World

US Electoral College Set to Confirm Biden Win Monday

Published

5 years ago

December 14, 2020

Eric

Long a mere formality, a vote on Monday by members of the Electoral College to formally recognise Joe Biden as the next US president has taken on unusual import this year with Donald Trump refusing to admit defeat.

The results of the November 3 vote have been certified by each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; the Democrat won with a record 81.3 million votes, or 51.3 percent of those cast, to 74.2 million, and 46.8 percent, for the Republican president.

But in the United States, the occupant of the White House is chosen by indirect universal suffrage, with each state allocating its electors — whose numbers are essentially based on population — to the candidate who carried the state.

The results confirm an easy victory for Biden, with 306 of the 538 electoral votes, to 232 for Trump, with 270 required for election.

Electoral College members meet Monday to formalise the process, though the electors actually meet separately in each state.

Biden will then deliver a speech in the evening to celebrate the latest confirmation of his win and “the strength and resilience” of US democracy — a clear jab at Trump’s unprecedented stance.

Electors are local political officials or activists, civil society figures or friends of candidates.

Most are unknown to the wider public, though national personalities occasionally take part — like Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 election but who will vote Monday in New York to confirm President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

– No Trump concession –

Although there have been a few “faithless electors” in past years — who cast votes for someone other than the candidate who won their state — there have never been enough to change an election outcome.

So Biden’s victory will become all the more official on Monday.

But Trump, still the legal occupant of the White House until January 20, has continued to make baseless assertions that the November vote was the “MOST CORRUPT ELECTION IN U.S. HISTORY,” as he tweeted yet again on Sunday.

He added, “How do states and politicians confirm an election where corruption and irregularities are documented throughout?”

In fact, his campaign has not been able to document any widespread fraud, and its legal challenges to the vote — in dozens of suits, heard by scores of judges — have virtually all been dismissed, often in scathing language.

– An ultimate humiliation –

In an ultimate humiliation, the US Supreme Court — despite having a conservative majority assured by three Trump appointees — on Friday bluntly refused to even consider two Republican challenges to the vote.

Large numbers of Republican lawmakers are on record as backing Trump’s false claims of fraud.

Some may finally be willing to recognize Biden’s victory once the Electoral College ratifies it.

But with polls showing that as few as one in four Republican voters accept the election results as valid, Trump is not expected to give in anytime soon.

“WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!” he tweeted.

This weekend, when asked on Fox News whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration on January 20 — as demanded by protocol and centuries of tradition — the former real estate magnate snapped, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

The president might yet seek to use America’s drawn-out transition process in one last attempt to reverse the outcome: some elected officials allied with Trump have speculated about contesting the result on January 6 when Congress is to formally validate the Electoral Congress tally.

Such a maneuver is given virtually no chance of succeeding.

Regardless, Trump’s struggle against a repeatedly confirmed result seems sure to leave Biden facing a steep challenge with the country more divided than ever.

(AFP)

Middle East

Israel Declares Hezbollah Leader Marked Target

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has declared the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement a “marked target” following overnight rocket fire from Lebanon.

Katz said on X that Hezbollah chief, Naim Qassem, had acted on orders from Iran in launching attacks on Israel and warned that the group would “pay a heavy price.”

Qassem succeeded Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon in September 2024.

The Israeli military said several rockets were fired from Lebanon overnight, with one intercepted and others landing in open areas.

Hezbollah said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran on Saturday.

In response, Israel said it carried out fresh strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including weapons depots and other infrastructure.

The military reported bombardments in Beirut and elsewhere, saying senior militia members were among those hit.

Meanwhile, residents near the office of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reported no signs of a missile strike on Monday, after Iran claimed it had targeted the building.

The residents said that prime minister’s fate was unknown.

Air raid sirens sounded around noon in the Jerusalem area, as well as in several regions across central and southern Israel.

In spite of the alerts, local police and rescue services said there were no reported hits, injuries, damage or interceptions over Jerusalem.

Residents living close to the prime minister’s office said they had not witnessed any missile impact in the vicinity.

Reporters at the scene observed no visible presence of military personnel, police forces or emergency responders outside the compound.

Traffic in surrounding streets continued as normal, with no smoke seen rising from the area.

The building appeared intact and undamaged.

The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Iranian statement.

Israeli media commentators dismissed the claim.

Amit Segal, chief political analyst for Channel 12 News, described it as “fake news” in a post on Telegram.

Suleiman Maswadeh, chief diplomatic correspondent for the State-owned Kan, also said on Telegram that the claimed lacked corroboration.

Middle East

Saudi Arabia Shuts Down One of World’s Largest Oil Refinery after Iran’s Drone Strike

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2026

Eric

Saudi Aramco has halted operations at its Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia after a reported drone strike in the area, according to Reuters.

Ras Tanura, one of the largest oil refining and export facilities in the world, has a refining capacity of roughly 550,000 barrels per day and serves as the kingdom’s largest oil export terminal.

The facility handles approximately 6.5 million barrels of crude daily nearly 7% of global oil supply flows through this single site.

Reports indicate the attack was carried out by Iran amid rising regional tensions, affecting critical Aramco infrastructure.

Following the strike, a fire reportedly broke out in the refinery’s processing complex.

Authorities say the blaze has been contained, and no casualties were recorded.

A series of strikes by the US and Israel against Iran began last Saturday.

World

Trump Claims 48 Iran Leaders Killed in US-Israeli Operations

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

Eric

The United States President, Donald Trump, has claimed that over 48 Iranian leaders have been killed in ongoing U.S.-Israeli bombardments, describing the offensive as a major success.

“Nobody can believe the success we’re having, 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

The military strike, launched Saturday, aims to dismantle the Islamic Republic’s leadership and degrade its military capabilities.

Iran has confirmed the death of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

In a separate interview with CNBC, Trump reiterated his confidence in the operation’s progress.

“We’re doing our job not just for us but for the world. And everything is ahead of schedule,” he said. “Things are evolving in a very positive way right now, a very positive way.”

The interviews were conducted before the U.S. military announced its first casualties in the conflict. United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that three service members were killed, five seriously wounded, and several others sustained lighter injuries.

CENTCOM also said U.S. forces had sunk an Iranian warship at a dock in the Gulf of Oman as part of ongoing operations.