International

US midterms saw ‘widespread disinformation’ affecting voters: monitors

Photo: Olivier Touron / AFP

| 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.

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“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.

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“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.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.

International

Trump Floats “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Rising Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is considering what he described as a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, as Washington continues to increase pressure on the island’s communist government.

“The Cuban government is talking to us and they have very serious problems, as you know. They have no money, they have nothing at this moment, but they are talking to us and maybe we will see a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Texas.

Earlier in the week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba needed a “radical change,” shortly after Washington eased restrictions on oil exports to the island for what officials described as “humanitarian reasons,” amid a deep economic crisis.

The United States has imposed an energy blockade on Cuba since January, citing what it calls an “extraordinary threat” posed by the communist-run island, located roughly 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Florida, to U.S. national security.

International

Argentina’s Senate Reviews Milei-Backed Labor Overhaul

Argentina’s Senate on Friday began reviewing the Labor Modernization Law promoted by the administration of President Javier Milei, a proposal that would significantly reshape labor rules across the country.

The upper chamber opened its final discussion of the contentious initiative, which revises the method used to calculate severance payments — lowering the amounts owed in dismissal cases — and introduces an “hour bank” mechanism that allows overtime to be offset with paid leave rather than extra wages.

The legislation also broadens the classification of essential services, a change that would place new limits on the right to strike in designated sectors.

The bill was initially approved by the Senate on February 11 and then moved to the Chamber of Deputies, where lawmakers passed it with amendments. It has now returned to the Senate for definitive approval.

Outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires, workers, trade unions and left-wing organizations staged demonstrations beginning at midday. The gathering later thinned out amid reports of disturbances and a strong police presence. Security forces had secured the area surrounding the legislature since early morning hours.

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Union leaders contend that the reform weakens labor protections, while many business representatives back the measure but stress that sustainable formal employment will require economic expansion, improved credit conditions, greater investment and a more dynamic domestic market.