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HONG KONG, Nov 9 (Reuters) – China is willing to pursue stronger ties with Iran, China’s special envoy to the Middle East Zhai Jun said in talks with Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Zhai met Kani in Iran, according to a readout from China’s foreign ministry on Monday. He is visiting Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia this month, as China steps up efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East. • There needs to be a “focus on political solutions with a rational and pragmatic spirit, and promote the early restoration of stability and development in the region,” Zhai said • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in separate meetings with Iranian and Saudi national security officials, has ‌said all parties in the Middle East conflict should focus on political solutions rather than resorting to arms again • President Xi Jinping has also previously said China was willing to work with African countries to address ‌the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict (Reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong, Andrew Silver in Shanghai and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Sonali Paul) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

PARIS, Nov 9 (Reuters) – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and hard-left rival Jean-Luc Melenchon consolidated their lead in voting intention ahead of next year’s presidential election, a poll showed on Monday, as political polarisation in the country intensifies. • Le Pen would top the first-round vote with between 34% and 36% depending on the scenarios tested by pollster Toluna Harris Interactive in a survey carried out between November 3 and 5 • A similar poll last month showed her at between 35% and 37% • Melenchon, the candidate of the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, is seen reaching a run-off in all five scenarios polled, with either 18% or 19% • Le Pen is seen beating Melenchon easily in a run-off • As Macron’s second and final five-year term comes to ​an end, the unpopular president leaves behind a hollowed-out political centre and weak economy, creating an opening for hardline parties • Melenchon has already run three times for president in 2012, 2017 and 2022, but never managed to reach the second round. Le Pen also ran in those same three elections and lost in the second round in 2017 and 2022 to Macron (Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Toby Chopra) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) – The next edition of the Rugby League World Cup will be played in a series of ‘Magic Rounds’ in five cities across the Pacific and United States, International Rugby League (IRL) board chief Troy Grant said on Monday.  The “Magic Round”, where all the teams in a competition play matches in a single city over one weekend, is already well established in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL).  “The World Cup will arrive in town, the stadium will be activated and there will be a lot of opportunities to promote the teams and the game,” Grant told a news conference in Sydney.   “The World Cup will then move to the next city that is identified. There are three weeks where every nation is involved and then we have semi-finals and finals.”  The success of Tonga and Samoa at the current World Cup, when they both reached the semi-finals and their group match was among the highlights of the tournament, has sparked huge interest among the US diaspora of the Pacific island nations. The US accounted for almost 80 percent of streaming subscriptions for matches in the current tournament, the IRL said in a statement.  “This is a strategy to maximise the interest of broadcasters, government partners and fans in the current World Cup,” Grant added.  “At the same time we want to take advantage of opportunities that are opening up in new frontiers where the Rugby League World Cup hasn’t previously been played.”  While rugby league is not played widely in the US, the NRL has enjoyed some success by taking some opening round matches to Las Vegas in the last two seasons. Grant said the 2030 men’s tournament would feature 12 nations, up from 10 this year, and the women’s competition would again be played concurrently with two more teams to take the total up to 10. The IRL said the Australian Rugby League Commission had delivered the “most successful World Cup since the concept began in 1954” over the last month and would also stage the 2030 edition.   The IRL has also further eased eligibility rules to allow players to represent their nation of heritage “if either they, a parent, a grandparent or a great grandparent were born there”.  Grant said the IRL had also started discussions with Samoa, who were World Cup finalists in 2022, and Tonga, who beat England at this year’s tournament, about elevating them to Tier 1 status. Samoa prop Spencer Leniu said World Cup organisers needed to urgently tackle the pay disparity between the Pacific island nations and the likes of Australia.  “Let’s be honest, our little nations carried this (World Cup). Yet we are paid $850 a game to the Aussies $30/40k for the tournament,” the 26-year-old wrote on social media on Monday.    “There’s no secret that they’ve used our people to sell games … (Our) passion shouldn’t be an excuse to overlook what we contribute and what we deserve. “I believe if they are going to use that as a tool to generate money, our little nations should be compensated fairly for it.” Australia and New Zealand will meet in the finals of both the men’s and women’s World Cups on Sunday at Brisbane’s Lang Park.       (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

Nov 9 (Reuters) – Tesla will have to refund Cybertruck deposits for many customers as orders far exceed production capacity, CEO Elon Musk said, following last week’s announcement that the electric vehicle maker is winding down the pickup truck’s production at its Texas factory. “We will try to make as many as possible before shutting down the line in about 8 months, but will have to return deposits for a lot of people,” the billionaire said in a post on X on Monday. The comments come after Musk said Tesla would add an extra production shift to fulfill outstanding Cybertruck orders before dismantling the production line next year to expand output of its Cybercab robotaxi. The production wind down is slated for mid-2027, Musk announced on Friday, with the resources being redirected to the Cybercab, a vehicle central to the automaker’s autonomous-driving ambitions. Tesla began delivering the Cybertruck in late 2023, but demand has fallen far short of Musk’s expectations. US sales fell 48% to 20,237 units last year, according to Kelley Blue Book, well below Musk’s earlier projection that annual Cybertruck sales could reach 250,000 vehicles. (Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Janane Venkatraman) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

Nov 9 (Reuters) – Alex Eala said she is looking forward to lying low for a while after her breakout campaign ended on Sunday with a 6-3 6-0 defeat by American Claire Liu in the Hong Kong Open final. The 21-year-old, who became the highest-ranked Filipino and Southeast Asian player in WTA history earlier this season, has become a fan favourite this year and her run in Hong Kong will lift her to a career-high 15th in the world rankings. Eala won her first WTA Tour-level title at the Washington Open in August and claimed seven wins over top-10 players across the year. She also won a bronze medal at the Asian Games last month. “I didn’t know that was on the cards for me, to end the year at 15th,” she told reporters after the Hong Kong final. “This whole season, just to top it off with ending the year 15th, it’s like dreams are only dreams until they’re not.” Asked what her goals were for 2027, Eala said she had not spent much time thinking about next season. “I’ve been really enjoying the fruits of my labour of this year. Just because it’s been one (tournament) and then the other and then the other… “I’m going to spend time with my family, just lay low, disappear for a little bit,” she added. “Yeah, those are my plans. Just to disappear.” (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com