established ties.
The Trump administration is adopting a more aggressive stance in Latin America right now, using US influence to support right-wing allies in nations like Argentina and Brazil, and pushing a highly militarized strategy to combat drug trafficking.
Presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz addresses supporters during a closing campaign rally before the upcoming run-off election in Tarija, Bolivia, on October 15]Juan Karita/AP Photo]
What will the left-leaning Bolivian do next?
Bolivia’s political left is gearing up for a period of political wilderness after years of dominance.
The candidate for MAS, Eduardo del Castillo, won just 3.2 percent in the first round of voting in August. Andronico Rodriguez, a former MAS member, received 8% of the vote.
Due to Paz’s populist stance and soft approach to economic austerity, many former MAS supporters have turned to him, according to Ledebur, who believes the once-powerful left needs to rekindle internal tensions and find a new course of action.
But the forces that have powered the Bolivian left for decades, such as Indigenous and rural voting blocs, are likely to remain a formidable force, even if MAS finds itself out of power.
Ledebur claims that harsh austerity measures may result in significant protests and backlash.
She anticipates that a conflict with the new government will help bring the left together around a common cause, but it will take time.
“The left will definitely have to change something after its defeat in the election”, she said. A reconfiguration is expected, but it could take some time.
Further escalating tensions with nearby Venezuela have risen as a result of President Donald Trump’s confirmation that the US has launched yet another strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea this week.
When confronted by media reports about survivors, Trump made his first statements about the attack during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Friday.
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Trump claimed that the submarine we attacked was a drug-carrying submarine, which was built specifically for the transportation of sizable amounts of marijuana, without providing details about the vessel’s nature or its purpose.
This group of people was not innocent. There aren’t many people in my opinion who have submarines.
On Thursday, Reuters broke the news of a fresh attack. Since the US launched its bombing campaign in the Caribbean on September 2, the first reports of survivors have been made.
Under the condition of anonymity, a Department of Defense official confirmed that the two survivors had been taken into custody. What their condition is or whether they will be prosecuted is a mystery. According to reports, the explosion left two people dead.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to provide further information when questioned about the survivors at Friday’s meeting. However, he did support US operations when necessary to stop illegal drugs.
Rubio stated that “we’re conducting these operations against narco-terrorists.” These are what, to put it mildly. These individuals are terrorists. Be specific, please.
The Trump administration has confirmed five more attacks, totaling at least 28 fatalities.
The Trump administration has portrayed the military strikes as a means of halting Venezuelan drug trafficking.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has stated that he believes some of his citizens were among the dead, despite the fact that the government has not provided proof of the identities of those killed.
A family in Trinidad and Tobago, which is located 11 kilometers (six miles) from the Venezuelan coast, has also stated that it believes a relative was killed in the most recent wave of attacks.
Venezuela has requested that the strikes be made illegal by the UN Security Council.
Since drug traffickers are not viewed as combatants in a military conflict, legal analysts claim that they almost certainly constitute a violation of US and international law.
Maduro “offered everything.”
Trump also appeared to confirm rumors that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had made concessions in an effort to lower US-to-US tensions during Friday’s meeting.
He has provided everything, he said. Trump responded to a reporter’s question, “You’re right. You understand why, then. Because he doesn’t want to “f*** around” with the US.
Trump has a long history of animosity toward Maduro, dating back to the “maximum pressure” campaign he launched during his first term in office.
Trump met with the Maduro government shortly after taking office for a second term in January, and he started a few frank discussions with it. He sent special envoy Richard Grenell to arrange for the deportation of US citizens to Venezuela and the release of imprisoned Americans.
However, the Trump administration demanded that Grenell’s efforts be ended earlier this month, effectively severing diplomatic contact.
Trump also increased the amount of money that he had offered in August for Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
Trump’s efforts to increase his own executive power have a corollary with the escalating tensions with Venezuela.
He asserts that the US is in danger of being invaded by violent migrants, drug traffickers, and criminal organizations in order to declare wartime emergency and invoke powers imposed by the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Trump has claimed that Maduro himself was the mastermind behind the “invasion” by the gang Tren de Aragua in order to justify the wartime powers.
He has not provided any proof, and a National Intelligence Council report from April that appeared to refute his claims, which found no link between the Maduro administration and the Tren de Aragua gang.
Despite this, critics have heightened concern that these claims could be used to lay the groundwork for military coups aimed at reversing the Maduro government. Both the US and Venezuela have already increased their military presence close to the Caribbean.
Trump appeared to confirm earlier this week that he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
Van der Merwe, Richardson, Graham, O’Conor, Bradbury, Thompson, Thompson
Edinburgh sealed their first Rugby World Cup win of the season with a morale-boosting bonus-point home success over Benetton.
Edinburgh were in desperate need of a victory in front of their own fans after Zebre and Munster won the game, and they did so in excellent style.
In the opening minutes, Sean Everitt’s side had a lead thanks to Duhan van der Merwe, Dylan Richardson, and Darcy Graham, who crossed after the break to give them a 2-0 lead.
Piers O’Conor and Magnus Bradbury both scored tries, while Richardson and Graham both scored again.
Within six minutes, Van der Merwe sprinted off the left wing and scored his first try of the club season.
Not long after, Richardson blasted over from close range with Grant Gilchrist and O’Conor’s assistance.
Graham’s knee a little frightened, but the Scotland wing continued to show his class with a fine sidestep and finish just before half-time.
Malakai Fekitoa and Alessandro Garbisi’s yellow cards prevented the visitors from gaining any momentum, and Richardson was later found guilty of intentionally kicking the ball over the try-line by the officials in the same period as the second sin-binning.
Edinburgh began after earning the bonus point.
For his first try for the club since departing from Connacht, Wes Goosen broke the Benetton line and released O’Conor.
Line-ups
Edinburgh: Goosen, Graham, O’Conor, Lang, Van der Merwe, Scott, Shiel, Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Skinner, Gilchrist, McConnell, Richardson, Bradbury, and Graham O’Conor.
Harrison, Whitcombe, Hill, Young, Douglas, Vellacott, Thompson, McCann, and others.
In a high-scoring Prem thriller at Kingsholm, Bristol Bears needed seven tries to defeat Gloucester.
The visitors took a 21-20 half-time lead thanks to scores from Fitz Harding, Gabriel Oghre, and Sam Worsley.
Before Viliame Mata’s try and two scores in the closing seconds for winger Kalaveti Ravouvou, who had an early lead, Oghre’s second extended the lead after the break.
With first-half tries from Matias Alemanno, Seb Blake, and Josiah Edwards-Giraud, Gloucester put a lot of pressure on Bristol, but tries from Will Joseph and James Venter after half-time were insufficient to give the winless hosts a bonus point.
