Global Edition

Democrats seize US House, near Senate takeover in mauling for Trump's Republicans

BY FRANKIE TAGGART WITH GREG WALTON IN DETROIT AND ELODIE SOINARD IN ATLANTA

  • Trump had made repeated campaign visits to Texas, including for the Republican midterm convention.
  • Democrats won the US House of Representatives Tuesday and closed in on control of the Senate after a stunning victory in deeply conservative Texas, inflicting a sweeping midterm defeat on President Donald Trump's Republicans.
  • Trump had made repeated campaign visits to Texas, including for the Republican midterm convention.
Democrats won the US House of Representatives Tuesday and closed in on control of the Senate after a stunning victory in deeply conservative Texas, inflicting a sweeping midterm defeat on President Donald Trump's Republicans.
A fourth Republican Senate seat fell to Democrats in Ohio, where former senator Sherrod Brown won his comeback bid. The party has now gained the four seats needed to overturn the Republicans' 53-47 majority, provided it holds all its own seats -- some of which remain uncalled.
The election amounted to a nationwide rebuke of Trump's turbulent second term, driven by anger over living costs, tariffs and the war he launched against Iran, which has driven fuel prices sharply higher.
US media projected a Democratic takeover of the House, giving the opposition the power to obstruct Trump's legislative agenda and launch far-reaching investigations of his administration.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries declared Trump's MAGA movement "on the run from sea to shining sea."
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican attorney general Ken Paxton for a Senate seat, while Gina Hinojosa unseated veteran Republican Governor Greg Abbott, media projections showed.
The double upset shook a cornerstone of American conservatism where no Democrat had won statewide office since 1994. Hinojosa will become Texas's first Latina governor, ending three decades of Republican control.
Trump had made repeated campaign visits to Texas, including for the Republican midterm convention.
 

Republican strongholds breached

 
The other Senate gains came in South Carolina, where pediatrician Annie Andrews won a startling upset, and North Carolina, where former governor Roy Cooper defeated Trump's chosen candidate.
Democrats also defended their own seats in Georgia, where Jon Ossoff won reelection, and New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate.
The House victory was underpinned by Democratic gains across Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Arizona, North Carolina and New Jersey, as even heavily Republican districts proved competitive.
In Indiana, Democrat J.D. Ford ousted Republican congresswoman Victoria Spartz in a district Trump carried by 17 points in 2024. Political analysts had identified the contest as an early bellwether for a possible Democratic wave.
Democrats also won Georgia's governorship, electing former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the first Black woman governor in US history.
Republicans retained Florida's Senate seat and governorship, however, with Trump ally Byron Donalds becoming the state's first Black governor.
George Washington University political scientist Todd Belt described the results to AFP as "a big wipeout and a strong repudiation of Donald Trump and his policies," citing anxiety over the economy, corruption and the Iran war.
 

'Lawyer up'

 
The Democratic House majority could block legislation and investigate the war, deportations and allegations of corruption, while Senate control would enable the party to thwart Trump's judicial and senior administration appointments.
Robert Garcia, expected to head the powerful House Oversight Committee, had a blunt warning on social media for Republicans: "LAWYER UP."
Ossoff accused Trump of "depravity, corruption and incompetence."
A White House official told AFP that the president's mood was "defiant" and warned he would fight the "radical left."
But Trump offered a more conciliatory response to the New York Times, saying he was "absolutely willing to accept those results" and expected to work out deals with Democrats.
His comments contrasted with years of unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud and his attempt to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat.
Yet he also insisted on Truth Social that Republicans would have won "IN A LANDSLIDE" if he had been running, despite spending the campaign repeatedly urging supporters to "pretend I'm on the ballot."
For voters, affordability was central. "Rent, groceries, utility bills, and property taxes keep climbing," 24-year-old Los Angeles voter Taylor Cook told AFP, calling for Congress to tackle the squeeze.
ft/sms

Global Edition

Democratic gains mount in US midterms as Trump faces bruising verdict

BY FRANKIE TAGGART WITH GREG WALTON IN DETROIT AND ELODIE SOINARD IN ATLANTA

  • Democrats captured a Republican-held House seat in North Carolina, in a district Trump won comfortably in 2024, while several contests in Florida suggested that redrawn electoral boundaries might not deliver the gains Republicans had hoped for.
  • Democrats notched a string of early victories in US midterm elections Tuesday, flipping a Republican-held Senate seat and making inroads in conservative House districts as President Donald Trump faced the prospect of a bruising election setback.
  • Democrats captured a Republican-held House seat in North Carolina, in a district Trump won comfortably in 2024, while several contests in Florida suggested that redrawn electoral boundaries might not deliver the gains Republicans had hoped for.
Democrats notched a string of early victories in US midterm elections Tuesday, flipping a Republican-held Senate seat and making inroads in conservative House districts as President Donald Trump faced the prospect of a bruising election setback.
The opposition party also retained key Senate seats, while victory in Georgia's governor race added to mounting signs that Republicans face a difficult night.
The vote was a nationwide judgment on Trump's turbulent second term, with discontent over living costs, tariffs and the US war against Iran -- which has driven fuel prices sharply higher -- weighing on the president and his party.
Alarm bells went off early for Republicans as counting started.
Democrats captured a Republican-held House seat in North Carolina, in a district Trump won comfortably in 2024, while several contests in Florida suggested that redrawn electoral boundaries might not deliver the gains Republicans had hoped for.
Although control of Congress remained undecided, those results raised the possibility of a wider Democratic advance into territory normally considered safe for Trump's party.
In a further blow to Republicans, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was projected to win Georgia's governorship, becoming the nation's first Black woman governor and ending 24 years of Republican rule.
There were important Republican victories, however.
In Florida, Trump-backed Byron Donalds won the governor's race, becoming the state's first Black governor, while Republican Ashley Moody retained a US Senate seat.
 

Senate breakthrough

 
Democrat Roy Cooper, a popular former North Carolina governor, delivered one of the night's most consequential results by defeating Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman handpicked by Trump.
North Carolina has voted for Trump three times, but Cooper campaigned on a pledge to lower living costs and will replace retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who had clashed with the president.
In Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff, a rising Democratic figure seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, defeated his Republican challenger and preserved a seat the party needed to defend.
Democrats also held an open Senate seat in New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas won election to become the first openly gay man to serve in the chamber.
Republicans began the night with 53 of the Senate's 100 seats, leaving Democrats needing a net gain of four for control. All 435 House seats were contested, with Democrats needing to flip just three.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters the country was "on the brink of a dramatic change of direction."
 

Trump faces constraints

 
If Democrats capture the House, they could block Trump's legislative plans and use congressional committees to investigate his administration over the Iran war, deportations and alleged corruption.
A Senate takeover would go further, allowing them to block judicial nominees and senior administration appointments, fundamentally changing Trump's ability to govern during the final two years of his presidency.
For voters, the fight was often about the cost of everyday life.
"Rent, groceries, utility bills, and property taxes keep climbing, and I want people in Congress who will actually do something about costs," 24-year-old Los Angeles voter Taylor Cook told AFP.
Trump defended his record in a final television appearance Tuesday, praising his tariffs, immigration crackdown and military campaign against Iran.
"We have to keep America great. We're great now. We were terrible two years ago," the 80-year-old told Fox News.
Reflecting Trump's rhetoric, Republican voter Maru Restrepo, 70, told AFP in Miami that Democrats had become "very socialist," reflecting the fierce ideological divisions of the campaign.
Uncertainty remained over whether Trump would accept an unfavorable result. He has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and tried to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat.
"I veto everything," Trump said in a podcast released Monday, contemplating the possibility of a Democratic Congress before adding that he might eventually negotiate deals.
ft/sms
 

politics

New Zealand votes with economy, cost of living in focus

BY BEN STRANG

  • The economy and rising unemployment rounded out the top five issues, according to the poll.
  • New Zealanders are voting this week in an election focused on rising costs of living and the economy, as pollsters forecast a tight contest and neither main party close to winning a majority.
  • The economy and rising unemployment rounded out the top five issues, according to the poll.
New Zealanders are voting this week in an election focused on rising costs of living and the economy, as pollsters forecast a tight contest and neither main party close to winning a majority.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is hoping his right-wing coalition can cling to power with a message of "no new taxes" and by painting his opponents as an unpredictable alliance of left-wingers.
But the opposition Labour Party is banking that voter worries about costs of living will see it returned to office.
Here's what you need to know about the poll: 
 

What are the key issues? 

 
The cost of living is the biggest issue for voters, according to the RNZ-Reid Research Poll run by New Zealand's public broadcaster.
Sixty-four percent of respondents said inflation and rising costs were their biggest concerns, followed by the state of New Zealand's healthcare system and then petrol prices.
The economy and rising unemployment rounded out the top five issues, according to the poll.
 

Who's running?

 
Luxon, a millionaire businessman-turned-politician, has led his National Party to worrying lows in polls and had to fend off two leadership challenges this year.
Luxon has told AFP he sees himself as a "super salesman" for the country and would push for more free-trade deals if re-elected.
His main opponent is Labour former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who succeeded Jacinda Ardern in 2023 and has seized on National's inability to curb the cost of living to revive his party's fortunes.
But with polls suggesting neither will win an outright majority in parliament, both will need help from minor parties to govern.
On the left, the Green Party has surged to record support by focusing on living costs, with plans to take on New Zealand's supermarket duopoly and impose a wealth tax on the country's richest residents.
On the right, populist Winston Peters and his NZ First -- known for colourful and controversial language at home and abroad -- have pledged swingeing cuts to immigration and to pull the country out of the Paris Climate Accord.
And the libertarian ACT party -- led by former "Dancing With The Stars" contestant David Seymour -- forms the third pillar of the right-wing alliance that has ruled New Zealand since 2023.
In the centre, Qiulae Wong of the Opportunity Party stands as a potential kingmaker, promising greater action on climate change and a kinder, more empathetic style of politics.
 

When does the voting start and end?

 
It's already begun.
New Zealanders have been able to cast their votes since October 26.
Saturday is the final day of voting, with polls set to close at 7:00 pm (0600 GMT).
An exit poll is expected to be released immediately.
 

How are the votes tallied?

 
New Zealand's mixed-member proportional (MMP) system requires two votes -- one for a party and one for a local electorate candidate.
Electorate winners earn a seat in the typically 120-seat parliament, as do the highest-ranked members of the party based on their national party vote.
All votes are counted by hand, not by machine.
An initial count happens on election night, before official counting begins, to be concluded by November 27.
The official count includes special votes cast by New Zealanders who are overseas or away from home during the voting period.
 

What's at stake?

 
Polls have the election on a knife edge, with many different scenarios swaying the vote one way or another.
If the right-wing coalition retains power, it may come from an effort to create an "overhang" in the MMP system.
That happens when a party wins more electorate seats than its share of the party vote entitles it to.
For instance, if one party wins 10 percent of the party vote, it should get 12 seats. But if it also wins 13 electorate races, then parliament creates an extra, overhang seat for it, pushing up its total to 121.
If the National Party wins enough seats to govern, Luxon's second term will focus on growing international trade while continuing to cut back on what the coalition deem unnecessary costs in government.
ACT and NZ First have also campaigned on limiting the powers of the Waitangi Tribunal, a permanent commission of inquiry investigating the crown's treatment of indigenous Maori.
Should the Labour Party claim victory with a left-wing coalition, it will almost certainly require the support of upstarts Opportunity, if the latter can get over the five-percent threshold for entry into parliament.
Labour has vowed to quickly introduce a capital gains tax as a means to pay for a suite of cost-of-living relief packages, such as free doctors' visits and price-capped public transport.
bes-oho/mjw

US

Trump confirms strikes on Iran as Tehran warns against return to war

  • - 'Iran wants a settlement' - The war, triggered in February when the United States and Israel pummelled Iran in a massive wave of strikes, has been at a stalemate for months.
  • President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the United States launched strikes on Iran, as Tehran warned no one would benefit from a return to war.
  • - 'Iran wants a settlement' - The war, triggered in February when the United States and Israel pummelled Iran in a massive wave of strikes, has been at a stalemate for months.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the United States launched strikes on Iran, as Tehran warned no one would benefit from a return to war.
It came as US voters prepared to cast their ballots in midterm elections that threaten Trump's grip on power.
But Trump played down speculation he was preparing to resume bombing Iran once the polls were out of the way.
"We seem to be getting everything we want," Trump told Britain's Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday.
"I'm ready, we're ready. We're locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no reason for it."
Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Islamic republic was "ready for battle with its finger on the trigger", while Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran retained the right to "legitimate self-defence" after the strikes.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government was still trying to resolve the crisis "through dialogue" though, adding that "no one will benefit from this war" if it reignited.
Pezeshkian emphasised that the country's supreme leader had recently granted the government new powers to negotiate issues that were previously "off-limits".
Trump confirmed the strikes on Iran in an interview with Fox News, after US media reported strikes on Tehran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
"They built an anti-aircraft facility... As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night very nicely," Trump said on the "Fox & Friends" show, adding that it was a "minor attack".

'Iran wants a settlement'

The war, triggered in February when the United States and Israel pummelled Iran in a massive wave of strikes, has been at a stalemate for months.
An Israeli military spokesperson told AFP that Israel was not involved in the latest reported strikes.
The Qeshm attack came just hours after Trump signalled that a deal with Tehran "could happen", shortly before polls opened in the midterms dominated by public dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it has stoked.
"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Ghalibaf said Iran had made its position clear and that "the ball is now in America's court to prevent war".
Qatar, a mediator in protracted indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran, said it remained hopeful of an interim deal in the war.
Both sides "are currently reviewing the ideas and proposals we have presented," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters.
"We remain hopeful that there is still a chance for a deal to take place," he said, adding Doha was working "towards an interim deal".
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed on Monday that indirect negotiations were taking place.

Reopen the strait

US Vice President JD Vance said both he and Trump were optimistic about securing an agreement.
"We've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more," Vance told reporters on Monday.
A senior Iranian official said that Tehran was ready to reopen Hormuz, a key energy corridor, within two days but only if Washington agreed to its long-standing list of demands.
In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the strait, with demands including ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
"The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran's good-faith approach," Tehran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters at a briefing.
In the lead-up to Tuesday's vote, Trump kept up his threats against Tehran, saying on Sunday that the United States may have to give Iran "the hammer" at some unspecified time.
The threat came after the US leader said he still had to "take care" of one or two targets, including so-called Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, a suspected nuclear site which Tehran denies is such a facility.
Iranian officials have repeatedly warned of wide-ranging retaliation if Washington resumes the war.
bur/ser/ris/jsa/rh/cms/fox

diplomacy

North Korea signals little appetite for renewed US dialogue

  • "It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons who refuse to abandon their policy of confrontation while talking about dialogue," she said, according to state news agency KCNA. "The choice for peace includes dialogue of course, but this is not surely equated with national interests for us."
  • The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signalled little appetite for renewed dialogue with Washington, saying Pyongyang had "no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons".
  • "It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons who refuse to abandon their policy of confrontation while talking about dialogue," she said, according to state news agency KCNA. "The choice for peace includes dialogue of course, but this is not surely equated with national interests for us."
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signalled little appetite for renewed dialogue with Washington, saying Pyongyang had "no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons".
Kim Yo Jong's comments appeared to dampen hopes of a meeting this month with US President Donald Trump, who has made several overtures towards her brother, Kim Jong Un.
The remarks came after the FBI attributed North Korea to the theft of more than $6 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance, allegations Kim Yo Jong had previously slammed as "a grave political provocation".
"It is our clear stand that we have no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons who refuse to abandon their policy of confrontation while talking about dialogue," she said, according to state news agency KCNA.
"The choice for peace includes dialogue of course, but this is not surely equated with national interests for us."
Kim Yo Jong accused Washington of pursuing an "invariable hostile policy" towards Pyongyang, citing the Binance allegations, US-South Korean military drills and American demands for North Korea's denuclearisation.
"In the present reality when new records are being set in the implementation of the US hostile policy toward the DPRK, it is natural that new records should be created in our reflective counteraction," Kim Yo Jong said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.
She did not specify what countermeasures Pyongyang might take.
 

'Putting pressure'

 
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said Kim Yo Jong's comments lowered the "priority of dialogue while putting pressure on the United States".
"The latest statement uses the issue as an opportunity to condemn the entire US policy of pressure against North Korea, marking a shift from defence to offence," he told AFP. 
It "reduces the possibility of resolving issues through dialogue and warns that North Korea will respond with 'a new level of countermeasures' as the United States increases its pressure," he added.
The FBI said Saturday that a North Korea-affiliated hacking group called TraderTraitor had been behind the Binance hack.
"We do not regard the 'Binance' hacking incident as any accidental and sudden case or isolated private scheme, but as an extension of Washington's invariable hostile policy toward the DPRK," Kim Yo Jong said Wednesday.
"Clearly, the US malicious attempt to get a political and strategic profit by abusing the case is producing a political side effect."
Experts believe the October 29 hack is the biggest ever cryptocurrency heist.
But Trump struck a more cautious note when asked about the Binance hack.
"Well, we're learning about it. I'm not concerned. We're learning about it. We don't know if it's North Korea but if it is we'll talk to North Korea about it," he said.
Binance released on Tuesday a detailed investigation into the $6 billion hack of its cryptocurrency platform, showing how attackers used fake job interviews and malicious code to steal the funds.
The attack took place over about four hours on October 29, with the crypto exchange saying around $2.85 billion of the $6.34 billion stolen had been frozen, preventing the hackers from using the funds or converting them into other currencies.
hs/abs

politics

Chile protest demands minister resign over reduced sex abuse sentences

  • The abusers "have to go back (to prison), they have to be separated from society as a whole," said cook Carmen Soto, 42, as she held a placard calling on Justice Minister Fernando Rabat to step down.
  • A protest calling on Chile's justice minister to resign over reduced sentences for at least 56 child sex offenders drew hundreds of people outside the presidential palace on Tuesday.
  • The abusers "have to go back (to prison), they have to be separated from society as a whole," said cook Carmen Soto, 42, as she held a placard calling on Justice Minister Fernando Rabat to step down.
A protest calling on Chile's justice minister to resign over reduced sentences for at least 56 child sex offenders drew hundreds of people outside the presidential palace on Tuesday.
Purple scarves hung around the necks of some 500 women as they sang feminist chants and danced in front of hard-right President Jose Antonio Kast's residence.
The abusers "have to go back (to prison), they have to be separated from society as a whole," said cook Carmen Soto, 42, as she held a placard calling on Justice Minister Fernando Rabat to step down.
"I'm really angry because all of us at some point have gone through some form of abuse," she told AFP.
Two weeks ago, local outlet Interferencia revealed that the sentences of a group of convicted rapists and other sexual offenders would be reduced.
The news pushed Kast's approval rating further down to 26 percent -- a new low of his eight-month-old presidency -- according to pollster Cadem.
The president himself has said that the state "failed" the victims.
"They're cutting funds for health care, they're cutting funds everywhere, which is already serious, but this is like the cherry on top," said Aurora Gonzalez, a 47-year-old administrator.
Rabat has said that he was following a Supreme Court guideline and could not refuse to apply the sentence reductions.
The opposition announced it will request an impeachment trial against Rabat in Congress, the first against a Kast-appointed minister.
Rabat has already garnered criticism over his past career as a lawyer, during which he defended former dictator Augusto Pinochet in a case of alleged embezzlement of public funds.
The case was closed following Pinochet's death.
axl/gta/cc/des

pope

Pope Leo's Argentina visit: consolation for Francis no-show

BY LEILA MACOR

  • The last pope to visit Argentina was John Paul II in 1987.
  • Pope Leo XIV's upcoming trip to Argentina, the first papal visit in 39 years, is a sort of consolation prize for the homeland of predecessor Francis, who disappointed his compatriots by never returning as pontiff.
  • The last pope to visit Argentina was John Paul II in 1987.
Pope Leo XIV's upcoming trip to Argentina, the first papal visit in 39 years, is a sort of consolation prize for the homeland of predecessor Francis, who disappointed his compatriots by never returning as pontiff.
At the entrance to Buenos Aires Cathedral, where the late Pope Francis served as archbishop for 15 years, a TV screen shows images of him kissing the feet of the faithful. 
Next to it, a poster advertises the open-air mass that US-born Leo will celebrate next Monday in Buenos Aires, on the second-leg of his South American tour.
The memory of Francis, Latin America's first pope, looms large over the visit of his successor.
For 23-year-old Sol Burgos, his arrival is a source of solace.
"Argentina was deeply hurt to lose its pope," she told AFP at the door of the cathedral.
But Pope Leo's close ties to the world's most Catholic continent, cultivated over long years as a missionary and then archbishop in Peru, helped smooth the transition, she said.
"Thank God the new pope has also had a connection with Latin America!"
 

Avoiding 'political earthquake'

 
Francis visited several countries in Latin America, including neighboring Brazil, during his 12 years as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.
But he studiously avoided his own, an absence that disappointed many and fueled ongoing speculation about why.
The most widely held view is that he feared a visit would be seen as endorsing the divisive center-left Peronist movement in power for much of his papacy, until Libertarian President Javier Milei's win in 2023.
"He couldn't or didn't want to come," Ruben Lozano, a 73-year-old from the northern province of Santa Fe, said on a recent visit to the capital.
"In order to avoid creating divisions he (Francis) said to himself: 'OK, I won't go to Argentina for the moment and everything will remain peaceful.'"
Milei, who before becoming president copiously attacked Francis over his criticisms of capitalism and perceived leftist political stances, took the same view.
"I have no doubt that Pope Francis wanted to come, and I think he didn't come because he knew that if he did, it would cause a political earthquake," Milei told Argentina's Radio Mitre last month. 
In a 2023 book-length interview, Francis argued being pope was a political role but that he drew the line at party politics.
The current archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Garcia Cuerva, has downplayed comparisons between the current and former Vatican leaders.
"The successor of Peter (regarded as the first pope) is coming, not the successor of Francis," he said in August.
 

Mending divisions

 
Leo will be greeted by Milei at the foot of his plane when he arrives on Sunday from Uruguay.
After a giant open-air mass in the capital he will travel to the central city of Cordoba and to a basilica near Buenos Aires that attracts millions of pilgrims each year.
The last pope to visit Argentina was John Paul II in 1987.
Garcia Cuerva has billed the new papal visit as a chance to mend divisions in Argentine society, between the rich and poor, left and right.
Leo will land in a country reeling after three years of biting austerity -- Milei's cure for years of overspending and rampant inflation.
The Catholic Church has fiercely criticized the price paid by the poor for Milei's swingeing budget cuts and deregulation.
Taking a leaf from Francis's book, Leo has put the poor and marginalized at the center of his papacy. 
"I see Leo as a sort of continuation...of the imprint that Francis left on the Vatican and the church," said Lozano.
lm-pbl/cb/des

security

Bomb threats disrupt Europe flights

  • - Jets scrambled - Italian air force jets were earlier scrambled to escort Ryanair flight FR9611 from Dublin as it landed at Rome-Fiumicino at 10:45 am (0945 GMT), Rome Airport said in a statement.
  • About 10 European flights were targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday, forcing the brief closure of a Warsaw airport and the scrambling of air force planes in Rome, authorities said.
  • - Jets scrambled - Italian air force jets were earlier scrambled to escort Ryanair flight FR9611 from Dublin as it landed at Rome-Fiumicino at 10:45 am (0945 GMT), Rome Airport said in a statement.
About 10 European flights were targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday, forcing the brief closure of a Warsaw airport and the scrambling of air force planes in Rome, authorities said.
No explosives were found, despite extensive searches on the ground after the planes all took off and landed safely in different European cities just several hours apart. 
Irish budget carrier Ryanair appeared to be the worst hit, with four of its flights to different destinations being targeted.
London's Metropolitan police confirmed it "was made aware of threats... against four aircraft due to depart from or arrive at Heathrow Airport" Tuesday, one of Europe's busiest air hubs.
It gave no further details, but also said there was a further warning about a flight at Manchester Airport.
Following checks "no security issues were identified", the Met police added.
Two bomb warnings targeted planes heading to the Polish capital Warsaw, including an SAS Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen and one from Heathrow operated by Polish airline LOT, Polish airport authorities said.
Aena, the Spanish airport operator, confirmed an emergency protocol was activated "due to a bomb alert" on a Ryanair flight which landed at 10:30 am (0930 GMT) from Manchester at Murcia in southeastern Spain. The plane arrived without problems.
Other Ryanair flights from Lisbon to Rome, Dublin to Rome, and Dublin to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia also received warnings.
A Panama-flagged cruiseship, meanwhile, was evacuated late Tuesday in the island of Syros following a bomb threat, the Greek coastguard said.
The Crown Iris was anchored there and bound for Haifa in Israel with around 1,500 passengers and crew on board. No explosive device was found and the ship was due to resume its journey, they said.

Jets scrambled

Italian air force jets were earlier scrambled to escort Ryanair flight FR9611 from Dublin as it landed at Rome-Fiumicino at 10:45 am (0945 GMT), Rome Airport said in a statement.
Anti-bomb procedures were also put in place when an earlier Ryanair flight arrived at 9:40 am (0840 GMT) at the airport. "Checks on passengers, luggage and the plane were all negative and the alert was lifted," the statement added. 
A Wizz Air flight from Bergamo, Italy, was inspected after landing at 0910 GMT in the Bulgarian capital Sofia following an alert, a Bulgarian interior ministry spokesperson told AFP.
The incidents all come after fighter jets were scrambled on Monday when a Wizz Air flight from London's Luton airport to Sofia was diverted following a bomb threat and forced to make an emergency stop in Budapest.
Scandinavian Airlines said it could "confirm that a threat has been made against flight SK751 between Copenhagen and Warsaw" but the plane landed Tuesday without any problem.
It arrived at Warsaw's Chopin airport, which closed one runway as the plane underwent a security inspection, but no explosives were found.
The LOT flight, which had also been scheduled to arrive at Chopin, was diverted to the Polish capital's other airport, Warsaw Modlin.
Authorities closed that airport following the alert, but the Boeing 737 MAX also landed safely. "Nothing was found," Modlin airport spokesman Adam Szablowski told AFP.
Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said on Facebook that on Monday NATO's air defence alert service had issued an alert for a Wizz Air flight from London's Luton.
"The Hungarian Defence Forces' Gripen fighter jets took to the air within minutes and ensured the safe landing of the passenger aircraft in Budapest," he said. 
bur-jkb-har/ach 

crypto

Binance reveals hackers used fake job interviews, malicious code in $6-bn heist

  • In September, the attackers approached another Binance engineer through a legitimate job-search platform, offering him an interview for a position in a fictitious company.
  • Binance released on Tuesday a detailed investigation into the $6 billion hack of its cryptocurrency platform, showing how attackers used fake job interviews and malicious code to steal the funds.
  • In September, the attackers approached another Binance engineer through a legitimate job-search platform, offering him an interview for a position in a fictitious company.
Binance released on Tuesday a detailed investigation into the $6 billion hack of its cryptocurrency platform, showing how attackers used fake job interviews and malicious code to steal the funds.
The crypto exchange said it had replenished 98 percent of the affected assets by drawing on its own funds, with the remaining amount involving little-traded currencies that are harder to acquire. 
The attack, carried out over about four hours on October 29, was attributed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to North Korea-affiliated hackers.
Pyongyang has denied the allegations, with the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un calling the claim "absurd rhetoric."
Around $2.85 billion of the stolen $6.34 billion has been frozen, Binance said, meaning that the attackers could not use it or convert it to another currency.
Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange by daily trading volumes. News of the hacking attack, which is thought to be the biggest ever crypto heist, caused the prices of most major cryptocurrencies to fall sharply.
According to Binance, attackers took their first steps towards the breach as early as June.
First, they targeted a platform engineer by getting them to download a virus-laden version of the widely-known programming software Homebrew. 
Binance's cybersecurity teams identified the malware and removed it, but the hackers had already had time to harvest information about the engineer and his colleagues. 
In September, the attackers approached another Binance engineer through a legitimate job-search platform, offering him an interview for a position in a fictitious company.
After building trust with the subject through the sharing of social media photos and videos, they asked the engineer to download a test exercise as part of the interview process. 
The exercise contained malware that deployed "sophisticated obfuscation and evasion techniques," Binance said, including replacing a legitimate development tool component with a malicious version.
That malware was critical to the success of the attack, as it allowed the hackers to establish a connection with Binance's internal systems.
On October 20, the attackers used the access they had gained and an internal AI tool to gain control over software used by two other engineers.  
Nine days later, they triggered malicious code that initiated the attack.
tu/elm/aha/bs

conflict

Zelensky says dozens dead, missing in Russian attack days before US talks

  • Five people were rescued and more than 50 may still be trapped under the rubble," Zelensky said, describing it as "one of the largest Russian killings of this war".
  • More than 50 people could be trapped under rubble in a Ukrainian village where a Russian attack killed 33 people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday, in what he called one of Moscow's worst attacks of the war. 
  • Five people were rescued and more than 50 may still be trapped under the rubble," Zelensky said, describing it as "one of the largest Russian killings of this war".
More than 50 people could be trapped under rubble in a Ukrainian village where a Russian attack killed 33 people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday, in what he called one of Moscow's worst attacks of the war. 
Russia pummelled Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday after a rare truce between the enemies ended at the weekend, with the strikes dampening hopes for a breakthrough at US-led negotiations set for next week in Abu Dhabi.  
Rescue operations were ongoing in the frontline southeastern village of Komyshuvakha, where Russian forces had struck a former school building that Ukraine said was being used to distribute aid every Monday.
"Just one strike killed 33 people. Five people were rescued and more than 50 may still be trapped under the rubble," Zelensky said, describing it as "one of the largest Russian killings of this war".
The United Nations' right mission in Ukraine slammed the attack.
"Either the Russian armed forces knew that there was a humanitarian distribution taking place, or they failed to take the most basic steps to find out what was happening in this village," said Danielle Bell, the head of the rights mission.  
The attack hit hours after a ceasefire held for several days in the Kherson region, allowing for a rare humanitarian mission.
A Russian strike on a hospital in Kharkiv also wounded dozens Tuesday, Zelensky said, with Ukrainian authorities reporting another four dead across the country.
Zelensky, the Kremlin and Washington confirmed their negotiators will meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11 for the first talks between all three sides since February.
Visiting Berlin on Tuesday, Zelensky said he hoped that the gathering will pave the way for his meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
"We are counting on the fact that work in this format and our other diplomatic steps will open the way to a trilateral format at the level of leaders," he told reporters.
Zelensky has consistently pushed for a meeting with Putin -- who sent Russian troops over the border in 2022, unleashing Europe's worst war since World War II.
Putin, however, has repeatedly refused face-to-face talks with Zelensky.
Speaking alongside Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he saw no sign that Russia was willing to engage seriously in ending its invasion.  
"It is important that Russia finally and seriously engages in negotiations about a ceasefire and a subsequent peace agreement," he said.
"I do not see that happening so far."
 

'Ukraine must be at the table'

 
Kyiv and its European allies have feared US President Donald Trump -- who signed a diesel deal with Putin recently and who has criticised Zelensky -- is siding with the Kremlin.
Merz said that if Trump invites Putin to the G20 summit in Miami then Zelensky should be invited, too.
"If Ukraine is to be discussed, then the president of Ukraine must be at the table."
Last week's ceasefire in Kherson -- brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump -- had provided a glimmer of hope that a negotiated end to the conflict could be on the horizon.  
Zelensky said Kyiv had offered Russia an extension of the ceasefire, but shortly afterwards Moscow unleashed deadly strikes. 
"We proposed to Russia to prolong and expand the ceasefire," Zelensky said. 
"But in response, we got this, this kind of attack. New shelling, new strikes, new killings."
Merz said that while the Kherson ceasefire could have served as "a model" for other truces, "Russia has so far stubbornly refused this." 
 

Talks in Brussels

 
"Our message to Russia is therefore clear: it is time to bring this war to an end," Merz, who leads one of Ukraine's main military and financial backers, said.
Putin has repeatedly said Russia does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and that Moscow intends to seize the rest of east Ukraine by force.
Repeated Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in recent weeks have raised fears of another difficult winter ahead, and on Tuesday Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said supplies in the capital were "extremely difficult".
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said US negotiators would also meet European and NATO officials on Wednesday in Brussels.
Representatives from Ukraine, the United States, France, Germany, Britain, NATO and the World Bank will take part, the European Commission said.
In Russia, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said nearly 500 drones heading towards the capital region were destroyed.
The strikes came as Britain and France announced that around 2,800 troops from 10 European countries will stage military drills in Poland this month in support of Ukraine.
bur-oc/mmp/sbk/phz/sbk/cms/abs

politics

Seen and heard at the US midterm elections

  •   - Leadership referendum -   Midterm elections are typically seen as a referendum on the sitting president, and few leaders have polarized public opinion as strongly as Trump.
  • AFP has deployed reporters, photographers and video journalists across the United States as voters cast ballots in pivotal midterm elections.
  •   - Leadership referendum -   Midterm elections are typically seen as a referendum on the sitting president, and few leaders have polarized public opinion as strongly as Trump.
AFP has deployed reporters, photographers and video journalists across the United States as voters cast ballots in pivotal midterm elections.
Here is a round-up of interviews on Tuesday at polling stations from Alaska to Florida.
 
- Hopeful Democrats  - 
 
With polling data suggesting Democrats on track to capture a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even in the Senate, many left-leaning voters expressed hope about the results.
"I've been really looking forward to this day where we get to have a say again in the future of our country," Emma Mondadori, a 39-year-old who works in philanthropy, told AFP in New York, referring to President Donald Trump's election victory.
"What's the most important issue? Getting control away from the crazy man," Roberta Brune, a 66-year-old retiree said after voting in Los Angeles, California.
 
- Cost of living  -  
 
With prices of gasoline, food and other necessities soaring, everyday spending was on many people's minds.
"It's about the cost of living, gas prices, those kind of things. It needs to change for the everyday person, and I'm an everyday person," said Donta Comer, a 38-year-old project manager in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Affordability is the main issue driving my vote," said Taylor Cook, 24, in Los Angeles. "Rent, groceries, utility bills, and property taxes keep climbing, and I want people in Congress who will actually do something about costs."
 

Leadership referendum

 
Midterm elections are typically seen as a referendum on the sitting president, and few leaders have polarized public opinion as strongly as Trump.
"I'm independent but I voted Democrat, I just wanted to go back into the culture of decency, integrity, honesty, and the rest follows," Yan Cardineau, 59, said in Austin, Texas. 
Gabriel Layman, a 24-year-old writer in Anchorage, Alaska, described himself as independent but voted for Democrats because of his opposition to Trump and "everything going on: ICE, the war in Iran, prices, tariffs, all of those are things that I care about."
In Texas, Trump-endorsed and scandal-plagued Senate candidate Ken Paxton is in the fight of his life against Democratic rival James Talarico.
"I wish that we had had another choice for senator," said Mary Wolf, a Republican voter in Dallas, who said she would vote for him anyway but was "not optimistic at all."
 
- Immigration - 
 
In late pitches to voters, Trump has stressed his success in reducing illegal immigration and ramping up deportations.
While his tough stance plays well with supporters, others have been put off by the brutal tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
"I am very concerned about climate change, school violence and the situation with people who still don't have immigration status in this country," Diana Alvarez, a 38-year-old Cuban-born attorney, said in Doral, Florida.
"It's tough for any presidency, but this one in particular has been a little violent and aggressive (with migrants) and I don't think that was necessary."
 
- Iran - 
 
Trump's most consequential foreign policy decision of his second term -- the February 28 attack on Iran with Israel -- was referenced by several voters. 
Andrea Nelson, an insurance worker in Anchorage whose father served in the military, said she backs the war and Trump's effort to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. 
"I am very afraid of nuclear war, I've seen and experienced how war has affected military soldiers and their families," the 50-year-old said.
 
- Socialism - 
 
Many Republican candidates and Trump have sought to portray their Democratic rivals as dangerous tax-and-spend socialists intent on destroying American capitalism. 
"A lot of today's younger people think socialism is the way to go," said Daryl Ruley, an 84-year-old in Austin. "They don't understand history if they believe that's the case."
burs-adp/mlm/des/ia/bs

accident

Spanish transport minister offers resignation after deadly train crash

  • Last week's crash, along with another disaster earlier this year, have overshadowed campaigning for the ballot, in which Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
  • Spain's transport minister handed in his resignation on Tuesday following a train crash that killed 69 people, one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century and a blow for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ahead of a snap poll this month.
  • Last week's crash, along with another disaster earlier this year, have overshadowed campaigning for the ballot, in which Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
Spain's transport minister handed in his resignation on Tuesday following a train crash that killed 69 people, one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century and a blow for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez ahead of a snap poll this month.
Oscar Puente, who had earlier pledged to work "tirelessly" to restore confidence in the world's second-largest high-speed rail network, also said he was withdrawing from the November 29 general election.
Last week's crash, along with another disaster earlier this year, have overshadowed campaigning for the ballot, in which Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
"A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of such seriousness in less than a year, however different they may be, whether or not I bear direct responsibility," Puente told members of parliament, referring to the latest tragedy and a January crash in Andalusia that claimed 46 lives.
"I made my decision about my future in the first few minutes after the tragedy, as soon as I learned about it," he said. 
"Today I am making that decision public, in the place where it is most appropriate to do so."
Puente said he was withdrawing as a candidate in the November 29 snap polls.
Hours earlier, at a press conference during which he presented measures to improve safety, the minister had said the government would "work tirelessly to achieve and regain the public's trust in high-speed rail".
The right-wing opposition, which had demanded Puente's resignation, and unions have criticised him for appearing to pin all the blame for the disaster on one control centre operator.
The accident happened when a train operated by the state-owned Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to the private Spanish company Iryo on Wednesday outside the village of Urda, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Madrid.
The failure of an automatic safety system halted all trains on a 63-kilometre stretch of track, but a control centre nonetheless authorised the Renfe service to resume its journey.
Among the measures announced at the earlier press conference by Puente was the creation of software for control centres that would issue automatic alerts and make it easier to spot anomalies in traffic.
Puente said an AI agent would be created to oversee the system and "minimise the possibility of human error", describing the proposal as unprecedented.
In scenarios where a control centre operator took a decision while the automatic safety system was down, a second operator would have to confirm it, Puente added.
 

Safety under scrutiny

 
The train drivers' union Semaf, which has called strikes at Renfe for November 10 and 12, has denounced a worsening of working conditions and the use of "degraded systems".
Critics say investment in maintenance has not kept up with the increase in passenger numbers since the 2021 liberalisation of Spain's rail network, which allowed private companies to break Renfe's decades-long monopoly.
In an apparent recognition of the unions' demands, Puente said the working conditions of control centre operators would be reformed, including their breaks and monitoring their fatigue levels. 
Puente also announced an aid package of 30 million euros ($33.5 million) for the families of the dead and the scores of people who were injured in last week's accident.
Another collision in the southern region of Andalusia in January killed 46 people on the same key line connecting Madrid with the city of Seville, Spain's first high-speed route when it opened in 1992.
rs-mdm/ach/bs

royals

UK king calls slavery 'monstrous injustice' as PM mulls apology

BY JESSICA HOWARD-JOHNSTON WITH PETER HUTCHISON IN LONDON

  • The comments come as Burnham uses his appearance at the summit to hold discussions with Commonwealth leaders about issuing a formal apology for Britain's role in slavery, which saw about 10-15 million slaves brought from Africa to the Americas over four centuries.
  • King Charles III called the transatlantic slave trade "a monstrous injustice" Tuesday, opening a Commonwealth summit in which UK leader Andy Burnham is holding talks about apologising for Britain's role in slavery.
  • The comments come as Burnham uses his appearance at the summit to hold discussions with Commonwealth leaders about issuing a formal apology for Britain's role in slavery, which saw about 10-15 million slaves brought from Africa to the Americas over four centuries.
King Charles III called the transatlantic slave trade "a monstrous injustice" Tuesday, opening a Commonwealth summit in which UK leader Andy Burnham is holding talks about apologising for Britain's role in slavery.
Britain's head of state told the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda that slavery "still casts a shadow over these islands and other members" of the 56-nation group of mostly former British colonies.
"As I have said before, that shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow," said the king, who is the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth.
"And yet history also teaches us that evil need not have the last word; that character and courage can combine to overcome the most monstrous injustice, as they did with the determination to end international trade in enslaved people, in which the Royal Navy played such a leading role."
The comments come as Burnham uses his appearance at the summit to hold discussions with Commonwealth leaders about issuing a formal apology for Britain's role in slavery, which saw about 10-15 million slaves brought from Africa to the Americas over four centuries.
 

Reparations

 
Burnham, in office since July, said at the weekend that he was open to saying sorry but ruled out paying the financial reparations demanded by some Caribbean countries.
Britain's pivotal part in slavery has long strained relations between the UK and its former colonies, including an awkward previous meeting of Commonwealth leaders in 2024.
The UK royal family benefited from the trade but Charles, who is also head of state in 14 Commonwealth countries, including several in the Caribbean, is politically neutral and is not expected to offer an apology.
A palace spokesperson also said "it would not be appropriate" for the king to announce a change in government policy.
Burnham discussed slavery with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley during a meeting on Monday, one of several bilateral chats the prime minister is expected to have at the summit.
They discussed how Britain "was offering a structured dialogue for communities impacted by the transatlantic slave trade", including the "next steps", Downing Street said.
Burnham wrote in the Guardian on Saturday that he would have "difficult conversations" to safeguard the Commonwealth's future.
"Listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process and I am open to them," Burnham wrote.
He insisted, however, that reparations were "not the right answer", saying British people today should not be "held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous".
 

'Debt reset'

 
Instead, London is pursuing a "debt reset" plan for the poorest Commonwealth countries, led by former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown and which could alter interest rates on repayments.
Speaking Tuesday, Burnham told reporters: "I've been very clear that we do not support reparations... but it's not the case that we don't support countries in the Commonwealth around development helping them with debt issues that they've got".
The UK will allocate £40 million ($54 million) over three years for infrastructure improvements in the Caribbean, including renewable energy.
The issue of slavery has loomed large over 77-year-old Charles's ongoing nine-day visit to three Caribbean countries.
When the king arrived in the Bahamas last week, small groups of protesters waved placards reading: "Pay what you owe us."
Britain has never formally apologised for slavery or agreed to pay reparations.
The BBC reported Tuesday that Britain was likely to apologise during its G20 presidency next year.
The country profited for centuries from colonialism and slavery, but argues it also led the way in the latter's abolition.
In 1833, the UK parliament passed a law to abolish slavery in most of the British Empire.
Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said Britain should not apologise, arguing it would boost countries' claims for financial compensation.
At the previous Commonwealth meeting in Samoa in 2024, 56 nations signed a communique backing talks over reparatory justice after then-prime minister Keir Starmer tried to avoid the issue of slavery.
bur-pdh-har/phz

accident

Spanish transport minister offers resignation after deadly train crash

  • Last week's crash, along with another disaster earlier this year, have overshadowed campaigning for the November 29 ballot, in which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
  • Spain's transport minister handed in his resignation on Tuesday following a train crash that killed 69 people last week, one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century.
  • Last week's crash, along with another disaster earlier this year, have overshadowed campaigning for the November 29 ballot, in which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
Spain's transport minister handed in his resignation on Tuesday following a train crash that killed 69 people last week, one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century.
Oscar Puente, who had earlier pledged to work "tirelessly" to restore confidence in the world's second-largest high-speed rail network, also said he was withdrawing from the country's upcoming general election.
Last week's crash, along with another disaster earlier this year, have overshadowed campaigning for the November 29 ballot, in which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
Puente had ruled out resigning on several occasions since the accident.
But at the end of a lengthy hearing before lawmakers, he said: "I wish to inform you that I am not only stepping down from my position as Minister of Transport, but that I am also withdrawing my name from the lists for the early legislative elections on November 29."
Hours earlier, at a press conference during which he presented measures to improve safety, the minister had said the government would "work tirelessly to achieve and regain the public's trust in high-speed rail".
The right-wing opposition, which had demanded Puente's resignation, and unions have criticised him for appearing to pin all the blame for the disaster on one control centre operator.
The accident happened when a train operated by the state-owned Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to the private Spanish company Iryo on Wednesday outside the village of Urda, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Madrid.
The failure of an automatic safety system halted all trains on a 63-kilometre stretch of track, but a control centre nonetheless authorised the Renfe service to resume its journey.
Among the measures announced at the earlier press conference by Puente was the creation of software for control centres that would issue automatic alerts and make it easier to spot anomalies in traffic.
Puente said an AI agent would be created to oversee the system and "minimise the possibility of human error", describing the proposal as unprecedented.
In scenarios where a control centre operator took a decision while the automatic safety system was down, a second operator would have to confirm it, Puente added.

Safety under scrutiny

The train drivers' union Semaf, which has called strikes at Renfe for November 10 and 12, has denounced a worsening of working conditions and the use of "degraded systems".
Critics say investment in maintenance has not kept up with the increase in passenger numbers since the 2021 liberalisation of Spain's rail network, which allowed private companies to break Renfe's decades-long monopoly.
In an apparent recognition of the unions' demands, Puente said the working conditions of control centre operators would be reformed, including their breaks and monitoring their fatigue levels. 
Puente also announced an aid package of 30 million euros ($33.5 million) for the families of the dead and the scores of people who were injured in last week's accident.
Another collision in the southern region of Andalusia in January killed 46 people on the same key line connecting Madrid with the city of Seville, Spain's first high-speed route when it opened in 1992.
rbj/sbk/jxb

ICJ

Top UN court to rule Nov 19 on Myanmar/Rohingya genocide case

BY RICHARD CARTER

  • Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have for seven years been weighing accusations by The Gambia that Myanmar's brutal repression of the Rohingya breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
  • The top United Nations court will on November 19 deliver a landmark ruling on whether Myanmar's crackdown against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority constituted a genocide, officials said on Tuesday.
  • Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have for seven years been weighing accusations by The Gambia that Myanmar's brutal repression of the Rohingya breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
The top United Nations court will on November 19 deliver a landmark ruling on whether Myanmar's crackdown against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority constituted a genocide, officials said on Tuesday.
Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have for seven years been weighing accusations by The Gambia that Myanmar's brutal repression of the Rohingya breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
While the ICJ has no means of enforcing its decisions, a ruling that Myanmar committed genocide would heap more international pressure on its military junta and be seen as justice for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya.
Legal experts are closely watching the decision from the ICJ, which rules in disputes between countries, for clues as to how the court might sway in the seminal genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel over its campaign in Gaza.
Myanmar has always denied carrying out a genocide against the Rohingya, arguing its actions targeted a military uprising from insurgents after a series of attacks left a dozen security personnel dead.
The crackdown by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, bringing with them harrowing accounts of gang rape and mass executions.
More than one million Rohingya still live across the border in Bangladesh, in the world's largest refugee settlement.
 

'Collective conscience'

 
During hearings on the case in January, Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow told the court the Rohingya had suffered "the most horrific violence and destruction one could imagine".
"It is not about esoteric issues of international law. It is about real people, real stories and a real group of human beings," said Jallow.
"The Rohingya of Myanmar. They have been targeted for destruction," added the minister.
The Gambia has brought the case to the ICJ under the terms of the UN Genocide Convention, which allows any state to sound the alarm if it suspects genocide is being committed.
The alleged violations of the convention "are a stain on our collective conscience and it would be irresponsible to pretend that it is not our business," Jallow said.
Myanmar retorted at the hearing that the allegations were "unsubstantiated".
"Emotional language and blurry factual pictures are not a substitute for a rigorous presentation of facts," said Ko Ko Hlaing, a minister in the president's office.
In a previous hearing in 2019, de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi herself addressed the court, housed in the iconic Peace Palace in The Hague.
The Nobel peace laureate said the case risked reigniting the crisis that led to the Rohingyas' expulsion and said there was no "genocidal intent" behind the crackdown.
Suu Kyi, 81, will not be attending the verdict, however. She has been under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw since being unseated in a 2021 military coup.
The ICJ has already made one ruling in this case, ordering Myanmar in 2020 to "take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts" described by the Genocide Convention.
These acts included "killing members of the group" and "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part".
ICJ judges also threw out a challenge to its jurisdiction by Myanmar, ruling that it did have the power to decide on the genocide question.
The ICJ is not the only court looking into possible crimes against the Rohingya.
In 2024, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, asked judges for an arrest warrant for Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing over alleged crimes against humanity.
A case is also underway in Argentina, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, the idea that some crimes are so heinous they can be heard in any court.
ric/jhb

politics

Thousands join Czech protest against public media financing plan

BY JAN FLEMR

  • Thousands already rallied in Prague on October 25, and a larger demonstration is planned in the Czech capital on November 15. frj/jza/jxb
  • Thousands rallied across the Czech Republic and media workers went on strike on Tuesday over a government plan to change the way public broadcasting is funded.
  • Thousands already rallied in Prague on October 25, and a larger demonstration is planned in the Czech capital on November 15. frj/jza/jxb
Thousands rallied across the Czech Republic and media workers went on strike on Tuesday over a government plan to change the way public broadcasting is funded.
The protesters fear the plan to switch from a licence fee paid by individuals to direct financing from the state budget will enable the government to stifle media freedom.
The coalition government led by billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis, however, argues that the broadcasters need to cut costs and insists the plan will have no impact on editorial independence or programme content.
Jakub Szanto, a reporter for the public Czech TV channel, told AFP the government had taken a "radical step" by trying to force through its changes without any wider debate.
"We firmly hope the government will understand that when something's working, you don't have to change it," he said.
Both Czech TV and Czech Radio reduced their programming on Tuesday with thousands of employees joining the protest.
The staff marched from the media headquarters to a central square in Prague, where they were joined by university students and other protesters.
Many wore triangular paper hats similar to a popular animated character from Czech TV that has become a symbol of the protest.

'Think twice'

"We hope this will make politicians think twice... we hope they will withdraw the bill," Czech TV sports reporter Zaneta Perinova told AFP.
The Czech parliament dominated by Babis's three-party nationalist coalition rushed the bill through the first of three readings in a controversial overnight session last month.
Babis said this week that the second reading could happen in January.
Critics have accused Babis of mirroring the muzzling of public media carried out by his allies in other countries, notably Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungary's ex-leader Viktor Orban.
The Babis government wants to reduce the budgets of the two outlets, in effect reversing raises awarded by the previous centre-right government last year.
Babis said on Monday that "nobody wants to control public media, let alone nationalise them" and that "none of what the people are protesting against... is true".
The plan has drawn international criticism from the European Broadcasting Union, the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the International Press Institute.
Thousands already rallied in Prague on October 25, and a larger demonstration is planned in the Czech capital on November 15.
frj/jza/jxb

midterms

US midterms: the races to watch

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • She has repeatedly survived difficult elections in a state that votes Democratic for president.
  • Americans voted Tuesday in midterm elections to decide whether President Donald Trump's Republicans retain control of Congress or spend the final two years of his term confronting Democratic majorities.
  • She has repeatedly survived difficult elections in a state that votes Democratic for president.
Americans voted Tuesday in midterm elections to decide whether President Donald Trump's Republicans retain control of Congress or spend the final two years of his term confronting Democratic majorities.
High living costs, the war with Iran and Trump's poor approval ratings have helped Democrats expand the electoral map, with unusually tight contests even in Republican strongholds. 
But polling errors, redrawn districts and record campaign spending make the outcome uncertain.

The arithmetic

Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take the upper chamber of Congress, as a 50-50 tie would leave Republicans in charge through Vice President JD Vance's tie-breaking vote.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are contested. It is currently made up of 218 Republicans and one Republican-aligned independent, 214 Democrats, and two vacancies.
Democrats need at least 218 seats in the lower chamber to clinch a majority in the new session.

Senate: eight battlegrounds

North Carolina: The state's Democratic ex-governor Roy Cooper faces Republican operative Michael Whatley in a bid to flip the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Thom Tillis, a vocal Republican Trump critic.
Strong polling for Cooper prompted both parties to shift some spending elsewhere, but the outcome is key for Democrats.
Texas: Democrat James Talarico, a Christian progressive, faces Trump-backed state Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose controversies have helped turn a longtime Republican stronghold into a closely watched contest. Paxton retains a loyal conservative following and enormous outside financial support. 
Ohio: Former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown seeks a comeback against Republican Jon Husted, who was appointed to replace Vance when he became vice president. Among the country's most expensive races, it's also a test of whether economic discontent can shift a state that has moved sharply rightward.
Maine: Republican Susan Collins faces former state Senate leader Troy Jackson. She has repeatedly survived difficult elections in a state that votes Democratic for president.
Alaska: Former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola challenges Republican Daniel Sullivan. Her strong standing among voters has made another Trump-voting state unexpectedly competitive.
Iowa: Republican congresswoman Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek compete for retiring Republican Senator Joni Ernst's seat, while soaring agricultural and energy costs are prominent issues.
Kansas: Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton is challenging Republican Roger Marshall in a state that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. Tight polling has prompted Trump to campaign for Marshall.
Michigan: An important Republican pickup opportunity pits former congressman Mike Rogers against progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.

House: watch the suburbs

New York's 17th district: Republican Mike Lawler faces Democrat Cait Conley in a Hudson Valley seat won by Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Nebraska's 2nd: Republican Don Bacon's retirement leaves a competitive Omaha-area seat contested by Republican Brinker Harding and Democrat Denise Powell.
Pennsylvania: Republican incumbents Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan and Scott Perry face closely watched Democratic challenges. Nearby New Jersey's 7th district, where Rebecca Bennett challenges Republican Tom Kean Jr, is also in play.
Virginia's 2nd: Democrat Elaine Luria seeks to reclaim the coastal seat she lost to Republican Jennifer Kiggans in 2022.
Iowa: Three Republican-held districts in the state's east and center could provide an early indication of whether Democrats are making broad gains.

Signs of a wave?

For an indication of the scale of any Democratic advance, watch two Republican-held House districts in Virginia: the 1st, where Shannon Taylor challenges Robert Wittman, and the 5th, where former congressman Tom Perriello wants to unseat John McGuire.
A Democratic gain in Kentucky's Republican-leaning 6th district, or unexpected defeats for Republicans in Florida's 13th and Wisconsin's 1st, would likewise signal a particularly broad electoral swing.
Conversely, Democrats face dangers of their own in redrawn districts, including Alabama's 2nd, where Shomari Figures is defending his seat, and Texas's 34th, where Vicente Gonzalez faces Republican Eric Flores.
ft/bs/pnb

interference

How Trump could interfere in US midterm elections

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • - Counting the votes - Federal agents could seek warrants or subpoenas for ballots, voting machines or records -- potentially disrupting the count.
  • State officials who run US elections are braced for possible intervention by President Donald Trump's administration in Tuesday's midterms -- fearing federal authorities could disrupt voting, challenge ballot counts or try to block unfavorable results.
  • - Counting the votes - Federal agents could seek warrants or subpoenas for ballots, voting machines or records -- potentially disrupting the count.
State officials who run US elections are braced for possible intervention by President Donald Trump's administration in Tuesday's midterms -- fearing federal authorities could disrupt voting, challenge ballot counts or try to block unfavorable results.
Trump, whose Republicans face an uphill battle to keep control of Congress, has repeatedly questioned the integrity of US elections and urged his party to "nationalize" voting in at least 15 places.
The White House says it is protecting election security, and many of the feared scenarios remain hypothetical.
The US Constitution gives the president no direct role in running elections, and courts have so far rebuffed the administration's main legal challenges.
Here are the key potential flashpoints:

Who gets to vote

The Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to obtain their voter registration lists, saying it needs them to find non-citizens. It has lost more than two dozen of those cases.
It has also demanded that ballots be set aside from about 20,000 people in California and more than 400 in Washington state whom it suspects are non-citizens.
The US Supreme Court rejected the California request, handing the Trump administration a snub a day before election day. Washington state has also refused the demand.
Studies have repeatedly found non-citizen voting to be exceptionally rare.
The Justice Department has warned election officials in every state that they could face prosecution if they knowingly allow non-citizens to vote.
And Trump has offered $1 million for information leading to a voter fraud conviction, without giving details.

At polling stations

The Justice Department plans to send around 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states -- its largest deployment ever.
Monitoring is a decades-old practice, but Democrats and voting rights groups fear monitors could intimidate voters.
The department says they will be unarmed, barred from interfering with voting and drawn from neither the FBI nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The administration says it is not planning operations targeting polling places, although Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has said ICE agents could serve warrants there.
Trump has declined to rule out declaring a national emergency or invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy troops at home.
A Civil War-era law bars troops and armed federal agents from polling places, and legal experts say an emergency declaration would not give the president power over elections.

Counting the votes

Federal agents could seek warrants or subpoenas for ballots, voting machines or records -- potentially disrupting the count.
In January, the FBI seized ballots and other 2020 election records in Fulton County, Georgia, a focus of Trump's false claims that he won that year.
Election officials warn that similar action during an active count could undermine safeguards tracking how ballots are handled.
Trump could allege fraud involving mail-in ballots, voting machines or votes counted after election night, fueling demands for recounts or attempts to halt counting.
But the US Supreme Court ruled in June that states may count mail ballots postmarked by election day that arrive afterward, and courts can intervene against unlawful disruption. 

After election day

The Justice Department has sued Alaska to delay certification of its Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses to Democrat Mary Peltola, citing a second candidate named Dan Sullivan who it says is trying to confuse voters, which he denies.
Trump said he ordered the lawsuit.
Experts say federal law does not allow the department to block certification, which courts can compel officials to carry out.
Trump could pressure state officials to dispute results, as he did after losing the 2020 election.
Experts warn unresolved disputes could also delay the seating of newly elected lawmakers in January.
But courts have repeatedly upheld states' authority over elections, and Democrats and voting rights groups have assembled legal teams to fight any interference.
ft-pnb/bgs

pope

Pope 'so excited' about return to Peru: Vatican

  • But the US pope insists he is fit enough for what will be one of the most ambitious papal foreign trips in decades, touring Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, she said.
  • Pope Leo XIV is "so excited" to return to Peru and refused to cut anything from his packed South America schedule despite his recent lung operation, the Vatican said Tuesday.
  • But the US pope insists he is fit enough for what will be one of the most ambitious papal foreign trips in decades, touring Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, she said.
Pope Leo XIV is "so excited" to return to Peru and refused to cut anything from his packed South America schedule despite his recent lung operation, the Vatican said Tuesday.
"He is so excited. He personally confirmed this trip with no changes," Maria Montserrat Alvarado, the Vatican's new head of communications, told journalists.
The 71-year-old head of the Catholic Church, who underwent an operation fewer than three weeks ago to remove a cancerous tumour, was "so grateful" for concern over his health, she said at a briefing ahead of the November 6 to 17 trip.
But the US pope insists he is fit enough for what will be one of the most ambitious papal foreign trips in decades, touring Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, she said.
Before becoming Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost served for nearly two decades in the Andean country, including as bishop, and he holds Peruvian citizenship.
"The homecoming piece is very important to him," Alvarado said.
"He feels that very deeply. This is a place that gave him his ministry and inspired who he is as a pastor, and certainly the way that he views encounter, and the diverse needs of the Church.
"So it opened his eyes in a way that is new and different," she said.
Millions of faithful are expected to flock to see Leo, who will lead over 50 events during his trip, delivering speeches to leaders including Argentine President Javier Milei, and meeting indigenous peoples in the Amazon, clerical abuse victims, and the elderly, poor and disabled.
The tour includes 12 flights, two helicopter trips, and a high-altitude prayer in the Andes, which has fuelled concern it may be too much for the pontiff.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope's cancerous tumour was "not a permanent condition, we're talking about something that you heal from".
"The pope is a 71-year-old man who has no chronic medical condition. Having undergone a surgical procedure -- from which he has recovered -- he is once again a 71-year-old man in excellent health," he said.
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education

Students blockade dozens of French schools and universities

BY AURELIE MAYEMBO WITH AFP BUREAUS

  • A union representative said the authorities appeared to want to blunt a new day of blockades on Thursday when trade unions have called a nationwide strike.
  • Students blockaded dozens of high schools and universities across France on Tuesday to maintain pressure on the government over education reforms as trade unions prepared for a nationwide strike.
  • A union representative said the authorities appeared to want to blunt a new day of blockades on Thursday when trade unions have called a nationwide strike.
Students blockaded dozens of high schools and universities across France on Tuesday to maintain pressure on the government over education reforms as trade unions prepared for a nationwide strike.
After returning from a two-week autumn break, some students resumed their protest campaign Monday, calling on the authorities to renovate dilapidated schools, reduce class sizes and create more university places.
Authorities said Tuesday that 48 out of France's 3,700 high schools were blocked amid tight security, including in Paris, Rennes and Lyon. The USL student union said 500 schools were blocked.
Fifty-one higher education institutions out of 184 were also disrupted, officials said.
The USL union denounced what it called heavy-handed tactics, with "young people pinned against walls and riot police units deployed" outside schools.
A union representative said the authorities appeared to want to blunt a new day of blockades on Thursday when trade unions have called a nationwide strike.
"We don't even have the right to vote, we can't do anything, so this is our only way of expressing ourselves," a high school student in northwestern Paris said on condition of anonymity.
Thousands of students also marched in Paris and several other cities.
 

'Nothing else worked'

 
Education Minister Edouard Geffray spoke out against the action, saying students needed to study and prepare for exams.
"Preventing them from entering their school deprives them of a fundamental right: the right to an education," he said on X, adding that some staff members had "once again been subjected to violence".
In the northwestern city of Rennes, around 30 students blocked the Brequigny High School, one of the country's largest secondary schools.
Tensions quickly flared between students and the school administration.
"You are not the majority," a staff member protested.
"If we're doing this, it's because everything we've tried before hasn't worked," a student replied.
At a school in the southwestern city of Toulouse, students brandished placards, one saying "Angry, not far right".
"Young people are sticking it to the education system," read another, in a nod to the lyrics of a popular protest song against the far right.
The school protests have fuelled a nationwide movement against soaring prices and inadequate public services, which has drawn hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets over the past three weekends.
On October 17, it also led to some of the worst unrest seen in France in years.
The school movement has inspired students in other European countries, including Italy and Spain, where the French word "blocus" (blockade) has become a hashtag.
Last week, the French government unveiled measures aimed at addressing some of the students' demands, including the replacement of the university admissions platform, which has been criticised for a lack of transparency. 
Students say the proposals do not go far enough, demanding 10 billion euros in investment.
 

Three minors arrested

 
With the European Union's second-largest economy on the brink of recession and under pressure to reduce its debt, authorities have little room to quell student anger with additional spending.
Student union L'Union Etudiante said one university in two was affected Tuesday and that over 50 campuses had been blockaded.
At the University of Lille in the north, around 40 students used bicycles and trash bins to block the campus, leading to the cancellation of classes.
"There's a massive national mobilisation under way," said Gauthier Capiez, a third-year political science student.
"If next year we manage to get rid of Parcoursup, among other things, then it will all have been worth it," he said, referring to the university admissions platform.
Some schools have been damaged since the student movement emerged in September.
On Tuesday, authorities said three minors had been arrested after a school in the western city of Nantes was set on fire in October, on the margins of the protests. 
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