International

US special election seen as litmus test on abortion rights

AFP

A US special election Tuesday is being viewed as the last bellwether of the public mood on abortion ahead of November’s midterms, as Democrats seek to make reproductive rights a key issue in the campaign.

Voters in upstate New York are choosing a candidate to serve the final months of Democrat Antonio Delgado’s term in the House of Representatives, after he quit to become the Empire State’s lieutenant governor.

The battle for New York’s 19th Congressional — a swing district wedged between New York City and state capital Albany — comes two months after the Supreme Court sparked nationwide protests by ending the federally-guaranteed right to abortion.

Democrat Pat Ryan has sought to turn the vote — the last US special election before November — into a referendum on abortion access.

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He has accused Republican Marc Molinaro and his party, who are against such access, of being “too extreme on women’s rights.”

“Choice is the ballot, but we won’t go back. Freedom is under attack, but it’s ours to defend. Our democracy is fragile, but we will fight for it,” Ryan said in a statement on the eve of the ballot.

Molinaro has also followed his party’s main political talking points, including on inflation, highlighting spiralling living costs in a campaign that has seen millions of dollars funneled on advertising.

“We can send a message that enough is enough, that we care deeply about one another, that we are willing to work hard to solve the problems that face us, and that together we can overcome anything,” he said in his own election eve message.

President Joe Biden carried the district by fewer than two points in 2020, after Donald Trump took it by about seven points in 2016. Barack Obama won there in 2012.

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Both candidates will be back on the ballot in November, but in different districts newly drawn in the latest round of redistricting.

The somewhat anachronistic system means Ryan — who has yet to be nominated to fight for a seat in the midterms — is on the ballot Tuesday in two districts for two separate seats for two different congresses.

New York is also holding several nominating contests — known as primary elections — including a vote pitting Democratic committee chairs Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney against one another.

In Florida, Democrats pick their candidate to challenge Governor Ron DeSantis in November.

US voters will decide control of Congress in the midterm elections, with all 435 House seats up for grabs, as well as 35 of the 100 Senate seats and the governor’s mansion in 36 out of 50 states.

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International

Pope Leo XIV Says Countries Have Border Rights but Migrants Deserve Respect

Pope Leo XIV said Thursday that migrants must be treated with dignity as he addressed the global migration crisis during a press conference aboard the plane returning from his tour of Africa.

The pontiff answered questions from journalists regarding his upcoming trip to Spain, which will include a visit to the Canary Islands, a region heavily affected by migration flows and growing political polarization surrounding the issue.

“Obviously, migration is a very complex issue and affects many countries — not only Spain, not only Europe, but also the United States. It is a global phenomenon,” the pope said.

Pope Leo XIV also questioned the role of developed nations in addressing the crisis.

“My response begins with a question: What is the Global North doing to help the Global South and those countries where young people no longer see a future and dream of going north, even when the North sometimes has no answers to offer?” he asked.

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While acknowledging that “a state has the right to establish rules for its borders,” the pope insisted that the debate must go beyond border control and address the structural causes that force people to leave their home countries.

International

Authorities Say Teotihuacán Gunman Was Obsessed With Mass Shootings and Extremist Symbolism

Julio César Jasso Ramírez, identified by authorities as the gunman behind the armed attack at the archaeological site of Teotihuacán, had allegedly spent years building a personal narrative shaped by an obsession with historical mass shootings, extremist symbolism, and an increasing detachment from reality.

According to preliminary findings from the Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado de México, the 27-year-old suspect, originally from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, acted alone and appeared to have carefully planned the attack.

Investigators also pointed to signs of a severe psychological or psychiatric disorder. One official involved in the case stated that the suspect seemed to live in “his own reality,” disconnected from the world around him.

“I would not speak of a motive; I would speak of psychopathy, a condition, an illness,” the official said while discussing the ongoing investigation.

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Authorities reported that Jasso Ramírez was allegedly fixated on mass violence incidents that occurred outside Mexico, particularly in the United States.

Among the items found in his possession were writings, images, and materials reportedly linked to the Columbine High School massacre, the school shooting that took place on April 20, 1999.

The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue analyzing evidence connected to the suspect’s background and mental state.

International

Iran refuses to reopen strait of Hormuz amid ongoing U.S. Naval blockade

Iran reaffirmed on Wednesday that it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the United States maintains its naval blockade against Iranian ports and vessels, amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf warned that reopening the crucial maritime route depends on Washington honoring the ceasefire agreement. According to Qalibaf, Iran considers the deal to be violated due to ongoing U.S. actions.

The Iranian official accused the United States of carrying out a “naval blockade and the hijacking of the global economy,” while also pointing to Israeli military operations in Lebanon as part of the broader conflict affecting the region.

Qalibaf stated that military and economic pressure would not force Iran to change its position. “The United States and Israel failed to achieve their goals through military aggression, and they will not succeed through intimidation. The only path forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation,” he said.

His remarks come amid stalled negotiations between Iran and the United States following direct talks held on April 11 and 12 in Islamabad.

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The discussions, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iranian representatives, have shown little progress in recent days, increasing uncertainty over whether dialogue between the two sides will resume.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced an extension of the ceasefire but decided to keep the naval blockade in place, a move Tehran considers incompatible with ongoing negotiations.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intensified operations in the area by seizing two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing them of operating without the required permits and escorting them into Iranian territory.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical oil trade routes, and any prolonged disruption could have significant consequences for global energy markets.