I have only ever known Julian Assange in detention. For nine years now, I have visited him in England bearing Australian news and solidarity. To Ellingham Hall I brought music and chocolate, to the Ecuadorian embassy I brought flannel shirts, Rake, Wizz Fizz and eucalyptus leaves, but to Belmarsh prison you can bring nothing — not a gift, not a book, not a piece of paper. Then I returned to Australia, a country so far away that has abandoned him in almost every respect.

Over the years I have learned to not ask, 'How are you?', because it's bloody obvious how he is: detained, smeared, maligned, unfree, stuck — in ever-narrower, colder, darker and damper tunnels — pursued and punished for publishing. Over the years I've learned to not complain of the rain or remark on what a beautiful day it is, because he's been inside for so long that a blizzard would be a blessing. I've also learned that it is not comforting but cruel to speak of sunsets, kookaburras, road trips; it's not helpful to assure him that, like me and my dog, he will find animal tracks in the bush when he comes home, even though I think it almost every day.

It is the prolonged and intensifying nature of his confinement that hits me as I wait in the first line outside the front door of the brown-brick jail. At the visitor centre opposite I've been fingerprinted after showing two forms of proof of address and my passport. Sure to remove absolutely everything from my pockets, I've locked my bags, keeping only £20 to spend on chocolate and sandwiches. Despite the security theatre that follows, the money gets nicked at some point through no fewer than four passageways that are sealed from behind before the next door opens, a metal detector, being patted down and having my mouth and ears inspected. After putting our shoes back on, we visitors cross an outdoor area and are faced with the reality of the cage: grey steel-mesh fencing with razor wire that is about 4 metres high all around. I hurry into the next building before going into a room where thirty small tables are fixed to the floor, with one blue plastic chair facing three green plastic chairs at each.

According to the latest Census Bureau figures released this month, real American incomes remained essentially flat in 2018 after three straight years of growth. Median household income was $63,179 in 2018, an uptick of 0.9% that census officials said isn't statistically significant from the prior year based on figures adjusted for inflation.

The new figures showed that the number of full-time, year-round workers increased by 2.3 million. When looked at by race and ethnicity, median household incomes in America were essentially flat in 2018 for all groups except Asians, who saw theirs rise 4.6% from the previous year in real dollars.

The good news is that while income were flat, the poverty rate in 2018 decline modestly to 11.8%, a decrease of a half percentage point from 2017, marking the fourth consecutive annual decline in the national poverty rate. It was the first time the official poverty rate fell significantly below its level at the start of the recession in 2007.

Nationals of Afghanistan vote on Saturday to elect the country's president in an election that saw around 9.5 million people registered for casting their ballots. However, the election process was repeatedly disrupted by the attacks launched by the Taliban group which vowed to disrupt the vote.

A child died while nine people were injured in missile attacks in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

At least 10 missiles were fired at the city of Lashkar Gah and Gereshk town in the province.

Local authorities have not officially confirmed the casualties.

Rushdi Baker, 56, tied his boat to a pillar on the seaport edge in Gaza and turned his rolled-up fishing net from one side to the other. "That is Bibi, [Netanyahu]" he said, before turning the net over to the other side. "And that is [Benny] Gantz. Both are well-woven, for one duty."

Then leaving the harbor with three boxes of small crabs, Baker pointed at the sky: "We need a Christ or a miracle to change the situation in Gaza, since all Israel's political parties seek to screw us up."

After Israelis went to the polls last week, I talked to Palestinians in Gaza about the results. I found that many wondered, 'How and When will Gaza be wiped out?' — no matter by 'Who'.

• Survey reveals about two in five Americans are stressed out by the political climate, and one in five say they're even losing sleep.
• Nearly a third of those surveyed feel views expressed on cable news channels are driving them "crazy."
• Study author believes problem is akin to a public health crisis in the country.

The past few years in American politics have been tumultuous, to say the least. Personal political beliefs aside, there is no denying that the U.S. has grown especially divided in the wake of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election victory. Between social media bots, partisan news coverage, and the president's frequent Twitter posts, it has never been harder for the average American to avoid being bombarded with some type of political message on an almost hourly basis.

It isn't a stretch to assume that at some point all of that polarization would have a negative effect on the collective well being of the nation, and a new study conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has effectively confirmed this assumption. According to researchers, the current U.S. political climate is literally making Americans physically sick, damaging friendships, and driving many people "crazy."

Thousands of protesters in Haiti took to the streets to demand the resignation of President Jovenel Moise, setting businesses and government buildings ablaze in chaotic demonstrations prompted by claims of official corruption.

In Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, demonstrators looted a police station and made off with ammunition, ballistics vests and even office furniture on Friday. Elsewhere in the city, homes and businesses were set on fire. A courthouse in the city of Jacmel was also torched.

Police responded to the unrest with tear gas as protesters hurled stones and other projectiles.

Opposition leaders in Haiti have called for President Moise's ouster for months, citing failure to investigate allegations of embezzlement of state funds by the president's allies in the previous administration. Food and energy shortages, as well as soaring inflation, have also fueled the protests, which have often descended into violence. In September alone, four were killed in clashes with security forces.

A New Orleans radio station is claiming a homophobic tweet sent from its official Twitter account was actually sent by the gay staffer the message was targeting.

Earlier this month, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees was criticized for appearing in a video produced by Focus on the Family (FoF), an evangelical organization known for its zealous opposition to LGBT equality. The clip was promoting FoF's "Bring Your Bible to School Day" on October 3, but opponents slammed Brees for aligning at all with an organization that endorses conversion therapy and spent thousands to fight marriage equality.

Days later, Brees clarified he wasn't homophobic and didn't know about FoF's anti-gay agenda. In a video posted on Twitter, he claimed he did the PSA because he liked the message of people being "able to live out your faith with confidence."

A heartbroken mother pleaded for a New York City judge on Friday to give leniency to her Ivy League educated son, who was convicted for the execution-style murder of her husband.

Shelley Gilbert prepared a handwritten victim impact statement to read in Manhattan Supreme Court before Justice Melissa Jackson sentenced her son, Thomas Gilbert Jr., to 30 years to life in prison.

"My husband would still be alive today if we got him to a psychiatric hospital 15 years ago," Shelley Gilbert read, her voice cracking as Gilbert Jr. glanced at her over his right shoulder.

The 34-year-old Princeton University graduate was found guilty in June for killing his 70-year-old father, Thomas Gilbert Sr., on Jan. 4, 2015. Gilbert Sr., the founder of Wainscott Capital Partners, was found with a gunshot wound to the head inside the bedroom of his Beekman Place apartment.

The war against genders is still on. More than ever. After Céline Dion's "gender-neutral" clothing line for children (which contained horrifying symbolism), Mattel has released dolls that assume no identifiable gender.

The gender-neutral dolls of the new Creatable World toy line let kids accessorize the toy to be a boy, a girl, both or neither. The six dolls have different skin colors, hairstyles, and clothing to "celebrate the positive impact of inclusivity." Each customizable doll comes with long and short hair wigs, skirts, pants, shirts, jackets, hats, and various shoes. To achieve "gender-neutrality", Mattel toned down feminine and masculine features, such as Barbie's breasts and Ken's broad shoulders. The line is said to be geared towards kids who identify as gender-fluid, meaning they don't identify as having a fixed gender like male or female.

According to Mattel's website, the line is "designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in, giving kids the freedom to create their own customizable characters again and again".

The New York Times tried its hand at a Star Wars meme to celebrate the launch of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump - and proved what conservatives have been saying for years: the Left can't meme.

"A long time coming for a White House far from reality," the clip reads, before launching into scrolling text designed to mimic the opening to the Star Wars films. Titled "Episode 45," the meme features two and a half minutes of every misdeed - real and imagined - committed by Trump during his presidency, heavy on the Russiagate conspiracy theorizing.