politics

Seen and heard at the US midterm elections

  • Here is a round-up of interviews on Tuesday at polling stations where voters agreed to share their thoughts about what was on their minds and motivating their choices.
  • AFP has deployed reporters, photographers and video journalists across the United States as American voters head to the polls for crucial midterm elections.  
  • Here is a round-up of interviews on Tuesday at polling stations where voters agreed to share their thoughts about what was on their minds and motivating their choices.
AFP has deployed reporters, photographers and video journalists across the United States as American voters head to the polls for crucial midterm elections.  
Here is a round-up of interviews on Tuesday at polling stations where voters agreed to share their thoughts about what was on their minds and motivating their choices.
- Hopeful Democrats  - 
With polling data suggesting the Democratic Party is on track to capture a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even in the Senate, many left-leaning voters said they were hopeful about the results.
"Two years ago was a really devastating outcome for me," Emma Mondadori, a 39-year-old who works in philanthropy, told AFP in Brooklyn, New York, referring to President Donald Trump's election.
"I've been really looking forward to this day where we get to have a say again in the future of our country... I'm cautiously hopeful, optimistic."
- The cost of living  -  
With gasoline prices up by a third since last year and diesel nearly double -- not to mention sharp food price inflation -- 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," Donta Comer, a 38-year-old project manager in Atlanta, Georgia, told AFP.
Tom, a 27-year-old businessman at the same polling station who declined to give his surname, agreed.
"Everyone, at least in my generation, is a little frustrated with the affordability crisis and gas prices and what's going on abroad," added the non-partisan voter.

Leadership referendum

Mid-term elections are typically seen as a form of referendum on the sitting president.
And few leaders have polarized public opinion as strongly as Donald 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, told AFP in Austin, Texas. "If we lose that, it doesn't matter how much money you make."
Estrella Roque, a 69-year-old voter of Cuban origin, told AFP in Miami she had voted Republican.
"What I like about the Republicans is that they can fix the country," she explained in Spanish. "Donald Trump hasn't been given time to show who he really is."
- Immigration  - 
In his final pitch to voters, Trump has stressed his success in reducing immigration and stopping crossings along the southern border with Mexico.
While his tough stance plays well with his core supporters, others have been put off by the brutal tactics used by 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 along with Israel  --  was referenced by several voters. 
"It’s discouraging. Again, promises made, promises not kept. 'No new wars' was the mantra," Wes Pyron, a 37-year-old who works at an environmental health nonprofit in Washington, said. 
"I don’t understand what we’re doing there, objectives aren’t clear, priorities aren’t clear."
- Fears of 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," Daryl Ruley, an 84-year-old in Austin, Texas, told AFP. "They don't understand history if they believe that's the case."
Maru Restrepo, a 70-year-old voter of Colombian origin in Miami, said Democrats had become "very Socialist, Communist, and Muslim." 

- Michigan -  
In one of the most widely watched races for the Senate  -- in Michigan  -- Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed has made free universal healthcare and ending US support for Israel key planks of his platform.
The Muslim former medical administrator has been called a jihadist by Trump and has been smeared with accusations of sympathizing with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas.
"We just got to get it done because we all need help. I need help," said Makeyla Borndes, a 51-year-old former teacher who was forced to retire after falling down a staircase. 
She wore several El-Sayed pins on her green apron and neon pink socks.
burs-adp/bgs

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

security

Bomb threats disrupt Europe flights

  • Italian air force jets were 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.
  • Italian air force jets were 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.
Italian air force jets were 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.

Airport briefly shut

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 

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

Global Edition

Americans vote in election seen as a referendum on Trump presidency

BY CHRIS LEFKOW AND FRANKIE TAGGART

  • Trump, who will watch the midterms results at the White House on Tuesday night, signaled that if he does lose control of Congress he has a plan to defy Democrats.
  • Americans voted on Tuesday in a midterm election seen as a nationwide referendum on Donald Trump that could wrest control of Congress from his Republican Party and impose major restraints on the remaining two years of his presidency.
  • Trump, who will watch the midterms results at the White House on Tuesday night, signaled that if he does lose control of Congress he has a plan to defy Democrats.
Americans voted on Tuesday in a midterm election seen as a nationwide referendum on Donald Trump that could wrest control of Congress from his Republican Party and impose major restraints on the remaining two years of his presidency.
Polls predict the Democrats will win a majority in the House of Representatives and possibly seize the Senate on the back of voter resentment at an unpopular president, soaring energy costs and the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Republicans losing the House would give Democrats the power to stall the 80-year-old Trump's legislative agenda and launch sweeping investigations of his administration.
A Senate defeat would threaten his ability to appoint Supreme Court justices and senior officials.
"It's just about the cost of living, gas prices, those kind of things," Donta Comer, a 38-year-old project manager voting in an Atlanta suburb, told AFP. "It needs to change for the everyday person and I'm an everyday person."
Trump defended his record in a final TV phone-in pitch to voters on Tuesday, saying he had rebuilt the country through his immigration crackdown, war on Iran and tariff policies.
"We have to keep America great. We're great now. We were terrible two years ago," Trump told "Fox & Friends."
All 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are at stake, along with governorships in 36 states. Democrats need only three House gains and a net four seats in the Senate to wrest both chambers from Republican hands.
Trump returned to office promising to bring down prices, but inflation, tariffs and fuel costs inflated by the Middle East conflict have squeezed Americans.

Economic discontent

Republicans insist that Trump's tax cuts and anti-migrant stance will benefit voters, and they are portraying Democratic candidates as left-wing radical socialists -- a message that seemed to resonate with Daryl Ruley, an 84-year-old voter in Austin, Texas. 
"A lot of today's younger people think socialism is the way to go," Ruley told AFP. "They don't understand history if they believe that's the case."
But in his final public campaign appearance on Monday, Trump barely touched on the election and gave a rambling talk about his problem-plagued renovation of Washington's Reflecting Pool.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer branded it a "pathetic closing message."
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 Senate majority, but the battlefield has extended into once reliably conservative states like Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Alaska.
Democrats must also defend competitive seats, including in Michigan, where a bitter internal dispute saw congresswoman Haley Stevens endorse Republican Mike Rogers rather than the Democratic nominee, Abdul El-Sayed.
Decision Desk HQ's final forecast projected 241 House seats for Democrats against 194 for Republicans, and a narrower 52-48 Democratic Senate majority.

Disputed results?

More than 57 million Americans had already voted early before Tuesday, indicating high engagement.
The campaign has attracted more than $11 billion in political advertising, and mega-rich Trump ally Elon Musk has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Republican efforts.
As soon as polls close, concerns will mount over whether results will be accepted by the Republicans.
Trump, who tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat, has repeatedly alleged widespread voter fraud and accused Democrats -- with no evidence -- of cheating.
The Justice Department, run by a close Trump ally, has already sued to potentially block certification of Alaska's Senate race if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan narrowly loses, although a court ruled against the effort.
And the Supreme Court rejected on Monday an emergency bid to force California to set aside the mail-in ballots of more than 20,000 people on the grounds they may not be American citizens.
Trump, who will watch the midterms results at the White House on Tuesday night, signaled that if he does lose control of Congress he has a plan to defy Democrats.
"I veto everything," he said.
ft-cl/bgs

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.
ide/dt/pdw

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. 
bur-as/ah/sbk

conflict

UN rights mission condemns Russia attack on Ukraine aid centre

  • "In either case, this attack seems to have violated the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law."
  • The UN's human rights mission in Ukraine on Tuesday slammed a Russian attack that killed at least 33 people in a former school building where aid had been distributed, saying it likely violated international law.
  • "In either case, this attack seems to have violated the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law."
The UN's human rights mission in Ukraine on Tuesday slammed a Russian attack that killed at least 33 people in a former school building where aid had been distributed, saying it likely violated international law.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the multiple strikes -- which on Monday hit the village of Komyshuvakha in the southeast -- were one of the deadliest Russian attacks of the war.
"Dozens were killed while civilians gathered to receive humanitarian aid in Komyshuvakha -- the timing and location of the humanitarian distribution was well publicised," said Danielle Bell, the head of the rights mission. 
"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 they were planning to attack," Bell said.
"In either case, this attack seems to have violated the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law."
UN human rights monitors said Russia had used "powerful aerial glide bombs" in the strike.
"The attack in which multiple glide bombs struck a school building in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, took place in the morning as civilians had gathered to receive humanitarian aid," UN monitors said in a statement. 
"Local authorities had announced the distribution of humanitarian aid the day before on a social media channel with nearly 5,000 subscribers, stating that the distribution would take place at the school between 10 am and noon on 2 November."
Zelensky said 33 people had been killed and that more than 50 could be trapped in rubble. 
Zelensky said on Monday Moscow had targeted the site repeatedly, hitting the shelter where people fled after the first hits in a so-called double-tap strike.
Among those killed were first responders: two rescue workers and four police officers, acting regional governor Mykhailo Semikin said on Telegram.
bur-oc/mmp/pdw

US

Trump confirms strikes on Iran as Pezeshkian urges against return to war

  • - 'Iran wants a settlement' - The US and Israel launched their war with Iran with a massive wave of strikes in late February.
  • US President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed launching strikes on Iran as President Masoud Pezeshkian warned no one would benefit from a return to war.
  • - 'Iran wants a settlement' - The US and Israel launched their war with Iran with a massive wave of strikes in late February.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed launching strikes on Iran as President Masoud Pezeshkian 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.
Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the US, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Islamic republic was "ready for battle with its finger on the trigger", while deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran retained the right to "legitimate self-defence" after the strikes.
But Pezeshkian said his government was still trying to resolve the crisis "through dialogue", adding that "no one will benefit from this war" if it reignited, and emphasising 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 the Wall Street Journal, CNN, The New York Times and other outlets had reported strikes on 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 US and Israel launched their war with Iran with a massive wave of strikes in late February. The conflict has been stalemated for months.
Asked if Israel was involved in the latest reported strikes, an Israeli military spokesperson told AFP, "No".
The Qeshm attack came just hours after Trump signalled a deal with Iran "could happen", as US voters prepared to cast their ballots in midterms dominated by public dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it has brought.
"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported five explosions in rapid succession on Qeshm island, and that some residents reported seeing two aircraft flying in its skies.
Ghalibaf said Tehran had made its position clear.
"The countries of the region should know that, just as the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready for battle with its finger on the trigger, it has also given the American side a powerful and rational response," he said in a televised speech.
"The ball is now in America's court to prevent war."

'Committed'

Qatar, a mediator in protracted indirect negotiations between the US and Iran, said it remained hopeful of an interim deal in the war.
"Both parties remain committed to the negotiation process; as we mentioned, we are facilitating the real-time exchange of proposals between them," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters.
Both sides "are currently reviewing the ideas and proposals we have presented," he added.
"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 on Monday confirmed indirect negotiations were taking place.
"Given the sensitivity and gravity of the current situation, consultations and deliberations are very intensive," Araghchi told state media.

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 route for global oil and gas supplies, 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.

Billboard in Tehran

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.
On Saturday, 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 the US resumes the war.
Authorities in Tehran installed a huge billboard in the heart of the capital, AFP journalists said on Tuesday. 
Over a photo of the US president, it reads: "We will kill Trump".
bur/ser/ris/jsa/rh

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.
The monarch 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, many of which are 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.
"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," Charles added.
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

 
The Labour premier, 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 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".
 

'Great suffering'

 
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.
The UK will also 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."
The monarch acknowledged "the great suffering of the past" during that stop.
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.
Burnham has said his government is pursuing a "new approach".
bur-pdh/aks/eab

conflict

Zelensky says dozens dead, missing in Russian strike 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".
  • Thirty-three people were killed and more than 50 could be trapped in rubble a day after multiple Russian strikes on a Ukrainian village, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Berlin Tuesday, calling it 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".
Thirty-three people were killed and more than 50 could be trapped in rubble a day after multiple Russian strikes on a Ukrainian village, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Berlin Tuesday, calling it one of Moscow's worst attacks of the war. 
Russia pummelled Ukraine 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 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 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.  
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 this month in support of Ukraine.
The troops will gather in Poland for the first exercise of a new multinational force that could be deployed once a ceasefire is agreed.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that his country had thwarted a potential "provocation" on the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad overnight.
bur-oc/mmp/sbk

Judaism

Baghdad's first Jewish museum opens its doors

BY SALAM FARAJ

  • The museum, with its large wooden entrance topped by menorahs and stained-glass geometric patterns, consists of a hall displaying antique documents and photographs of Iraqi Jews, along with old school certificates, and has begun to attract local and foreign visitors.
  • Dozens of visitors have begun flocking to a new museum opened by Iraq's Jewish community, the first of its kind, amid ongoing efforts by the minority to preserve its heritage.
  • The museum, with its large wooden entrance topped by menorahs and stained-glass geometric patterns, consists of a hall displaying antique documents and photographs of Iraqi Jews, along with old school certificates, and has begun to attract local and foreign visitors.
Dozens of visitors have begun flocking to a new museum opened by Iraq's Jewish community, the first of its kind, amid ongoing efforts by the minority to preserve its heritage.
Last month, the Shamash Jewish Museum opened inside a former Jewish school that was founded in 1928 on Baghdad's al-Rashid street, in the heart of the capital.
"It's the only museum in Iraq belonging to the Jewish community," Ammar al-Tamimi, lawyer for the committee of Iraqi Jews that manages the community's properties, told AFP.
The Jewish community in Iraq was once one of the largest in the Middle East, numbering more than 130,000 people in the 1940s, and traces its history back 2,600 years.
But today there are only a few dozen Jewish residents remaining, most of them in the Kurdistan region.
The museum, with its large wooden entrance topped by menorahs and stained-glass geometric patterns, consists of a hall displaying antique documents and photographs of Iraqi Jews, along with old school certificates, and has begun to attract local and foreign visitors.
Its walls are adorned with photos of prominent Jewish figures, including Iraq's first finance minister Sassoon Eskell (1860–1932) and physician Dhafer Fouad Eliyahu (1960–2021), who was well known in Iraq for providing free services.
The Shamash Jewish School, started by Yaqub Shlomo Shamash nearly a century ago, offered an English-language curriculum to students from various communities, and in particular Jews.
The government confiscated the property in the 1970s and converted it into a public school, until a court ruling returned it to the community in 1992, according to Tamimi.
Efforts to revive the school faced successive setbacks: sanctions in the 1990s, the US invasion of 2003, sectarian clashes in 2006 and 2007, and the rise of the Islamic State group between 2014 and 2017.
But as Iraq finally begins to experience relative stability, accompanied by a growing thirst for culture and entertainment, Jewish community leaders led by Khalida Fouad Eliyahu, 63, have started bringing their sites back to life.

Restoration efforts

Visiting the museum, which he described as "important for remembering Jewish history and civilisation", 74-year-old Ramzi al-Saadi recalled his Jewish neighbours as a child on Baghdad's al-Kifah Street.
"They were kind, simple people who never harmed anyone," he told AFP.
Today, fewer than 50 synagogues and Jewish sites remain in Iraq, most of them in Baghdad and Hilla, the capital of Babylon Province, to which large numbers of Jews were forcibly taken in what became known as the Babylonian Captivity in the sixth century BC.
Tens of thousands of Jews left the country following a deadly 1941 massacre known as the Farhud, when mobs killed over 100 Iraqi Jews, and after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
For years the Iraqi Jewish community has been working to restore its shrines and synagogues, which have suffered from severe neglect, and many of which were turned into warehouses or destroyed during the wars that have plagued Iraq.
sf/cbg/at/ris/rh/ser

conflict

Ukraine-Russia truce spotlights rare thaw between top officials

BY MAGDALENA PACIOREK IN WARSAW

  •   - 'Guided by results' -   Only a few hours earlier, Lantratova told reporters in Russia that she was often asked whether it was "difficult to talk to a representative of a country you're at war with".
  • Russia's human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova nodded along as her counterpart from Kyiv, Dmytro Lubinets, spoke Ukrainian to brief the media about the longest truce between their warring countries.
  •   - 'Guided by results' -   Only a few hours earlier, Lantratova told reporters in Russia that she was often asked whether it was "difficult to talk to a representative of a country you're at war with".
Russia's human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova nodded along as her counterpart from Kyiv, Dmytro Lubinets, spoke Ukrainian to brief the media about the longest truce between their warring countries.
Clad in caps and jackets emblazoned with their respective national symbols, Lantratova and Lubinets, often appearing side-by-side, on Friday oversaw the local ceasefire in the Russia-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky.
The mission, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, to evacuate the town and deliver humanitarian aid proved to be one of the most substantial instances of Russian-Ukrainian cooperation since Moscow sent its troops into its neighbour in 2022.
It also provided rare wartime images of friendly exchanges -- nods, smiles and joint selfie videos -- between top officials from Moscow and Kyiv. 
The unlikely rapport between 37-year-old Lantratova and Lubinets, 45, prompted a flurry of posts on Ukrainian social media, with some half-jokingly suggesting the pair's cordial relationship could spur a further thaw or even bring about peace.
Lubinets -- a lawyer by training and an ex-MP -- also faced criticism, with one Ukrainian soldier accusing him on Facebook of being "all too eager to smile and ingratiate himself with the killers".
When their mission to Oleshky was over and with delegations back in their capitals, Lubinets said he was still in touch with Lantratova about the ceasefire.
"Currently, we are communicating on a daily basis. I've already communicated with her several times today," he told reporters in Kyiv on Monday, replying to AFP's question about their relations.
Lantratova in turn told AFP in Moscow that the pair -- who earlier worked together on arranging prisoner releases -- had "developed a very constructive and simply good relationship. We get on really well." 
But besides pleasantries, both measured their words carefully about the cooperation between Ukraine and Russia during the Oleshky truce,  and beyond.
 

'Diplomatic etiquette'

 
Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops across the border in February 2022.
Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky have had no direct contact since.
Their representatives have only held a handful of rounds of talks, with the next one slated to be hosted by Abu Dhabi next week.
And in sports arenas worldwide, Ukrainian athletes have frequently refused to shake hands with their Russian opponents to protest the ongoing war that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.
In this context, Lubinets said he had faced questions and criticism online of his attitude towards Lantratova, formerly a hardline pro-Kremlin lawmaker, who is on the United Kingdom's sanctions list.
"I had a bit of time to read the comments... I was given advice there like: next time you meet Yana Valerivna (Lantratova), you must nearly use physical force, say everything to her face," he told reporters.
But Lubinets -- who was seen in videos doffing his trademark black cap around Lantratova in an act of gallantry -- said he had consciously opted for a different approach. 
"If you demonstrate diplomatic etiquette, you automatically have a better chance of a positive outcome," he said on Monday, adding: "If this offends someone, let me say this: I want to apologise."
"But on the other hand, please, don't forget that this is being done for the citizens of Ukraine."
 

'Guided by results'

 
Only a few hours earlier, Lantratova told reporters in Russia that she was often asked whether it was "difficult to talk to a representative of a country you're at war with".
"To this I very often reply: my mother is a doctor, and she always used to give the example of a doctor who took the Hippocratic Oath and always treats a person, regardless of who is in front of them."
Lubinets said he wanted to see new ceasefires, similar to the one in Oleshky, and that he had discussed the fate of other Ukrainian citizens -- stranded or imprisoned -- with Lantratova.
"When you're on the same bus for 12 hours, you end up raising a lot of issues. I used this opportunity to bring up the question of returning Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians," he told reporters.
His principle? 
"As long as I hold this position, I'm guided not by emotions, but by results," he said.
"Personally, I, just like all of you, feel exactly the same way toward the Russian Federation.
"But if, in this position, I start acting on emotional criteria, then you definitely won't see any results."
bur-mmp/oc/rlp/cw

accident

Spain says to work 'tirelessly' to restore trust in trains after disasters

  • "We pledge to work tirelessly to achieve and regain the public's trust in high-speed rail," Transport Minister Oscar Puente told a press conference as he presented measures to improve safety.
  • Spain will work "tirelessly" to restore confidence in its high-speed trains, the transport minister said Tuesday, after a collision last week killed 69 people in the country's second such disaster this year.
  • "We pledge to work tirelessly to achieve and regain the public's trust in high-speed rail," Transport Minister Oscar Puente told a press conference as he presented measures to improve safety.
Spain will work "tirelessly" to restore confidence in its high-speed trains, the transport minister said Tuesday, after a collision last week killed 69 people in the country's second such disaster this year.
The accidents have undermined trust in the world's second-largest high-speed rail network and overshadowed campaigning for a November 29 general election in which Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is trailing in opinion polls.
"We pledge to work tirelessly to achieve and regain the public's trust in high-speed rail," Transport Minister Oscar Puente told a press conference as he presented measures to improve safety.
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 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 validate it, Puente added.
 

Safety under scrutiny

 
The right-wing opposition, which is demanding Puente's resignation, and unions have criticised him for appearing to pin all the blame on one control centre operator.
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, who has refused to resign, 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.
The stricken trains' last carriages have been removed from the tracks and the government has requested a court authorisation to repair and reopen the line, Puente said.
rbj/imm/js
 
 

Global Edition

Israeli opposition leaders vow to remove Netanyahu quickly but path unclear

BY YOTAM RONEN

  • Despite their diverging views on various issues, including the role of Arab lawmakers, all opposition bloc leaders in Eisenkot's bloc have said they would back him to form the next government.
  • The Israeli opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot pledged Tuesday to form a government quickly to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but remained unclear on how, with divisions over whether to ally with Arab lawmakers.
  • Despite their diverging views on various issues, including the role of Arab lawmakers, all opposition bloc leaders in Eisenkot's bloc have said they would back him to form the next government.
The Israeli opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot pledged Tuesday to form a government quickly to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but remained unclear on how, with divisions over whether to ally with Arab lawmakers.
Meeting for the first time since an election a week ago brought an inconclusive result, the five opposition party heads consulted on strategy at a hotel in Herzliya, the tech industry hub north of Tel Aviv where former military chief Eisenkot lives.
In a joint statement, the party leaders said their goal was forming a government "as quickly as possible and preventing Israel from being dragged into another election".
They stood by four benchmarks set out by Eisenkot including that any parties in the government recognise Israel as a Jewish state and denounce Hamas as a terrorist group -- conditions that could exclude some Arab lawmakers.
The leaders "agreed on the need to form a Zionist government at the earliest opportunity, based on the four principles set out by Eisenkot", it said.
Unsourced Israeli media reports said the leaders put more emphasis on forming an alliance with Orthodox Jewish parties, traditional backers of Netanyahu, than with Arab parties.
Arab lawmakers could bring Eisenkot a majority which neither bloc now holds.
Arab-majority parties last week won 19 seats in the 120-member parliament on the back of anger over the hard-right Netanyahu government's rhetoric towards Arab citizens of Israel.
Eisenkot's diverse opposition bloc won 48 seats while Netanyahu's camp secured 53, of which 27 are from his Likud party. 
Despite their diverging views on various issues, including the role of Arab lawmakers, all opposition bloc leaders in Eisenkot's bloc have said they would back him to form the next government.
"We don't have time -- we must act with great urgency," Naftali Bennett, a right-leaning former prime minister whose party came in third, told reporters as he promised to back Eisenkot.
 

'Political reality'

 
Public opinion polls conducted before the election showed that Jewish Israeli opposition supporters are divided over including Arab parties in government while right-wing Israelis are adamantly opposed. 
Yousef Jabareen, the head of the largest Arab-majority party in the next parliament, told AFP that the opposition needed to accept "political reality" and team up to remove Netanyahu.
Arab-Israelis are descendants of Palestinians who remained after Israel's creation in 1948 and account for around 20 percent of the population today.
The only opposition leader to openly back an alliance with Arab parties is Yair Golan, head of the left-wing party the Democrats, who said it was racist to exclude the Arab minority.
Golan met with Israeli-Arab leaders before heading to the opposition talks. He promised his party would work to tackle high crime in Arab areas, a key concern of the community, and work to bring "prosperity and equality" for the minority.
But Avigdor Liberman, a right-wing member of Eisenkot's bloc, has adamantly opposed including Arab parties, although he also said he wants to avoid a new election.
Netanyahu spent the campaign painting Arab parties as untrustworthy and stoking fears of a Palestinian state. 
On Monday, Netanyahu called for a "broad national government" and said he should lead it as his Likud, while losing ground, remained the single largest party.
No opposition leader has voiced openness to a unity government with Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, pointing to his divisiveness, the corruption charges against him and his failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Netanyahu ruled out a coalition with Arab-majority lists, alleging that the parties "support terrorism and deny the existence of the Jewish state".
Leaders of Arab-Israeli parties have unanimously condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas without describing the Palestinian Islamist movement as a terror group. 
Although the leader of the Raam party has recognised Israel as a "Jewish state", other leaders have rejected that definition.
Presenting a petition to opposition leaders, Merav Svirsky -- whose parents were killed by Hamas fighters on October 7 and whose brother was kidnapped and then killed -- said Eisenkot must not form a coalition with Netanyahu.
"Any cooperation with members of the government of the massacre would legitimise the abandonment we went through," she told reporters.
acc-sct/dcp

food

Italy holds security talks after European freezer cyberattacks

  • In Italy, government ministers had a meeting with intelligence chiefs and the National Cyber Security Agency, which also issued technical advice for retailers to protect their systems.
  • Italy's government held emergency talks with intelligence chiefs on Tuesday following cyberattacks on supermarket freezer systems in at least 11 European countries.
  • In Italy, government ministers had a meeting with intelligence chiefs and the National Cyber Security Agency, which also issued technical advice for retailers to protect their systems.
Italy's government held emergency talks with intelligence chiefs on Tuesday following cyberattacks on supermarket freezer systems in at least 11 European countries.
The attacks in recent days, for which no one has claimed responsibility, have prompted the EU to warn of a deliberate attempt to disrupt its food supply chain.
EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said EU agencies were also holding meetings on Tuesday with national authorities on "how to best respond to this collectively".
"The investigations are currently being carried out by the national authorities, and we are in close contact with them," he said.
"These are not isolated incidents, and of course, we have to be collectively resilient and prepared for such cyber incidents."
Supermarkets in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Sweden reported refrigeration problems that forced several retailers to discard food after temperatures rose.
The incident came three weeks after a cyberattack disrupted French grocery stores and led hundreds of outlets to throw away spoiled stock.
The EU food and agriculture commissioner, Christophe Hansen, said on Monday the bloc was taking the incidents "very seriously".
"They are a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers' confidence in it -- a warning that we must take seriously," Hansen said.
In Italy, government ministers had a meeting with intelligence chiefs and the National Cyber Security Agency, which also issued technical advice for retailers to protect their systems.
"Initial investigations show that, in Italy, the impact of the attacks is currently highly limited. Only a small number of commercial units have been affected," the government said in a statement.
It said affected outlets had "outdated security systems, with interfaces exposed directly to the internet and weaknesses in authentication mechanisms".
 

'Semi-amateurish'

 
There were reports of around 20 outlets affected nationwide in Italy.
Giuseppe Spadaro, director of a group that manages the Coop supermarkets in Sicily, said four of the company's 300 stores were hit.
"We estimate the damage at several thousands of euros. We had to throw away everything. The shelves are empty. We are waiting for suppliers today to replenish the stock," he was quoted as saying by the Corriere della Sera daily.
"To be honest, we did not think that as supermarkets we would be targeted by a cyberattack. This shows that any connected device can become a target. So we will invest more -- that is essential," he said.
Four supermarket outlets were affected in Germany and six in Romania, officials and company representatives said on Tuesday.
"No other infrastructure was compromised," Dan Cimpean, director of Romania's National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC), told AFP.
"It seems semi-amateurish. We do not suspect, under any circumstances, that it is a state actor," he said.
Carlos Cancinos, spokesperson for the Coop chain in Sweden, said that the group's seven affected shops had resumed "normal functioning".
Refrigeration equipment and freezers affected overnight from Monday to Tuesday were connected to "old 4G networks", he said. 
"We have launched a major programme to modernise a large part of our store network, equipping connected refrigerators and ensuring that they operate via 5G networks. This helps to solve a large share of problems of this kind," he said.
Belgium was among the hardest-hit countries, with dozens of stores across several grocery chains reporting refrigeration failures. Federal prosecutors there have opened an investigation.
burs-dt/rlp

conflict

Multinational Ukraine force to hold first exercise in Poland: France, UK

  • Turkish troops will not be involved in the land exercise in Poland, it added.
  • Some 2,800 troops from 10 European countries will this month stage in Poland the first exercise of a new multinational force in support of Ukraine, London and Paris said on Tuesday.
  • Turkish troops will not be involved in the land exercise in Poland, it added.
Some 2,800 troops from 10 European countries will this month stage in Poland the first exercise of a new multinational force in support of Ukraine, London and Paris said on Tuesday.
Led by France and the UK, the Multinational Force - Ukraine (MNF-U) has no offensive mission and is only to be deployed once a ceasefire is agreed to end the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The force, which was set up in 2025 and already has an operational headquarters in Paris, is not a NATO operation and has little US involvement. But it will be ready to respond in case it is attacked by Russia, officials say.
It aims to support the Ukrainian armed forces, ensure security in Ukrainian skies and allow economic activity to resume in the Black Sea.
But the scale and duration of the exercise, dubbed Koalicja ("Coalition" in Polish), risks antagonising Russia, with Moscow still showing little appetite to settle for peace.
It also remains unclear if and when the force would be deployed as fighting still rages, with Ukraine under daily attack from Russia and prospects for a swift ceasefire dim.
"This isn't a hypothetical plan," UK Defence Minister Wes Streeting was quoted as saying in the UK statement. "It's a real force, ready to help Ukraine once the fighting stops."
 

Air and land operations

 
The exercise is scheduled to last from November 9 to 22, involving troops from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The air and land operations will take place around the town of Nowa Deba, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of the Ukrainian border, the statements said.
The largest contingent of 1,100 troops will come from France, with the UK deploying 300 soldiers including troops from the British Army's legendary 7 Brigade known as the "Desert Rats", joined by RAF Typhoon war planes. 
Meanwhile, a maritime simulation will be hosted by Turkey to test preparedness for eventual mine-clearing operations in the Black Sea. Turkish troops will not be involved in the land exercise in Poland, it added.
 

Anti-drone exercises

 
The first exercise for the coalition force is "a key milestone, as it will serve as a concrete demonstration of the MNF-U's ability to be deployed as soon as hostilities have ended," said French General Armel Dirou, who will co-lead the exercise alongside Britain's Lieutenant General Tom Bateman.
Bateman emphasised that the force was not a "peacekeeping or ceasefire monitoring mission". 
"It is not designed for offensive operations. Its purpose is to provide reassurance and support the regeneration of Ukraine's armed forces, strengthening their ability to deter and, if necessary, defend against future Russian aggression," he said.
Nevertheless, Moscow will be watching closely as the war -- which has now lasted longer than World War I -- grinds towards its five-year milestone with neither side apparently close to a breakthrough.
Dirou said that the aim of the exercise was to prepare how the mission would be deployed, overcoming the various potential logistical and cultural issues between the different countries' militaries.
"This is not a show of force. We are not going to flex our muscles," he said.
It is expected that only light equipment, such as drones, will be deployed in Poland for anti-drone and self-defence exercises, rather than heavy weaponry, and that no tanks will be deployed.
 

Rules of engagement

 
Western officials emphasised that while the force was defensive in nature it was prepared to defend itself against any aggression.
An "appropriate set" of rules of engagement are being worked on should Russia attack the force, said the officials.
"Russia may choose to operate and to challenge the MNF-U in a variety of different areas," said an official who asked not to be named, pointing to potential Russian disinformation attacks. 
But the official added: "We will be ready to respond as necessary, in order to make sure that we protect our force and we can deliver our mission and our mandate."
dt-sjw/ah/rlp

rights

Iran hangs two young men in latest executions over protests: NGOs

  • Iran has now executed 36 men over the protests, IHR said, in a wave of hangings rights groups see as a bid to spread fear throughout society after the mass protests that they say were put down in a crackdown that left thousands dead.
  • Iran on Tuesday hanged two young men on charges related to nationwide protests in January, as rights groups accused authorities of subjecting them to torture and an unfair trial.
  • Iran has now executed 36 men over the protests, IHR said, in a wave of hangings rights groups see as a bid to spread fear throughout society after the mass protests that they say were put down in a crackdown that left thousands dead.
Iran on Tuesday hanged two young men on charges related to nationwide protests in January, as rights groups accused authorities of subjecting them to torture and an unfair trial.
Amirhossein Maleki, 20, and Amirhossein Ebrahimi, 19, were executed after being convicted over events in a square in the central city of Isfahan during the protests that authorities say caused the deaths of four members of the security forces, Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said.
Iran has now executed 36 men over the protests, IHR said, in a wave of hangings rights groups see as a bid to spread fear throughout society after the mass protests that they say were put down in a crackdown that left thousands dead.
The Iranian judiciary said that Maleki and Ebrahimi had been hanged over "brutal and atrocious actions (that) led to the martyrdom of four police officers" and that their death sentences had been upheld by the supreme court, according to the Mizan news agency.
The case centres on events in Alikhani Square in Isfahan, which was a hub of protests activity on the nights of January 8 and 9. Seven other men have already been executed in the same case and three more are at risk of execution, according to IHR.
It said the entire case has been marked by "torture, forced confessions and gross violations of due process in this case", with authorities using "the deaths of four security officers to justify these executions, although none of those executed were charged with murder".
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) which also confirmed the executions, said defendants and their lawyers had limited access to case files and noted "allegations that pressure and torture were used during the investigation".
Iran in October also arrested one of the most prominent lawyers defending protesters in the case, Amirsalar Davoudi.
The Hengaw rights group, also based in Norway, said "Ebrahimi was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture during interrogation in an attempt to extract forced confessions".
The two men were sentenced to death on the capital charges of "waging war against God" and "corruption on earth", according to Mizan.
IHR also said Ebrahimi was subjected to mock executions and "his 16-year-old brother was also tortured and had confessed against him".
"The scale of torture and violations of due process in this case is appalling," IHR director Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam told AFP.
sjw/ah/ser