US President Donald Trump on Monday announced a US$1 million reward for information about voter fraud, in a fresh bid to sow doubt ahead of the US midterms and push his false claim about winning the 2020 election. "Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. The president gave no details of how the reward would be funded or administered. With the November 3 elections just eight days away, polls show Democrats pulling ahead as Republicans fight to retain control of both chambers of Congress. A Democratic victory would threaten to stall Trump's agenda and expose his administration to congressional investigations during his final two years in office. Trump has repeatedly made baseless allegations about election fraud, including his claim that he won the 2020 presidential election. Studies have consistently found voter fraud exceptionally rare, particularly voting by non-citizens, which is already illegal in federal elections. Trump's announcement follows a series of extraordinary pre-election promises, including an offer of US$5,000 to every adult American citizen if Republicans retain both chambers – a proposal costing more than US$1 trillion that would require congressional approval. He has also tied compensation for veterans sickened by contaminated water at a North Carolina military base to a Republican victory. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has sued to prevent the state of Alaska from certifying its Senate election results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses, citing possible voter confusion over another candidate with the same name. Trump acknowledged personally ordering the lawsuit, although his attorney general denied seeking to overturn the election result. Edited by Cecil Wong

Microsoft is offering voluntary buyouts to about 60,000 employees, the company said on Monday, roughly a quarter of its workforce, as the tech giant seeks to cut costs while pouring money into artificial intelligence. Staff on select teams in the United States, Canada, India and Britain at vice president level and below will be eligible, a Microsoft spokesperson said, while some groups of employees, including some working on data centres, sales and marketing, are excluded. "The Voluntary Exit Offer reflects an important part of how we're evolving our approach to change: creating greater flexibility and, where possible, more ways for employees to shape their next chapter," Amy Coleman, an executive vice president and chief people officer, told employees in a memo. It's the second voluntary buyout offer that Microsoft has offered employees this year. In April, the company reportedly offered around seven percent of its US workforce the option to retire early. Around 30 percent of those eligible took the voluntary retirement plan, according to CNBC. Microsoft had 223,000 employees globally at the end of June, down from 228,000 at the end of 2025, according to regulatory filings. Around 27 percent of Microsoft's workforce is eligible for the new buyout offer. The company is expected to report quarterly earnings later this week. (AFP) Edited by Cecil Wong

Bayern Munich striker becomes the first Englishman to win the prestigious award in 25 years, after Michael Owen in 2001.

Israel has committed the crime against humanity of "extermination" in the West Bank, while continuing to commit "genocide" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, United Nations-mandated investigators said on Monday. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry said Israeli forces had also committed other crimes against humanity and war crimes in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. The commission, which does not speak for the UN itself, first determined in a September 2025 report that Israel had committed "genocide" in the war in Gaza following Hamas's deadly October 7, 2023 attack on Israel – a finding Israel flatly rejects. In a new report, released the day before Israel's general election, the investigation found that in the West Bank, through military operations reinforced by sustained settler violence, Israel has waged a "widespread and systematic attack" against civilians. "The Israeli authorities and forces have committed the crimes against humanity of extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence in the West Bank, as well as persecution based on intersecting discriminatory grounds, with nationality, race and ethnicity at its core," it said. Israel rejected the allegations, with its foreign ministry on X calling it "a propaganda document detached from reality, aimed at undermining Israel's right to self-defence" and "legitimising jihadist terrorism". The three-member investigative team was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. South African former High Court judge Navi Pillay, who chaired the investigation until November 2025, won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month. The commission's new report focused on killings and bodily and mental harm caused by both Israeli and Palestinian security forces since October 2023. It found that the situation in the West Bank had deteriorated gravely since Hamas' attack from Gaza that month. The commission found Israeli authorities "intended to collectively punish" West Bank civilians for the Hamas attack. "The targeting of Palestinian civilians across different locations in the West Bank indicates a high level of coordination and organised planning and is the product of state policy," the report said. The conduct of Israeli authorities indicates that "they knew and intended settler violence" to be part of the widespread and systematic attack, it added. "The intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank combined with Israel's persistent denial of responsibility form part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unliveable," said commission chairman Srinivasan Muralidhar. "Attempting to equate Palestinian statehood with a threat to the existence of Israel is blocking any viable attempts to realise Palestinians' right to self-determination," the Indian judge said in a statement. The report cited cases where the commission concluded that Israeli forces intended to seriously harm and kill civilians, in acts amounting to war crimes, including wilful killing. The October 2023 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's military offensive, in response, has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. "The cases investigated for this report show that the Israeli authorities and forces continue to commit genocidal acts with the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in Gaza," the report said. The inquiry urged Israel to "end the commission of genocide in Gaza" and act immediately on "obligations to prevent and punish genocide and incitement to genocide". Israel should "immediately end the unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory", and remove all settlers and settlements. Turning to the Palestinian Authority, the report said that "Palestinian state violence has targeted and continues to target members of opposing Palestinian armed groups and repress Palestinian civil and political opposition". The Palestinian Authority struggles with credibility and legitimacy, and "targets Palestinians who voice dissenting civil and political views... resulting in killings", it said. "The Palestinian Authority has also failed to conduct prompt, effective and impartial investigations into incidents of killings." There was no immediate reaction from the Palestinian Authority. As the report was presented to the UN General Assembly in New York, Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour said "governments must move beyond statements and take concrete measures to protect the Palestinian people". (AFP) Edited by Cecil Wong