In its speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday, China expressed its opposition to the United States’ measures, saying that the sovereignty of the Gulf states must be respected, and also called on the “relevant country” to stop threatening Cuba and lift the blockade imposed on it.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng did not mention the United States by name in his speech. The United States launched a pressure campaign on Cuba that limited the access of oil to the island. It also began a war on Iran with raids with Israel at the end of February.
These statements came in contrast to the friendly atmosphere that characterized the White House meetings, where US President Donald Trump received his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week, and celebrated his presence with a military air show and a lavish official dinner.
"Major countries should assume special responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security, and take the initiative in complying with the rules, upholding the rule of law, and doing what is right," Han said.
He added: “China believes that the sovereignty and security of Middle Eastern countries, including the Gulf countries, should be respected.”
The US ambassador to China said on Friday that Trump warned Xi during the talks in Washington against providing support to Iran, and that he had received assurances that China would not do so.
The warning came after reports indicated that Beijing had provided Iran with shoulder-fired air defense missile launchers, and that Tehran had found ways to circumvent the sanctions imposed on its oil sales with Chinese assistance.
The Chinese Vice President said: “China urges the country concerned to immediately stop using the threat of force against Cuba, and to immediately and completely lift the blockade and sanctions imposed on it.”
Cuba's electricity network witnessed a complete collapse this month, plunging the country into darkness and leaving millions without electricity at a time when the United States is tightening its blockade.
Hours later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in his speech before the United Nations, supported the Chinese position, calling on Washington to lift the “blockade” imposed on Cuba and abolish trade restrictions on the largest island in the Caribbean.
Lavrov also called on the United States to remove Cuba from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
Cuba's aging electricity generation system has been suffering from severe pressure for years due to fuel shortages and deteriorating infrastructure, but an oil blockade imposed by the United States since January has increased the frequency of power outages and led to repeated collapses of the network.
Han added in his speech that China is a reliable partner on the global stage and a strong advocate for developing countries.
He added: “China believes that all countries, large or small, are equal members of the international community, and that world affairs should be managed by all countries through consultation.”
On Saturday, the northeastern United States was exposed to heavy rains and strong winds as an exceptional autumn storm intensified, causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and cutting off power to tens of thousands of Americans.
The areas affected by Storm “Noreaster” included major cities such as New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, while the authorities warned of the dangers of floods and road closures.
The US Weather Service expected that “the storm will cause major flooding along the mid-Atlantic coast and high tides until the end of the week.” She said: “Be prepared immediately for major flooding in low-lying areas near the coast, with the possibility of roads being submerged with water and homes and commercial establishments being affected.”
By 10:00 local time, more than 75,000 customers were without power in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
New York State Governor Kathy Hokul said that the storm was heading towards the coastal areas of New York City and Long Island, warning that “the rains have already begun... and believe me, the worst is yet to come.”
She added that some areas of Long Island may witness up to 15 centimeters of rain in the coming days, with waves that may reach 20 feet (about six meters) high.
For his part, New York Mayor Zahran Mamdani called on residents to avoid unnecessary movement due to strong winds and the possibility of falling power lines.
The storm led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights, 130 of them at Logan Airport (Boston) alone, according to Flight Aware data.
Major airlines, including JetBlue, United, and American Airlines, issued travel alerts that allowed travelers to modify their reservations without paying additional fees.
The weather conditions also prompted the United Nations to ask the media participating in covering the General Assembly meetings to remove broadcast equipment from the vicinity of the organization’s headquarters in New York due to the strong winds.
Several cultural and musical events were cancelled, including the “Global Citizen” and “All Things Go” festivals in New York, and the “Oceans Calling” festival in Maryland, while concerts by British singer Ed Sheeran near Boston were also cancelled.
Areas in the states of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey have been experiencing flooding for days. Nor'easter storms are well-known weather phenomena on the east coast of the United States. They occur frequently between fall and early spring, and are often accompanied by heavy rain or snow and strong winds.
The administration of US President Donald Trump won a judicial victory in its battle to expand the scope of auditing of voter records, after the Supreme Court, on Friday, allowed the use of a government database containing information from Social Security to verify citizenship. This gain comes at a time when Republicans are facing worrying electoral indicators, amid odds that they will lose their majority in the House of Representatives during the November elections.
Between debates over protecting the integrity of the vote and warnings against disqualifying eligible voters as a result of possible errors, legal disputes intersect with political competition in which the margins of error before voting narrow. The judicial decision does not necessarily mean changing the course of the elections, but it raises the sensitivity of the debate over the management of voter records, at a time when losing a few seats may be enough to change control of the House of Representatives, while the verification procedures themselves turn into a focus of appeal and political mobilization.
Temporary permission
According to several American newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Axios, the emergency decision allows the administration to resume using the expanded version of the “Saif” system, affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security, after it was stopped by a lower court. The system was used to verify eligibility for benefits and services, and sometimes to verify voter eligibility, before it was expanded to include Social Security data and crowdsourced searches.
The court majority held that the federal government is obligated to respond to requests from state and local election officials to verify the citizenship of voters. The administration says that the update helps revise records and prevent non-citizens from voting, while the state of Texas believes that it allows for faster and less expensive reviews.
However, the decision does not definitively resolve the legality of the expansion, as the lawsuit continues before the lower courts. The objection revolves around the administration’s authority to merge and reuse data, as well as its accuracy and ability to keep pace with the changing legal status of individuals, especially immigrants who have acquired American citizenship.
The three liberal female justices on the Supreme Court dissented, warning of the harm it could cause to eligible voters. Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson considered that imposing additional burdens on citizens or depriving them of voting exceeds the harm that the government says it is exposed to as a result of suspending the program. Here the limits of the immediate effect of the ruling emerge. According to the Washington Post, federal restrictions prevent large, systematic write-offs during the ninety days preceding the election, making individual reviews, based on specific information, the most likely path before November.
Facts reported by the newspaper reinforce concerns about the accuracy of this data. A government estimate of the number of non-citizens likely to be in Nevada state records fell from about 16,000 to 185 people, before state officials announced that all of them were citizens. On the other hand, the state of New Jersey recorded cases of non-citizens registering and voting due to a technical glitch. These facts indicate the existence of a problem that requires treatment, with the need to carefully investigate its scope and causes.
Majority under pressure
On the electoral front, Axios reported that the Cook Political Report adjusted the evaluations of 15 House races in favor of the Democrats. The establishment expects net Democratic gains of between 5 and 15 seats, while the party needs only 3 additional seats to seize a majority. The competition map shows an imbalance in the size of the seats vulnerable to loss, as there are 17 Republican seats in the swing races, compared to 5 Democratic seats. This means that Republicans need to win most of these contests to retain control of the House, despite their continued financial advantage.
Republicans were counting on redrawing districts and electoral spending to expand the margin of safety, but the Cook Foundation believes that the new Democratic maps in California and Utah largely offset Republican gains in other states.
The Republican Committee for Council Elections maintains that field organization, advertising, and financial resources will determine the results, and downplays the importance of analysts' assessments.
But what bothers Republicans more is that many of the decisive confrontations take place in districts where Trump won in 2024, and where voter satisfaction with his performance, especially economically, has declined. Therefore, the judicial decision may give the administration more space to implement a policy that it defends, but it does not provide a direct answer to the high-cost of living crisis that is putting pressure on the party’s candidates.
However, observers believe that the Democrats' bets and analysts' assessments were often refuted by the so-called "silence" of polled voters in the last decade, who turned the results upside down, contrary to expectations.
Between managing records and winning over voters, the Republicans' most difficult battle remains to convince the undecided that a continuation of the majority will improve their situation, while expectations of their loss remain a political indicator that is subject to change, and not a settled outcome.
