US Heated Midterms Determine the Course of the Country

Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)
TT

US Heated Midterms Determine the Course of the Country

Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump during a campaign in Florida (AFP)

Tens of millions of US citizens head to the polls on Tuesday to choose their representatives in the Senate and the House of Representatives in midterms between Democrats and Republicans, the results of which will determine the course of the country.

The ghost of elections' past looms over the polls amid fears of foreign interference after Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, admitted that he interfered in the US elections in the past.

"Gentlemen, we have interfered, are interfering, and will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgically, and in our own way, as we know how to do," Prigozhin posted on social media.

While the odds are still high that the Republicans will gain a majority in the House of Representatives, the fate of the Senate remains in hindsight, given the crucial races in several swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire.

The Republicans' chances of winning the Democrats' seats are increasing because President Joe Biden's popularity has fallen dramatically following the economic situation in the country.

Candidates struggle to secure victory in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina, where Republicans usually win without competition. Some attribute it to the interference of former President Donald Trump in the race to support candidates with little political experience.



Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
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Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday described the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former defense minister as the “end and political death” of Israel, in a speech.
“This means the end and political death of the Zionist regime, a regime that today lives in absolute political isolation in the world and its officials can no longer travel to other countries,” Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami said in the speech aired on state TV.
In the first official reaction by Iran, Salami called the ICC warrant “a welcome move” and a “great victory for the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements,” both supported by the Islamic republic, AFP reported.
The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif.
The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant were issued in response to accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes during Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The ICC’s move theoretically limits the movement of Netanyahu, as any of the court’s 124 national members would be obliged to arrest him on their territory.
The court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan urged the body’s members to act on the warrants, and for non-members to work together in “upholding international law.”