World

China is playing “aggressive games” with democracies and Canadian institutions, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Monday following a report of foreign interference in its elections.

His comments came after local broadcaster Global News reported that Beijing had funded a “clandestine network” of candidates in a recent ballot, and days after authorities began investigating illegal Chinese police stations in the Toronto area.

“We have taken significant measures to strengthen the integrity of our elections processes and our systems, and will continue to invest in the fight against election interference, against foreign interference of our democracies and institutions,” Trudeau told reporters.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing countries, state actors from around the world, whether it’s China or others, are continuing to play aggressive games with our institutions, with our democracies,” he said.

Citing unnamed sources, Global News said intelligence officials told the Trudeau government China was seeking to influence or subvert its democratic process.

The report alleges Beijing directed transfers of funds through an Ontario lawmaker and others to at least 11 federal election candidates and Chinese operatives who worked as their campaign staffers.

It also says Beijing sought to place agents in the offices of members of parliament to influence policy.

Last month, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it was looking into reports of “criminal activity in relation to so-called ‘police’ stations.”

According to Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders, the police posts have been used by Chinese police to carry out operations on foreign soil, and pressure Chinese nationals to return to China to face criminal charges.

China has denied accusations of illegal activity, saying the locations simply offer services — such as driver’s license renewals — to Chinese nationals abroad.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing on Tuesday that China has “no interest” in Canada’s internal affairs.

“State-to-state relations can only be built on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” he said. “China-Canada relations are no exception. Canada should stop making remarks that hurt China-Canada relations.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was due to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday in a top-level bid to persuade Turkey to drop its opposition to Sweden joining NATO.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden and Finland abandoned their long-standing policy of military non-alignment and in May applied to join the transatlantic alliance.

But Turkey has stalled ratification of their bids — which require unanimous approval from NATO’s 30 members — accusing the Nordic nations, and especially Sweden, of providing a safe haven for outlawed Kurdish militants that Ankara says are “terrorists”.

Erdogan — who is seeking re-election next year — is in a position of strength, after persuading Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to stop blockading Ukraine’s grain exports.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sought last week to strengthen the new applicants’ hand by personally travelling to Ankara to argue their case.

“It’s time to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of NATO. Their accession will make our alliance stronger and our people safer,” he said.

Stoltenberg stressed that Sweden and Finland had agreed in June to concessions, including addressing Turkey’s request for “terror suspects” to be deported or extradited.

“Finland and Sweden have delivered on their agreement to Turkey,” Stoltenberg said, adding that bringing them into the NATO fold was important “to send a clear message to Russia”.

– Kurds and war on IS –

Erdogan has welcomed the progress made in talks since Sweden’s new right-wing government took office in October.

But he repeated on Friday — for the third time in a month — that his parliament would not formally approve the Nordic NATO bids until the two countries took the necessary “steps”.

Turkey accuses Sweden in particular of leniency towards the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its Syrian offshoot, the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The PKK, which has for years staged an insurgency against the Turkish state, is designated a terrorist organisation by Ankara and most of its Western allies.

But the YPG has been a key player in the US-led military alliance combatting the Islamic State group in Syria.

While Sweden has in the past expressed support for the YPG and its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Kristersson’s government appears to be distancing itself.

“There is too close a link between these organisations and the PKK, which is a terrorist organisation listed by the EU,” Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Saturday.

– Cashing the NATO enlargement card –

Despite the change in stance in Stockholm, some analysts believe Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections in June 2023 could delay the Nordic NATO bids. 

“The Turkish side will ratify their membership when it feels it is the best moment to cash that card,” predicted Ilke Toygur, professor of European geopolitics at the University Carlos III in Madrid.

“I assume pressure will rise in the meantime (but) I sense that many countries in NATO already assume that enlargement will be next year, maybe even in the second half of next year,” she told AFP.

“It is widely assumed that Turkey is also trying to negotiate for other things. 

“It could be the F16s. It could be about its overall relationship with Russia.”

Leading US senators have threatened to block the sale to Ankara of US F16 fighter jets unless Turkey ends a dispute with Greece over maritime borders and natural gas deposits in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Turkey, which seeks to maintain good relations with both Ukraine and Russia, has refrained from joining Western sanctions on Moscow and acquired a Russian missile defence system while also supplying Kyiv with combat drones.

“It remains to be seen if Erdogan think he’s got enough signs of goodwill from Sweden and it’s therefore in his political and military interest to declare victory, or if he thinks sticking to the current line will serve his re-election campaign,” said a European diplomatic source.

The source nevertheless said there was still a “reasonable chance” that the Turkish parliament would ratify the Nordic NATO bids before the June 2023 election.

Developing and emerging countries — excluding China — need investments well beyond $2 trillion annually by 2030 if the world is to stop the global warming juggernaut and cope with its impacts, according to a UN-backed report released Tuesday.

A trillion dollars should come from rich countries, investors and multilateral development banks, said the analysis commissioned by Britain and Egypt, hosts respectively of the 2021 UN climate summit in Glasgow and this week’s COP27 event in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The rest of the money — about $1.4 trillion — must originate domestically from private and public sources, said the report.

Current investments in emerging and developing economies other than China stand at about $500 billion.

The new 100-page analysis, Finance for Climate Action, is presented as an investment blueprint for greening the global economy quickly enough to meet Paris climate treaty goals of capping the rise in global temperatures below two degrees Celsius, and at 1.5C if possible.

Warming beyond that threshold, scientists warn, could push Earth toward an unlivable hothouse state.

“Rich countries should recognise that it is in their vital self-interest — as well as a matter of justice given the severe impacts caused by their high levels of current and past emissions — to invest in climate action in emerging market and developing countries,” said one of the report’s leads, economist Nicholas Stern, who also authored a landmark report on the economics of climate change.

The report is among the first to map out the investment needed across the three broad areas covered in UN climate talks: reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions that drive warming (mitigation), adapting to future climate impacts (adaptation), and compensating poor and vulnerable nations for unavoidable damages already incurred, known as “loss and damage”.

– Fossil fuel lock-in –

It calls for grants and low-interest loans from the governments of developed countries to double from about $30 billion annually today to $60 billion by 2025.

“These sources of finance are critical for emerging markets and developing countries to support action on restoring land and nature, and for protecting against and responding to the loss and damage due to climate change impacts,” the authors said. 

“Emerging market” countries include large economies in the global south that have seen rapid growth — coupled with rising greenhouse gas emissions — in recent decades, including India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Historically seen as part of this group, China was excluded from the new estimates, presumably because of its unique and hybrid status. 

Its economy — the second largest in the world — is in many respects advanced, and Beijing has positioned itself as a major international investor in its own right, through its Belt and Road Initiative and the promotion of “South-South” investment across the developing world.

In the context of climate change, developing nations include the world’s poorest economies, many of them in Africa, and those most vulnerable to climate hazards, such as small island states facing existential threats from sea-level rise and ever-more powerful cyclones.

“Most of the growth in energy infrastructure and consumption projected to occur over the next decade will be in emerging market and developing countries,” said Stern.

“If they lock in dependence on fossil fuels and emissions, the world will not be able to avoid dangerous climate change, damaging and destroying billions of lives and livelihoods in both rich and poor countries.”

A Powerball draw for a staggering $1.9 billion jackpot — the largest prize in history — has been delayed, further fueling lottery fever across the United States.

California Lottery said late Monday the drawing was delayed because a participating lottery needed more time to complete security protocols.

“Powerball has strict security requirements that must be met by all 48 lotteries before a drawing can occur,” California Lottery tweeted.

“There is currently no estimated time for the drawing.”

With no ticket matching Saturday’s winning numbers, the pot was rolled over — leaving countless Americans dreaming big.

Even those who do not usually play the lottery were taking their chances, forming lines at convenience stores around the country to buy their tickets.

Business Insider finance reporter Hayley Cuccinello was among them, tweeting, “me: spending $24 for additional life insurance isn’t worth it, what are the odds also me: *buys $20 of powerball tix*.”

The odds of winning the jackpot are still 1 in 292.2 million. If there are duplicate winners, they will share the jackpot.

The last time someone claimed the Powerball jackpot was August 3, when a lucky ticket holder in Pennsylvania raked in an estimated $206.9 million. Since then, the Powerball jackpot has grown and grown.

While no one claimed the big prize on Saturday, 16 tickets matched the five main numbers to win $1 million each. To get the jackpot, you must also get the Powerball number.

Tickets cost $2 and a winner can choose either a lump sum payment, calculated for this jackpot at $929 million, or opt to be paid in installments over 29 years.

Most winners choose the lump sum payout.

Twitter was full of lottery hopefuls dreaming of what they could do with all that money, from using it to help the needy to buying every single one of their followers “a Classic Chocolate Frosty from @Wendys”.

Hope springs eternal for some enthusiasts.

“My psychic told me November 12th was gonna be the best day of my life, so if there’s still no powerball winner by then, I’m buying as many tickets as possible,” wrote one Twitter user.

Hours before polls open in US midterm elections, Americans remain deeply polarized on issues from immigration to abortion — though many were united in fears for their country’s democracy.

With control of the United States Congress at stake, citizens voiced concerns for the future, whether they were Republicans doubtful of the integrity of the vote, or Democrats concerned by election denialism.

Here’s what some American voters in cities around the country had to say about Tuesday’s polls.

– State of US democracy –

Across the country voters called on their fellow citizens to cast their ballot in the midterms, which historically have a low turnout.

“I would emphasize vote, vote, vote,” 24-year-old student Luke Osuagwu told AFP in Atlanta, Georgia.

Marisha Camp, a photographer from New York who spoke to AFP ahead of a rally with President Joe Biden at Bowie State University in Maryland, agreed. 

“Voter turnout concerns me,” she told AFP. “I think people should be more terrified.”

“There’s a bunch of issues that are going on right now,” agreed Los Angeles resident Robert Jimenez, who spoke to AFP at a voting center where Californians were casting early ballots.

“If we don’t go out and vote, we’re not going to have our voices heard.”

Many so-called election deniers — Republicans embracing defeated president Donald Trump’s false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen and that voter fraud is rife — are on the ballot in races across the country.

Analysts have also warned of the threat of violence around the elections. 

Social activist Guy Djoken, also at the Biden rally, told AFP that what resonates for him “is this democracy we are about to lose.”

Describing emigrating to the US from Cameroon, he said: “I come from a place where I know what the absence of democracy will do… If we lose that, we have nothing left.”

In Arizona, 56-year-old Michelle Meglio said she cast her ballot last week and was “very worried about election integrity.”

“It’s a very important topic. I believe that we have a lot of irregular irregularities,” she said.

But Shana Ellis, a 51-year-old Arizona State University employee, said she has “complete faith” in the process, and condemned armed men who have been spotted patrolling drop boxes in Arizona.

“I think that’s an intimidation tactic, and everyone should be afforded the right to vote,” she told AFP.

Law student Benjamin Smart, in Phoenix, Arizona, was willing to go against his own beliefs in order to protect democracy. 

“I’m pro-life. But I think denying election is just too important of a thing to get wrong. And so I wouldn’t vote for them,” said the 23-year-old, referring to Republicans. 

Smart said he does not “think there’s much of a chance for actual violence, but the fact that we keep getting closer to it and people are threatening, it is quite concerning.

“I don’t want us to get to a place where I really do have to be concerned about that.”

– Abortion –

Reproductive rights are a banner issue for many voters, after the US Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion earlier this year and states began imposing restrictions or banning the procedure altogether.

Some saw that as a chance to act: “I feel like it’s a good opportunity now for Georgia to also put some restrictions on abortion,” said university student Meron Kiros in Atlanta.

Others were fearful. Chemical engineer Robin Thomas expressed concerns over bodily rights.

“I think overall, as a woman, I want to make sure that I have rights over my own body and I don’t think that local politicians should be getting involved in that,” she told AFP in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

– Immigration –

Democrats have “broken the immigration system,” says 71-year-old Francisco Cabral in McAllen, Texas, lamenting a “silent invasion” of undocumented people over the border with Mexico. 

“We have a huge border crisis here in Arizona,” agreed Michelle Meglio in Phoenix. 

But housewife Romelia Hinojosa, who also lives in McAllen, said migrants are welcome “as long as they do things correctly and abide by the laws of the country.”

– Trump –

Any Republican “red wave” could open the door to a comeback bid by former president Donald Trump, who said he would be making a major announcement on November 15.

“Trump for sure is running again. That’s not a question mark,” said Marisha Camp, the photographer at the Biden rally.

“I would like for Donald Trump to run again. I think the Democrats are going to do everything they can to prevent him from running,” said Matthew Isaac, a 38-year-old administrative assistant in Phoenix, Arizona.

Debbie Brown, who spoke to AFP at a Trump rally in Dayton, Ohio, was unequivocal in her support.

“He was great, he made America great and everything was doing well with the economy and we just need him back,” she said.

Americans vote Tuesday in crucial midterm elections that could decide the political future of both President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump — who has all but announced he will seek the White House again in 2024.

Biden’s Democrats are facing a gargantuan struggle to hang on to Congress, after a race the president has cast as a “defining” moment for US democracy — while Trump’s Republicans campaigned hard on kitchen-table issues like inflation and crime.

Trump — who has been heavily hinting at a new run — grabbed the election eve spotlight to flag “a big announcement” a week from now on November 15, while Biden made a final appeal to Democrats to turn out en masse at the polls.

“The power’s in your hands,” Biden told a rally near the capital. “We know in our bones that our democracy is at risk and we know that this is your moment to defend it.” 

With polls showing Republicans in line to seize the House of Representatives, the increasingly far-right party eyed snarling the rest of Biden’s first term in aggressive investigations and opposition to spending plans.

Returning to the White House Monday night, Biden told reporters he believed Democrats would win the Senate — though conceding “it’s going to be tough” to retain the House and that his life in Washington may become “more difficult.”

If both the House and Senate flip, Biden would be left as little more than a lame duck.

With Congress out of Democrats’ hands, he would see his legislative agenda collapse. 

That would raise questions over everything from climate crisis policies, which the president will be laying out at the COP27 conference in Egypt this week; to Ukraine, where Republicans are reluctant to maintain the current rate of US financial and military support.

An influx of far-right Trump backers in Congress would also accelerate the shift that has been taking place inside the Republican Party ever since the former real estate tycoon stunned the world by defeating Hillary Clinton for the presidency in 2016. 

Despite facing criminal probes over taking top secret documents from the White House and trying to overturn the 2020 election, Trump has been using the midterms to cement his status as the de facto Republican leader and presumptive presidential nominee.

In a typically dark, rambling speech to fans in Dayton, Ohio, Trump said, “if you support the decline and fall of America, then you must, you absolutely must vote for the radical left, crazy people.”

“If you want to stop the destruction of our country, then tomorrow you must vote Republican in a giant red wave,” he said — before teasing his 2024 announcement.

– Second Biden run? –

Across the country voters called on their fellow citizens to cast their ballot in the midterms, which historically have low turnout.

“I would emphasize vote, vote, vote,” 24-year-old student Luke Osuagwu told AFP in Atlanta, Georgia.

“If you’re not voting, you can’t really stand for society or anything like that,” agreed Alethia McClenton, a 45-year-old Georgia Aquarium employee. “It’s very important that everybody goes out to do their part.”

More than 40 million ballots were cast through early voting options, meaning the outcome had already begun to take shape before election day.

Polls start to open on the East Coast at 6 am (1100 GMT), and begin closing 12 hours later.

Up for grabs are all 435 House seats, a third of the 100 Senate seats, and a slew of state-level posts. Four states are also holding referendums on abortion — California, Vermont, Kentucky and Michigan.

Senate races in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Ohio have narrowed to projected photo finishes, and any one of them could swing the balance of power.

But final results may not be known until days — or in some cases even weeks — after election day, setting the stage for what promise to be acrimonious challenges.

Trump has already claimed baselessly that swing state Pennsylvania “rigged” the midterms — reprising his playbook from the 2020 election which he falsely asserted was stolen by Biden.

Citing growing support for voter conspiracy theories among Trump and his Republicans, as well as their push to curb abortion access, Biden has warned that democracy and basic rights are at stake on Tuesday.

Republicans have countered that a vote for Democrats means more soaring inflation and rising violent crime, seeking to make the midterms a referendum on the president.

The outcome will likely determine whether Biden, who turns 80 this month and is the oldest president ever, will seek a second term in 2024 — or step aside.

Spain’s former king Juan Carlos I on Tuesday resumes a UK court battle over harassment claims by his former lover, seeking confirmation of his legal immunity as a royal.

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, 58, is seeking personal injury damages from the 84-year-old former monarch, who ruled Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014.

The British resident has accused Juan Carlos, who now lives in the United Arab Emirates, of spying on and harassing her after their relationship soured in 2012.

She filed a harassment suit in London in 2020, alleging he pressured her to return gifts worth 65 million euros ($65 million), including works of art and jewellery.

Juan Carlos, listed in court under his full name Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria De Borbon y Borbon, has not appeared at hearings so far and strenuously denies any wrongdoing.

In March, the High Court in London rejected Juan Carlos’s claim that English courts had no jurisdiction to hear the case because he has state immunity as a royal.

Judge Matthew Nicklin said that “whatever special status the defendant retained under the law and constitution of Spain, he was no longer a ‘sovereign’ or ‘head of state’ so as to entitle him to personal immunity”.

The former king’s lawyers appealed and won permission for a legal challenge concerning the period when Juan Carlos was on the throne.

This will be examined by three judges at the Court of Appeal from 1030 GMT on Tuesday, with a ruling expected in a few weeks, after which the harassment lawsuit will continue.

– Podcast –

The hearings resume as Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn has been discussing the relationship in a recent podcast called “Corinna and the King”.

Court submissions claim Juan Carlos, who is married, was in an “intimate romantic relationship” with the divorcee from 2004 to 2009 and showered her with gifts.

She alleged that Juan Carlos began harassing her after their relationship broke down, using threats, break-ins at her properties and surveillance.

Juan Carlos “demanded the return of gifts”, she claimed, and she suffered “trespass and criminal damage” at her home in rural central England.

Gunshots were fired at and damaged security cameras at the front gate of the property, she alleged, accusing the former king of being angry at her refusals.

The couple’s relationship became known in 2012, when the monarch broke a hip while on holiday in Botswana with Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and had to be flown home, sparking public anger during a period of record unemployment in Spain.

Two years later, dogged by the scandals and health problems, Juan Carlos abdicated at the age of 76 in favour of his son Felipe VI, who has now distanced himself from his father.

Juan Carlos went into self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates in 2020. 

The pair attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September and were seated together.

Juan Carlos was protected for decades by his huge popularity as a key figure in the democratic transition following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

The excesses of the monarch only came to light in the last years of his reign, triggering a string of investigations over corruption scandals.