International

Netflix co-founder donates seven million dollars to Kamala Harris’ campaign

Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, donated seven million dollars to the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, the current vice president of the United States, according to the American media The Information.

“After a depressing debate, we are in the game again,” the also executive chairman of the board of the streaming platform told the media, who also specified that this is the largest political donation that Hastings has made to a single candidate.

Hastings is one of the most powerful Democratic Party donors who pressured President Joe Biden to give up his candidacy for the next elections to be held in November.

“Biden must be set aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” The New York Times told the American media earlier this month.

Biden withdrew from his candidacy for the White House on Sunday and supported Harris, after facing pressure from members of Congress and donors after the criticism aroused by his weak performance in the first debate against Donald Trump (2017-2021) that took place on June 27.

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The latest polls on the United States elections show slightly better numbers for the vice president, although she would also, like Biden, lose the election to Trump.

These surveys were carried out before President Biden’s announcement this Sunday to resign from re-election, so asked by Harris, respondents responded to a hypothetical situation.

The most recent, YouGov’s poll for CBS News, gave Trump five points of advantage over Biden (52% to 47%) by only three over Harris (51% to 48%).

Another from NBC News gave the same two-point advantage for Trump (45% to 43% with Biden and 47% to 45% with Harris), while one from Fox News gave the same result of 49% to 48% in favor of the former president regardless of the rival.

The Marist poll for NPR and PBS was the only one that gave a majority to the Democratic ticket and, in this case, gave Biden a better advantage over Trump (50% to 48%), than Harris over Trump (50% to 49%).

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Although the overall result is relevant, what is really important in the American elections are the key states, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia or Arizona.

A Siena survey for The New York Times, Harris got a better result than Biden in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In Pennsylvania, Trump took three points to Biden (48% to 45%) and only one to Harris (48% to 47%), while in Virginia the vice president beat the Republican by five points (49% to 44%), two more than Biden (48% to 45%).

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.