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UN Blames Russia for Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis

The UN General Assembly Hall is empty before the start of the SDG Moment event as part of the UN General Assembly 76th session General Debate at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, US, September 20, 2021. John Angelillo/Pool via REUTERS
The UN General Assembly Hall is empty before the start of the SDG Moment event as part of the UN General Assembly 76th session General Debate at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, US, September 20, 2021. John Angelillo/Pool via REUTERS
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UN Blames Russia for Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis

The UN General Assembly Hall is empty before the start of the SDG Moment event as part of the UN General Assembly 76th session General Debate at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, US, September 20, 2021. John Angelillo/Pool via REUTERS
The UN General Assembly Hall is empty before the start of the SDG Moment event as part of the UN General Assembly 76th session General Debate at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, US, September 20, 2021. John Angelillo/Pool via REUTERS

The UN General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a resolution blaming Russia for a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival.

The vote on the resolution was 140-5 with only Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea joining Russia in opposing the measure. There were 38 abstentions, including China.

The resolution deplored Russia’s shelling, airstrikes and “besiegement” of densely populated cities, including the southern city of Mariupol, and demanded unhindered access for humanitarian aid.

The vote was almost exactly the same as on the March 2 resolution the assembly adopted demanding an immediate Russian cease-fire and withdrawal of all its forces and demanding protection for all civilians and infrastructure indispensable to their survival. That vote was 141-5 with 35 abstentions.

When the result of the vote was announced, many diplomats in the General Assembly chamber burst into applause.

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World

Arab Parties Extend a Hand to Try and Topple Netanyahu, but Challenges Remain

Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after exit polls, at his party headquarters during Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, October 28, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after exit polls, at his party headquarters during Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, October 28, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
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Arab Parties Extend a Hand to Try and Topple Netanyahu, but Challenges Remain

Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after exit polls, at his party headquarters during Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, October 28, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after exit polls, at his party headquarters during Israel's national election, in Jerusalem, October 28, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

A veteran Arab lawmaker in Israel says his bloc is willing to break with decades of precedent and join forces with Jewish-led parties in a shared bid to end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's long rule.

“We want to do things that we did not do in the past in order to remove this criminal government,” Ahmad Tibi, a senior member of the Arab Joint List, told The Associated Press.

But any such partnership could be politically fraught for both sides. For the Joint List, it would mean backing a government unlikely to end Israel’s wars or curb settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. For Netanyahu’s opponents, it would mean aligning with parties that not only criticize Israeli policies, but reject its identity as a Jewish state.

After historic voter turnout delivered Arab-led parties a record share in Israel's parliament, Tibi said the Joint List is willing to support an anti-Netanyahu government without joining it. That could reassure Jewish-led factions that view them with suspicion and satisfy their own constituents. It would still give the Joint List major influence.

Only one Arab party has ever served in an Israeli government, in 2021. But that party, Ra’am, is much more conciliatory than the Joint List and held fewer seats. Ra’am is willing to join another anti-Netanyahu government as a partner, but any such arrangement would still need the support of the Joint List.

If the Jewish-led parties reject such a partnership, then it would prove Israel is “an ethnocracy, not an absolute democracy for all citizens,” Tibi said.

The Joint List's positions put it at odds with most Israelis. Most of the Palestinian population in what is now Israel fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. Those who remained were granted citizenship, including the right to vote, and today they and their descendants make up some 20% of the population.

Many Jewish Israelis have historically viewed Arab-led political parties with suspicion. That distrust has been reinforced by lawmakers who have defended or praised Israel's enemies.

The Joint List, a coalition of three left-wing and nationalist parties, rejects what it refers to as the “racist Zionist consensus” in Israel. It calls for partnering with Jewish Israelis who support a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. It rejects Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, calling for equal rights for all its citizens.

Many Jewish Israelis see that as support for the country’s enemies at a time of war. Netanyahu has encouraged such sentiments, lodging unproven accusations of electoral fraud against the Arab-led parties and portraying them as a threat to national security.

A dilemma for Netanyahu's opponents That creates a dilemma for Netanyahu’s main opponents, led by former general Gadi Eisenkot.

In the campaign, they portrayed Netanyahu as a corrupt leader who failed to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and then blocked a public inquiry into it. They cast the election in existential terms, saying Netanyahu’s far-right government threatened Israel’s democratic institutions.

They won 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared to 53 for Netanyahu’s coalition. The Joint List won 11 seats and Ra’am won 8, making them crucial to forming an anti-Netanyahu majority.

The Joint List could help an anti-Netanyahu bloc take power by voting for it or by abstaining to lower the threshold needed for a majority. Either arrangement could allow opposition parties to form a government without requiring the Joint List to become part of their administration. Joining could put its lawmakers in the uncomfortable position of being part of a government waging wars in Gaza and Lebanon that they oppose.

Some of Eisenkot’s allies welcome Arab support while others are opposed, pointing to past statements by Joint List leaders they argue deny Israel’s legitimacy or support its enemies.

Tibi said he was under no illusions that a partnership with Netanyahu’s opponents would end the wars or bring about a Palestinian state. But he said a “repair government” would improve the lives of Palestinian citizens, by ending Netanyahu’s rule and also potentially addressing local issues like a wave of violent crime in Arab communities.

It's unclear what conditions would be required Eisenkot has said Arab-led parties must meet certain conditions in any partnership, including calling Hamas a terrorist group that needs to be destroyed.

Tibi said the conditions do not apply to parties like the Joint List that want to provide outside support.

The Joint List and Ra’am have denounced Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and any violence against civilians. But they have refused to brand Hamas a terrorist group or call for its destruction, saying that doing so would justify Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza.

Tibi said both the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s response to it were immoral.

The veteran lawmaker has long been a lightning rod for right-wing attacks on Arab parties. During Israel’s 2019 elections, Netanyahu, popularly known as Bibi, campaigned on the slogan “Bibi or Tibi?” to warn voters that opposing him meant relying on Arab-led parties to form a government.

Tibi said Tuesday that the election result had turned the slogan on its head.

“When he said ‘Bibi or Tibi,’ he incited against Arabs,” he said. “Now, it’s ‘Tibi,’ because Arab voters went in a very massive way to take part in the elections. It’s definitely our story this time.”

World

Trump Licks Wounds as Democrats Celebrate Huge Midterms Win

The US Capitol building in Washington, DC, US, November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
The US Capitol building in Washington, DC, US, November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Licks Wounds as Democrats Celebrate Huge Midterms Win

The US Capitol building in Washington, DC, US, November 4, 2026. (Reuters)
The US Capitol building in Washington, DC, US, November 4, 2026. (Reuters)

Donald Trump faced a radically transformed and hostile political landscape on Wednesday after US voters handed control of Congress to the Democrats in a stunning rebuke to his presidency.

The result was a personal humiliation for the 80-year-old Trump as a Democratic wave swept into his Republican heartland, boosted by anger at soaring energy prices and his costly war with Iran.

The Democratic capture of the Senate and House of Representatives signals an end to Trump's stranglehold on US politics and gives Democrats the power to block legislation, launch probes into the administration and thwart his appointments.

Another stark challenge to Trump came from closer to home as Vice President JD Vance, a likely 2028 presidential candidate, said that Republicans lost the midterms because of the Iran conflict.

"The reason we lost is the war," said Vance, who had reportedly been skeptical about the war Trump launched in February. "Everyone knows why we lost."

Hakeem Jeffries, expected to be the next speaker of a Democratic House, singled out the high cost of living as the defining issue for voters and predicted Democrats could end up with as many as 255 seats in the 435-member chamber when all the votes are counted.

Jeffries, appearing on MS Now, said his party would focus not on retribution but on fulfilling its promise to lower the prices of groceries, gas, housing and health care.

- 'Still your president' -

Trump, whose approval ratings were at record lows going into Tuesday's vote, struck a conciliatory tone despite his history of rejecting election defeats, telling The New York Times he was "absolutely willing" to accept the results.

The White House made it clear, however, that Trump wasn't going to take a backseat during the remaining two years of his presidency.

"TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT," the White House said in a post on X that featured a picture of a glaring Trump in the Oval Office.

Trump, in remarks to Fox News, acknowledged that the Iran conflict had contributed to the defeat but defended the military campaign.

He said Democrats did a "good job" and "fought hard" while distancing himself from his party's poor showing.

Republicans would have won "IN A LANDSLIDE" if he had been on the ballot, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Trump also repeated his threat to use the presidential veto on Democrat-passed bills, posting a picture of a red baseball cap reading just: "VETO."

Democrats flipped seven Senate seats that had been held by Republicans, scoring breakthroughs in South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Maine.

- 'Big wipeout' -

Two Senate races -- in Mississippi and Alaska -- remained too close to call on Wednesday.

In Maine, former logger Troy Jackson defeated longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins.

In Kansas, Methodist minister Adam Hamilton became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the reliably conservative state since 1932.

Iowa had not elected a Democratic senator since 2008.

In Texas, James Talarico, one of several young, charismatic politicians put up by the Democrats, won a Senate seat and Democrats also won the governor's race, ending decades of Republican rule.

Democrats protected key Senate seats of their own, including Jon Ossoff in Georgia and an open seat in New Hampshire.

In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, who Trump crudely derided as a "jihadist," defeated former Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers, making him the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber of Congress.

In the House, Democrats made gains in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and New Jersey, including districts Trump had carried comfortably in 2024.

Democrats also won Georgia's governorship, electing former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the first Black woman governor in US history.

Republicans had some consolation in Florida, where Trump-backed Byron Donalds became the state's first Black governor and Ashley Moody retained a Senate seat.

But the night was "a big wipeout and a strong repudiation of Donald Trump and his policies," George Washington University professor Todd Belt told AFP.

World

White House Insists Trump Is ‘Still Your President’ After Midterm Rout

US President Donald Trump speaks during a midterm campaign rally at Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, US, November 1, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a midterm campaign rally at Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, US, November 1, 2026. (Reuters)
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White House Insists Trump Is ‘Still Your President’ After Midterm Rout

US President Donald Trump speaks during a midterm campaign rally at Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, US, November 1, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a midterm campaign rally at Five Flags Center in Dubuque, Iowa, US, November 1, 2026. (Reuters)

Donald Trump is "still your president," the White House said Wednesday, a day after his Republican Party suffered sweeping losses in midterm elections seen as a referendum on his second term.

The White House delivered the message in a post on X featuring a picture of a glaring Trump looming over the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

"PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT," text superimposed on the image said, using the abbreviation for public service announcement.

"Thank you for your attention to this matter," the post added, using a phrase Trump frequently employs in his social media messages.

Opposition Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate on Tuesday, dealing a major blow to Trump and the Republican Party.

The Democratic capture of Congress signals an end to Trump's stranglehold on US politics and gives Democrats the power to pass legislation, launch investigations into Trump's administration and thwart his appointments.

The results reflected deep frustration over the cost of living, tariffs and Trump's war with Iran, which has sent prices soaring and compounded dissatisfaction with an already deeply unpopular president.

But Trump has threatened to use his veto power, raising questions about how much Democrats can achieve even with control of both the House and Senate.