Harris Has $404 Million to Spend as Strong August Fundraising Puts Her Ahead of Trump 

A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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Harris Has $404 Million to Spend as Strong August Fundraising Puts Her Ahead of Trump 

A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)

Kamala Harris's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party raised $361 million in August, leaving her with a clear cash advantage over Republican rival Donald Trump with two months to go before Election Day, the campaign said on Friday.

It said the August haul left Harris with $404 million in cash on hand at the beginning of September.

Trump's campaign team said on Wednesday that it and the Republican Party raised $130 million in August, leaving $295 million cash on hand at the end of the month.

The two candidates will spend more than $1 billion in this campaign, breaking records, according to regulatory filings. Trump and Harris are using the money to run advertisements and build get-out-the-vote operations in the closely contested states that will decide the election.

The fundraising totals, which are reported to US election regulators, are closely watched for signs of momentum ahead of the tightly contested Nov. 5 election.

The totals do not include the money raised by outside groups supporting each candidate.

A key test for both candidates will come at their televised debate on Tuesday, the first since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as his successor on July 21.

Harris' candidacy has re-energized Democrats and donors, and she has had a surge in opinion polls.

Three-quarters of the 1.3 million new donors to Harris in August did not contribute in the last presidential election in 2020, her campaign said. It said more than six in 10 donors in August were women, and nearly one in five were registered Republicans or independents.

Nonetheless, polling averages show it is a tight race in the battleground states that will decide the election, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
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France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
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Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
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UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.