Foreign News
US Congress Poll Outcome, Still Indefinite – Observers
Hours after election polls in numerous U.S. states began to close, it remained unclear as of Tuesday night which party would control either chamber of Congress.
Voters are determining the majorities in the U.S. Congress, the country’s two legislative chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
This as well decided on numerous governorships and other important offices.
Early results showed U.
S. President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party holding several key seats in states on the East Coast; thereby, keeping alive Democrats’ hopes of holding onto control of Congress and deflating expectations of an overwhelming national victory for Republicans.In the elections midway through Biden’s four-year term, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for grabs.
Republicans need to gain one Senate seat and five House seats to have a majority in both houses.
Polls had predicted a so-called red wave and thus a clear victory for the Republicans, especially in the House.
But better-than-expected performances by some Democrats indicated that the election would likely be far closer than predicted.
“It’s definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure,’’ Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on NBC News.
Graham nonetheless predicted a narrow Republican victory once all ballots are counted.
Final election results may not be available for several days.
Biden’s Democrats defended two hard-fought seats in the state of Virginia in the House of Representatives.
The two incumbents, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton were re-elected. Observers saw those races as key indicators of Republican performance.
U.S. news agencies also predicted that Democrat John Fetterman would win Pennsylvania’s Senate seat over television personality, Dr Mehmet Oz.
A victory in the closely watched Pennsylvania race would boost Democrats’ chance of keeping control of the closely divided Senate.
In the U.S. state of Florida, however, Republican Ron DeSantis has been convincingly re-elected governor of the state in the southeast of the country.
Within the party, DeSantis was considered the primary rival of ex-President Donald Trump and was widely believed to be considering running for president in 2024.
Florida had long been considered a so-called swing state but has become more solidly Republican in recent years.
Within the Republican Party, former president Donald Trump’s influence has appeared to remain strong.
Candidates supported by Trump won in several U.S. states, including best-selling Republican author JD Vance, who won the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio.
In Arkansas, former spokeswoman for the Trump White House Sarah Huckabee Sanders will become the new governor.
The Republican is a loyal supporter of the ex-president.
As expected, Republican Greg Abbott once again won the Texas gubernatorial election.
But Democrats also made gains. In Massachusetts and Maryland, they recaptured governorships from Republicans.
In Pennsylvania, Democrat Josh Shapiro prevailed against ardent Trump supporter Doug Mastriano.
The position of the governor is the top elected position in a federal state’s local government.
Historically, the president’s party usually fares poorly in the midterm elections. Polls have shown low approval ratings for Biden, who his handling of inflation and rising fuel prices.
In a post-election poll, around a third of respondents named inflation as the most important issue in voting.
In second place with 27 per cent, people gave the topic of abortion.
If the Democrats lose their majority in Congress, Republicans are likely to block the majority of Biden’s policies until the next presidential election in November 2024
Mozambique’s disaster management agency announced that the death toll from Cyclone Chido has risen to 94.
The cyclone had made landfall in northern Mozambique a week ago and Mozambique’s institute for natural disasters on Thursday had given the death toll at 73.
The Indian Ocean archipelago Mayotte bore the brunt of the storm.
Officials in Mayotte, which is one of France’s poorest overseas territories, have only been able to confirm 35 fatalities from Chido, but some have said they fear thousands could have been killed.Olamide Harrison, the International Monetary Fund’s Mozambique resident representative, said on Wednesday that the country’s 2024 economic growth would likely be revised down from a previous forecast of 4.
3 per cent due to the impact of the cyclone and post-election civil unrest.In October, Daniel Chapo, the candidate of Mozambique’s ruling party Frelimo, was declared winner of the presidential election. (Reuters/NAN)
Foreign News
No talk of Ceasefire Deal Between Turkey, US-backed SDF in Northern Syria – Turkish Official
There is no talk of a ceasefire deal between Turkey and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria, contrary to a U.S. announcement on the issue, a Turkish defence ministry official said on Thursday.
The official was responding to comments from State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who said a ceasefire between Turkey and the SDF around the northern Syrian city of Manbij has been extended until the end of this week.
“As Turkey, it is out of the question for us to have talks with any terrorist organisation.
“The (U.S.) statement must be a slip of the tongue,” the defence ministry official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters.
Washington brokered an initial ceasefire between Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and the SDF forces last week after fighting that broke out earlier this month as rebel groups advanced on Damascus and overthrew Bashar al-Assad.
The SDF is an ally in the U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants.
It is spearheaded by the YPG, a group that Ankara sees as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years.
Turkey regards the PKK, YPG and SDF as terrorist groups. The U.S. and Turkey’s Western allies list the PKK as terrorist, but not the YPG and the SDF.
When asked if Ankara was considering another ground operation into northern Syria, the official said that Turkey still sees a threat to its borders from north Syria.
“Our preparations and precautions as part of the fight against terrorism will continue until the PKK/YPG lays down its arms and its foreign fighters leave Syria,” the official said.
Since 2016, Turkey has mounted four military operations in northern Syria, citing national security threats.
Turkey believes that forces of the Syrian National Army paramilitary group which it backs will “liberate” YPG-controlled areas in northern Syria, the official said, signalling that Turkey does not plan an imminent operation into the region by its military.
The SDF have close ties with Western countries including the U.S. and France. Recently, France said the political transition in Syria needed to ensure that the SDF was represented. (Reuters/NAN)
The South Korean Government ordered an overseas travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol.The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Monday that the travel ban is due to the ongoing investigation into Yoon, which involves suspicion of high treason.Yoon unexpectedly imposed martial law on his country last Tuesday night, but hours later, after massive political resistance, he repealed the order.
On Saturday evening, a motion by the opposition to impeach the president in parliament failed. However, public pressure against the 63-year-old continues. (dpa/NAN)
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