International
US midterms saw ‘widespread disinformation’ affecting voters: monitors
| Bye AFP |
Midterm elections in the United States saw free but highly polarized campaigns and voter disinformation was widespread, international observers said Wednesday.
The comments by observers with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections in Western nations and the former Soviet Union, came a day after Americans headed to the polls — with outcomes set to shape the political fortunes of President Joe Biden.
Biden’s Democrats are facing a struggle to hold on to control of Congress, after a race that he has cast as a defining moment for US democracy.
For now, Republicans are edging towards a slim majority in the US House of Representatives, but their hopes of a “red wave” appear dashed as the Democrats outperformed.
“Campaigning was free but highly polarized,” and involved harsh rhetoric, said Margareta Cederfelt, leader of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s short-term observer mission.
“Polarization and widespread disinformation affected voters’ ability to inform themselves,” she told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the intimidation of election workers was concerning as well.
The election campaign has seen a gush of misinformation, with far-right Republican candidates endorsing former president Donald Trump’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Some have also seized on isolated voting machine glitches to launch what many saw as preemptive efforts to discredit the results.
A number of Republican candidates in key races, including those who, if elected, will have responsibility in overseeing future elections in their states, had challenged or refused to accept the legitimacy of the 2020 results, the OSCE noted in a statement on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately… baseless allegations of fraud continued to have a serious result, in harassment of and threats against election officials,” Cederfelt added.
She noted that the vocal refusal by some in accepting the legitimacy of the 2020 results had a “harmful effect” on public discourse, lowering confidence in the system.
Accusations of rigging sprung up on social media platforms and were amplified by Trump after an Arizona county reported a minority of tabulation machines were not working during Tuesday’s vote.
Officials have since said there was no criminality involved in voting machine issues, and the OSCE added on Wednesday that it planned to follow up on the concerns in coming days.
International
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Six people, including a baby girl about two years old, were killed on Sunday in an armed attack near a tourist beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said. The shooting, carried out with rifles, also left three people wounded.
The incident took place in the coastal town of Puerto López, in the province of Manabí, a popular tourist destination known for whale watching. The attack occurred amid a surge of violence over the weekend that left at least nine people dead nationwide, according to local media reports.
“There are six fatalities and three injured,” Colonel William Acurio, the local police commander, told reporters on Sunday. He confirmed that one of the victims was a baby “approximately two years old.”
Authorities have not released further details about the motive behind the attack or whether arrests have been made.
International
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
The man who killed nine people, including five children, on Saturday night in Paramaribo died by suicide while in custody, Suriname police confirmed in a statement on Monday.
The suspect, identified by the initials D.A., 43, “hanged himself inside a holding cell at the Keizerstraat police station” in the capital, Paramaribo, according to the official report.
Police said the man sustained leg injuries during his arrest and was taken to a hospital before being transferred to the detention facility on Sunday night. Authorities did not provide further details on the circumstances surrounding his death.
International
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Airlines canceled around 1,500 flights across the United States during the peak Christmas travel season after warnings of a severe winter storm and forecasts of heavy snowfall in the Midwest and Northeast. An additional 5,900 flights were delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
More than 40 million Americans were under snowstorm warnings or weather advisories one day after Christmas. Meanwhile, another 30 million people faced flood or storm alerts in California, where an atmospheric river triggered intense rainfall.
New York City was bracing for up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of snow overnight, which would mark its heaviest snowfall in four years. Cold weather was expected to persist through the weekend in the nation’s largest city. According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, airports in the New York area recorded about 850 flight cancellations.
Six killed, including baby, in armed attack near tourist beach in Ecuador
Man accused of killing nine in Paramaribo dies by suicide in police custody
Winter storm disrupts holiday travel, forcing 1,500 flight cancellations in the U.S.
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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