Venezuela opposition candidate asks Maduro to ‘step aside’
Venezuela opposition candidate asks Maduro to ‘step aside’/node/2568090/world
Venezuela opposition candidate asks Maduro to ‘step aside’
Venezuela’s election-related protests have claimed 25 lives so far, with nearly 200 injured and 2,400 arrested since election day, according to official sources. (AFP)
Venezuela opposition candidate asks Maduro to ‘step aside’
Since the contested election, Gonzalez Urrutia and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have been in hiding
Opposition says its own tally of polling-station-level results showed Urrutia had won more than two-thirds of the vote
Updated 20 August 2024
AFP
CARACAS: Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who has claimed he defeated Nicolas Maduro in last month’s election, said Monday he was ready to negotiate a transition — and asked the incumbent to “step aside.”
“Mr. Nicolas Maduro, respect what all Venezuelans have decided... You and your government should step aside... I am ready for dialogue,” Gonzalez Urrutia, a retired diplomat, said in a video message posted on social media.
“Every day that you hinder the democratic transition, Venezuelans suffer from a country in crisis, and without freedom. Clinging to power only makes the suffering of our people worse. Our time has come.”
Since the contested election, Gonzalez Urrutia and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado — who was barred from running herself — have been in hiding as prosecutors have opened an investigation against both of them.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab threatened to formally charge them Monday.
Gonzalez Urrutia has not been seen publicly in weeks, while Machado appeared at an opposition rally in Caracas on Saturday.
Saturday’s protest was the latest since the July election, in which Maduro claimed a third, six-year term.
The country’s CNE electoral council declared Maduro the victor within hours of polls closing, giving him 52 percent of ballots cast, and ratified the vote in early August. It did not provide a detailed breakdown.
The opposition says its own tally of polling-station-level results showed Gonzalez Urrutia, 74, had won more than two-thirds of the vote.
The CNE claimed to have been the victim of a cyberattack on election night, but the opposition and third-party election observers such as the Carter Center have said there is no evidence such an event occurred.
Maduro’s victory claim has been rejected by the United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries.
Election-related protests have claimed 25 lives so far, with nearly 200 injured and 2,400 arrested since election day, according to official sources.
Maduro has accused the opposition of fomenting a coup, telling his supporters on Sunday: “They will never be able to defeat us, because we carry with us the force of history, the force of the nation, the force of God. We won.”
Venezuela’s national legislature on Tuesday will discuss a bill purportedly “against fascism,” the second law in a series of measures prepared by the government in the wake of Maduro’s contested reelection.
Last week, the National Assembly of Venezuela adopted a law regarding NGOs which critics say will be used to crack down on dissent.
The government also intends to discuss a law regulating social media, a move following the ban of the platform X for 10 days in the country and a boycott of messaging app WhatsApp spurred by Maduro.
Last week, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said he was troubled by the use of counterterrorism legislation to enforce arbitrary detentions.
“Criminal law must never be used to limit unduly the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” Turk said in a statement.
SEDAVI, Spain: Spain braced for a heavier human toll on Wednesday after 95 people died in flash floods that launched muddy waters through towns, tossed cars and wreaked transport havoc.
Rescuers were expected to find more bodies in the European country’s deadliest flood in more than 50 years and three days of official mourning were due to start on Thursday.
Heavy downpours and fierce winds have lashed Spain since the beginning of the week after a storm formed over the Mediterranean Sea, with up to a year’s worth of rain falling in just hours in some areas.
The body coordinating emergency services in the eastern Valencia region announced a provisional death toll of 92, adding that bodies were still being recovered and identified.
Two people died in neighboring Castilla-La Mancha and another victim was reported in Andalusia in the south, both regions’ leaders told journalists.
The toll is likely to rise because “there are many missing people,” government minister Angel Victor Torres told public broadcaster TVE.
The head of the Valencia region, Carlos Mazon, told reporters there were no longer people to save from roofs or terraces through aerial means.
Emergency services carried out 200 rescues on the ground and 70 aerial evacuations throughout the day, he said.
A sea of piled-up cars and mud swamped streets in Sedavi, a suburb of the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, AFP journalists saw.
Stunned residents attempted to clean the sludge and grabbed buckets to bail out water from their homes ahead of a long night without water or electricity.
In Ribarroja del Turia on the outskirts of Valencia city, town councillor Esther Gomez said workers were stuck overnight in an industrial estate “without a chance of rescuing them” as streams overflowed.
“It had been a long time since this happened and we’re scared,” she told AFP.
According to Spain’s weather service AEMET, the town of Chiva, west of Valencia, recorded 491 mm of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday — almost equalling a year’s worth.
“All of Spain weeps with all of you... We won’t abandon you,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told victims and their families in a televised address.
The disaster could not be considered over and “we will deploy all the necessary resources for as long as necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy,” he added.
King Felipe VI said he was “devastated” by the news on X and offered “heartfelt condolences” to families of the victims, thanking emergency services for their “titanic” response.
Damage to telephone networks and flooded roads were hampering efforts to reach stricken communities in the Valencia region, but rescuers’ access to all urban hubs was restored by Wednesday evening, Mazon said.
Some 155,000 homes were without electricity in Valencia region due to the storm, energy company Iberdrola said, adding that it had dispatched 500 workers to restore power there.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles told reporters more than 1,000 troops backed by helicopters were being deployed in the face of “an unprecedented phenomenon.”
The European Union activated its Copernicus satellite system to help coordinate Spanish rescue teams, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Brussels.
The bloc has also offered to use its civil protection mechanism to send further reinforcements, she said.
Officials in the Valencia region announced survivors were being sheltered in temporary accommodation such as fire stations.
Rail and air transport remained severely disrupted. The high-speed line between Valencia and Madrid will be suspended over the next four days at least, rail infrastructure authority Adif announced.
Some downpours are expected to continue, but AEMET removed all remaining red alerts in the evening.
The flood toll is Spain’s deadliest since 1973 when at least 150 people were estimated to have died in the southeastern provinces of Granada, Murcia and Almeria.
Meteorologists have said the latest storm was caused by cold air moving over Mediterranean’s warm waters, which produced intense rain clouds, a phenomenon common for the time of year.
Scientists warn extreme weather events such as storms are becoming more intense, last longer and occur more frequently as a result of human-induced climate change.
Such extremes “can overwhelm the ability of existing defenses and contingency plans to cope, even in a relatively wealthy country like Spain,” said Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at Britain’s Open University.
The heavy death toll came after warnings for extreme rainfall, suggesting Valencia’s flood alert system failed, said Hannah Cloke, hydrology professor at the University of Reading.
Reports on N.Korean troops ‘barefaced lies’: Russian UN envoy
Updated 4 min 6 sec ago
AFP
UNITED NATIONS: Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday denied reports that North Korean troops were present at its front lines in the war against Ukraine, calling them “barefaced lies.”
Vassily Nebenzia accused Washington and London of “disinformation” and insisted that Moscow’s interaction with North Korea has followed international law.
“These statements about the North Korean soldiers in our front should not surprise no one, because they’re all barefaced lies,” he told the Security Council.
Nebenzia spoke after the United States alleged that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers had been deployed to Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, for possible action against Ukrainian forces.
On Tuesday the Pentagon said it had indications that a “small number” of North Korean troops had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region, on the border with Ukraine.
Russia and North Korea have deepened their political and military alliance as the Ukraine war has dragged on, but sending Pyongyang’s troops into combat against Kyiv’s forces would mark a significant escalation that has sparked widespread international concern.
Even if the US allegations were true, Nebenzia said, “why is it that the United States and allies are trying to impose on everyone the flawed logic that they have the right to help the Zelensky regime... and Russian allies have no right” to do the same.
Nebenzia said Russia’s interaction with North Korea “in the military and other areas is in line with international law and is not a violation of it.”
However, other members of the Security Council expressed concern.
British ambassador Barbara Woodward warned of the benefits Pyongyang could derive from Moscow, in particular military assistance, which “risks further raising tensions on the Korean peninsula” and undermining security in the Indo-Pacific region.
If North Korean troops are indeed deployed in Russia, it would be seen as “a hostile act with direct consequences for European security, international peace and security, and would only increase the suffering of the Ukrainian people,” French ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said.
The United Nations said it had followed the allegations with “serious concern.”
“The United Nations does not have any additional details on these developments and is not in a position to verify or confirm claims or reports made,” said Miroslav Jenca, UN Under-Secretary-General for Europe.
How the US election works, from how ballots are counted to when we will know the result
With its electoral college system, staggered results, and early voting options, understanding how the election functions can be daunting
To cut through the jargon and complexities of the democratic process, here is a breakdown of all you need to know to survive election day
Updated 41 min 22 sec ago
GABRIELE MALVISI
LONDON: Early voting has already begun in the US to decide who will form the next administration in what many believe is among the most consequential — and hotly contested — elections in a generation.
Almost every poll published over the past week has placed the two main contenders, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, neck and neck in the race for the White House.
Analysts predict the result could come down to just a handful of votes. The outcome could have huge implications not only for domestic policy, but also for the international order.
With extensive media coverage, election jargon, and an overwhelming volume of information, understanding the process can feel daunting. Here is a breakdown of all you need to know to survive election day.
The polls
Polls are often excellent indicators of general voter sentiment. However, recent US elections have shown they are far from foolproof.
In 2016, almost every major polling firm predicted Hillary Clinton would defeat Donald Trump. However, pollsters failed to capture Trump’s unexpected support, leading to a surprise victory that confounded many.
In 2020, polls correctly tipped Joe Biden as the likely winner, but underestimated the actual vote share Trump would receive. In the week before the election, polls gave Biden a seven-point lead, yet Trump managed to close the gap by several points on Election Day.
With most polls indicating a close race on Tuesday, many are wondering whether the pollsters have got it right this time around.
Electoral college
About 244 million Americans are eligible to vote in this year’s election. If the turnout matches 2020’s record 67 percent, about 162 million ballots will be cast across 50 states.
A recent Arab News-YouGov poll indicated that Arab Americans are likely to vote in record numbers, with more than 80 percent of eligible voters saying they intend to participate — potentially swinging the outcome in several key states.
When voters cast their ballots, they do not vote directly for their preferred presidential candidate. Rather, they vote for a slate of “electors” who formally choose the president — a process known as the electoral college system.
Due to the quirks of this system, the candidate with the most votes nationally may not necessarily win the presidency. This was the case with Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Al Gore in 2000, both of whom won the popular vote but lost the election.
Former US Vice President Al Gore (left) won the popular vote in 2000 and so did former US first lady and senator Hilary Clinton in the 2016 election. But both lost the race because their rivals won more electoral votes. (AFP/File photos)l
The electoral college creates what could be defined as 51 mini elections — one in each state and another for Washington, D.C. In 48 states and D.C., the candidate with the majority vote takes all the electors from that state.
However, Maine and Nebraska have a different system, allocating electors by district, meaning their electoral votes may be split between candidates.
In total, 538 electors are distributed among the states. A candidate must secure at least 270 of these to win the presidency.
In the unlikely case that no candidate has the required 270 electoral college votes, then a contingent election takes place. This means the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US Congress, votes for the president.
How votes are counted
When the polls close on election day, the count begins. In most cases, in-person votes are counted first, followed by early and mail-in ballots.
Results from smaller or less contested states often come in early, while larger, key battleground states like Pennsylvania or Georgia may take hours — or days — to finalize due to stringent verification steps, including signature checks and ballot preparation for electronic scanning.
States like Florida, where mail-in ballots are processed in advance, may report results relatively quickly. Other states, particularly those with late processing times for absentee ballots, might not finalize their tallies until days later.
State and local poll officials collect, verify, and certify the popular vote in each jurisdiction, following procedures for accuracy before final certification by governors and designated officials.
In response to unprecedented threats in 2020, many polling stations have now installed panic buttons, bulletproof glass and armed security to ensure safety across the more than 90,000 polling sites nationwide.
Mail-in and early votes
Although election day is held on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1, many Americans vote early. Early voting allows citizens to cast ballots in person, while others opt for mail-in ballots.
This year, early and mail-in voting are once again expected to play a crucial role, with millions of ballots already cast. President Biden voted early on Monday in his home state of Delaware.
US President Joe Biden casts his early-voting ballot in the 2024 general election in New Castle, Delaware, on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
States vary in how they handle mail-in ballots, with some processing them before election day and others waiting until polls close. In closely contested states, the volume of mail-in ballots could be a decisive factor, potentially delaying results.
Voting by mail has grown in popularity. According to ABC News, as of Tuesday, more than 25.6 million Americans have already returned mail ballots, and more than 65 million — including military personnel serving overseas — have requested absentee ballots.
In 2020, a comparable number voted by mail, though the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased reliance on this option.
Despite its growing popularity, the mail-in voting system has faced accusations of fraud. During the last election, authorities and the postal service were strained by millions of extra ballots.
At the time, Trump said that mail-in voting was a “disaster” and “a whole big scam,” claiming that the Democrats had exploited the system to “steal” the election. The Democrats claim those allegations contributed to the Capitol Hill attack of Jan. 6, 2021.
This election cycle, some states, including Michigan and Nevada, have passed laws permitting early counting of mail-in ballots, which should lead to faster results. However, most states’ absentee voting policies have seen minimal changes, leaving tensions high.
Authorities are closely monitoring the process. In a sign of just how tense the situation has become, officials announced on Tuesday that they were searching for suspects after hundreds of votes deposited in two ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest were destroyed by fire.
When will a winner be declared?
Indiana and Kentucky will be the first states to close their polls at 6 pm ET, followed by seven more states an hour later, including the battleground state of Georgia, which in 2020 voted for Biden. North Carolina, another critical swing state which picked Trump last time around, closes at 7:30 pm ET.
By around 8 p.m. ET, many states will have reported results, most of which are expected to follow traditional patterns. However, early results in solid Republican states like South Carolina could hint at trends in neighboring battlegrounds like Georgia.
By 9 p.m. ET, polls in key swing states such as Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan close, with results trickling in soon after. By midnight ET, most of the nation will have reported, with Hawaii and Alaska closing shortly after, likely providing a clearer picture.
Pennsylvania, which is seen as a bellwether of the overall election outcome, aims to announce its results by early morning on Nov. 6.
The timing of a winner declaration ultimately depends on how close the race is in these key states. If one candidate establishes a clear lead in pivotal swing states early, a winner could be projected by major networks, as Fox News controversially did in 2020, calling Arizona for Biden hours ahead of other broadcasters.
If the race remains tight in crucial states like Pennsylvania, Arizona, or Michigan — all won by Biden last time around — the results may be delayed, possibly into the next day or later.
In 2020, it took four days to project Biden’s win due to a high volume of mail-in ballots. Experts caution that similarly close results this year could lead to a comparable delay.
Possible controversy
As in previous years, the outcome of the election will likely be contested. Delays in ballot counting, especially from mail-in votes, could fuel disputes in states where margins are tight.
Both parties have prepared legal teams to challenge issues surrounding ballot validity, recounts, or other contested results.
Concerns over voter intimidation, misinformation and unsubstantiated allegations of fraud may further stoke tensions, despite the rigorous safeguards put in place.
In its latest assessment, the International Crisis Group noted that while conditions differ from 2020, political divisions remain sharp and risks of unrest remain high, especially if results are contested or take days to finalize.
As the world watches Tuesday’s election closely, there is widespread hope for a fair and peaceful process, marking a fitting conclusion to this tense political season.
French court overturns ban of Israeli companies at defense trade fair
Decision came amid rising tensions between Israel and France, after Emmanuel Macron criticized the civilian casualties in Gaza and Lebanon
French leader had insisted that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in both operations was the only way to halt the two conflicts
Updated 30 October 2024
AFP
PARIS: A Paris commercial court on Wednesday threw out a French government decision to ban Israeli companies from setting up stands or exhibiting hardware at the Euronaval defense trade fair, according to a decision seen by AFP.
The court ordered the organizers “to suspend the execution of the measures adopted against the Israeli exhibiting companies whose stands were prohibited at the Euronaval 2024 exhibition until the closing date of the exhibition,” the judgment said.
In mid October, the French government told Euronaval organizers that Israeli delegations taking part in the trade fair this year, from November 4-7, would not be permitted to set up a stand of exhibit hardware, sparking outrage from Israel.
The decision came amid rising tensions between Israel and France, after President Emmanuel Macron criticized the civilian casualties in the Israeli campaigns against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The French leader had insisted that stopping the export of weapons used by Israel in both operations was the only way to halt the two conflicts.
A lawyer who represented the Israeli companies after they appealed the ban, Patrick Klugman, hailed Wednesday’s decision as “a victory for the rule of law.”
“Whatever the stated intention, from the highest level of the State to the organizing company, the action which we had to take note of here was manifestly ill-founded and illegal,” he said.
Euronaval is a biennial event that attracts naval defense exhibitors from around the world.
At the end of May, the presence of Israeli defense manufacturers at the Eurosatory land defense and security exhibition was banned by the government, before finally being authorized by the French courts.
Biden, Cyprus president discuss administration push to win ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon
Christodoulides said he was “quite optimistic” that a Lebanon ceasefire deal could emerge in one to two weeks
Updated 30 October 2024
AP
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday discussed a new effort by the US administration and mediators in the Middle East to forge ceasefires to end fighting in Lebanon and Gaza.
Christodoulides leads the European Union nation closest to Gaza. The small Mediterranean island nation has played a critical role in efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza since the war between Hamas and Israel began more than a year ago.
He said that Biden and White House officials briefed him on the latest stepped-up efforts by the US administration and other mediators but declined to offer further details about the discussion.
“The most important, the number one priority of the international community now is to have a ceasefire in the region,” Christodoulides told reporters after his Oval Office talks with Biden.
He added that situation on the ground changes daily but that he was “quite optimistic” that a Lebanon ceasefire deal could emerge in one to two weeks.
Senior White House officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein will visit Israel on Thursday for talks on possible ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza, and on the release of hostages held by Hamas, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. She said CIA Director Bill Burns will head to Egypt on Thursday to discuss those efforts.
A proposal to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah calls for a two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon, and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the country’s southern border, according to two US officials familiar with the talks said. The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Biden, meanwhile, thanked Cyprus for helping move badly needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and for the Mediterranean nation’s cooperation in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The meeting, the first Oval visit by a Cypriot president since 1996, comes days after US and Cypriot officials announced the countries are launching a strategic dialogue aimed at bolstering security and stability in a crisis-wracked region through initiatives including counterterrorism training of personnel from Middle Eastern countries and fighting sanctions evasion.
The new coordination is just the latest example of Cyprus tightening relations with the US after decades of walking a tightrope between Washington and Moscow. Cyprus has moved closer to the US since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Today we stood against Russia’s vicious onslaught against Ukraine, we launched a strategic dialogue, we increased cooperation across a range of issues, from energy security to artificial intelligence, and we surged humanitarian aid, delivering 8000 metric tons to Gaza,” Biden said.
The US is also funding a center on the island nation under the acronym CYCLOPS that trains personnel from Cyprus and neighboring countries on maritime and cybersecurity as well as counterterrorism techniques.
The Cyprus government has also stepped up coordination with local law enforcement, the US Department of Justice and the FBI to help combat the evasion of sanctions against Russia and other countries.
The FBI is helping train Cypriot police in identifying and prosecuting cases of illegal financing and attempts to evade US, European Union and UN sanctions imposed on any third country.
Last month, Cyprus and the US signed a defense cooperation framework agreement that outlines ways the two countries can enhance their response to regional humanitarian crises and security concerns.
Christodoulides said Cyprus has proven to be a “predictable and reliable partner of the United States in a region of great geopolitical importance.”
Earlier this year, Cyprus helped the US establish a Gaza maritime corridor for the shipborne delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory.
The $230 million temporary pier project was derided as a boondoggle by critics and was beset by turbulent weather, security threats and sweeping personnel restrictions. The Pentagon pulled the plug on the effort after about four months.
The Biden administration had set a goal of the US sea route and pier providing food to feed 1.5 million people for 90 days. It fell short, bringing in enough to feed about 450,000 people for a month before shutting down, according to a USAID inspector general’s report.
