International

US Democrats celebrate Senate win over distraught Republicans

| By AFP |

Democrats celebrated Sunday a stunning victory to hold the US Senate, leaving Republicans in disarray and providing a critical base of political and legislative support for the remainder of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Although the fate of the lower House of Representatives is still up in the air, retaining control of the upper chamber in a midterm election many predicted they would lose by a wide margin is, in itself, a major triumph.

“I feel good and I’m looking forward to the next couple years,” said Biden, who was attending a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Cambodia.

The Senate oversees the confirmation of federal judges and cabinet members, and having the 100-seat body in his corner will be a major boon for Biden as he seeks to keep his policy agenda on track.

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US midterms traditionally deliver a rejection of the party in power, and with inflation surging and Biden’s popularity ratings cratering, Republicans had been expecting to ride a mighty “red wave” and capture both houses of Congress in Tuesday’s vote.

The deciding moment in the battle for control of the Senate came late Saturday, when US networks called the Nevada race for Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, giving the party the 50 seats it needs for an effective majority.

Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote if the chamber is evenly split 50-50.

One Senate race remains undecided — a runoff in Georgia set for December 6, in which the Democrats could add to their majority.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the result was a “vindication” of Democrats’ achievements, and a clear rejection of the “anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty and divisive direction” offered by former president Donald Trump and his loyalists.

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Trump was the biggest Republican draw on the midterms campaign trail, and the party’s performance — with many candidates he personally endorsed losing their high-profile races — was a damaging blow.

Trump is widely expected to declare his 2024 White House bid on Tuesday — an announcement he had planned as a triumphant follow-on to an expected crushing election victory by the party he still dominates.

Republicans’ ‘tiny trickle’

On Sunday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi toasted her Democrats for their strong performance, noting on CNN how the Republican “red wave” that had been predicted by pundits and the GOP collapsed into “a little tiny trickle.”

Republicans, meanwhile, are left to consider what went wrong, given the fair political winds they had at their backs going into the ballot.

After the Senate result was projected, Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley called for the party to “build something new.”

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“The old party is dead. Time to bury it,” he tweeted.

Trump’s response has been to double down on unfounded claims of ballot rigging, posting on his Truth Social platform that the results were a “scam” — and pointing a finger of blame at Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

“It’s Mitch McConnell’s fault,” he posted, saying the Kentuckian had badly allocated campaign funds and pursued a flawed legislative agenda.

“He blew the Midterms, and everyone despises him,” said Trump, who has long been at loggerheads with McConnell.

Republicans are slightly favored to eventually take control of the House of Representatives, but with a far smaller majority than they had envisaged going into Tuesday’s election.

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It remains to be seen just how strong an impact the poor Republican performance will have on Trump’s standing in the party — and on his aspirations for a return to the White House.

While there are already senior party voices suggesting the time has come to move away from Trump’s conspiracy-fueled, hard-right leadership style, the former president still enjoys major grassroots support, and running against him for the presidential nomination would be a formidable task.

One possible challenger, Maryland’s outgoing Republican Governor Larry Hogan, said the party had to switch direction and move on.

“It’s basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race, and it’s like, three strikes and you’re out,” Hogan, a vocal Trump critic, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union talk show.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

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“Donald Trump kept saying, we’re gonna be winning so much, we’ll get tired of winning. Well, I’m tired of losing. I mean, that’s all he’s done,” Hogan said.

Related Topics:Democrats Republicans Senate US

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International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

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In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

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Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.