World Briefing: October 20, 2024

Crucial voting is underway today in the buffer state of Moldova as citizens decide on whether they’ll trigger a change to the constitution in order to become EU members - and separately, to have incumbent Maia Sandhu as president again. The democratic exercise takes place as Russia reportedly spent millions to manipulate the outcome. Sky News reported finding tens of thousands of alleged pro-Russian posters and leaflets that were seized by the authorities.

In Moldova, authorities believe cash mules have been part of a major and ongoing operation to buy political influence run by a fugitive Moldovan oligarch named Ilan Shor. Convicted of major fraud in Chisinau, he is now resident in Russia which will not extradite him.

Switzerland has decided not to adopt in full a package of European Union measures against Russia, a move the U.S. ambassador called disappointing. As Western governments try to cut off Russia's means to finance its war on Ukraine, U.S. officials have pressed Switzerland to do more to close loopholes given the country's role as a global financial centre and commodity trading hub. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the department that oversees Switzerland's sanctions regime, said in a statement emailed to Reuters that the decision not to implement the full EU sanctions package this week was "not politically motivated…Switzerland is unwaveringly and unequivocally committed to sanctions against Russia," it said. The government took issue with wording that requires companies to prevent circumvention via their subsidiaries "to the best of their ability."

Other Topics of Interest

Eurotopics: Moldova - What Does Maia Sandu's Victory Mean?

In a referendum held parallel to the first round of voting on 20 October, a wafer-thin majority of citizens voted in favour of writing EU accession into the constitution as an irrevocable goal.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 73 people, including women and children, in the city of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, the strip's Hamas-run authorities say. Dozens of others are injured and many are still trapped under the rubble after the bombing late on Saturday night, officials added. Israel said it was checking reports of casualties but said the figures published by Hamas authorities were "exaggerated" and did not match information held by its military. - BBC

Israel has carried out at least a dozen air strikes on Beirut on Saturday in the heaviest attack the Lebanese capital witnessed in more than a week. Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising over the city's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah's main base is located. In some cases the Israeli military gave warnings to residents to get out, but not much time - in one place just a few minutes. Damage and casualties were still being assessed, but at least one multi-storey building had been completely destroyed. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hezbollah's weapons storage facilities and its intelligence headquarters command centre in Dahieh. - BBC

The US is investigating a leak of highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. One of the people familiar confirmed the documents’ authenticity. The leak is “deeply concerning,” a US official told CNN. The documents, dated October 15 and 16, began circulating online Friday after being posted on Telegram by an account called “Middle East Spectator.” They are marked top secret and have markings indicating they are meant to be seen only by the US and its “Five Eyes” allies — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. - CNN

With less than a month before the end of the election cycle in the United States, Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, is being boxed in by the escalating crisis in the Middle East - risking her edge over Donald Trump in key state such as Michigan, which has a large proportion of Arab-Americans.

Donald Trump overcharged Secret Service agents protecting him and his family for rooms at his hotel in Washington while he was president, a new report from House Democrats alleges. Trump also benefited from foreign and domestic officials, including people seeking jobs in his administration or pardons from him, who paid for rooms at what was then the Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington, according to the report, which was obtained by NBC News.

In a huge blow to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plans to curb the flow of African migrants into Italy, the Italian coast guard took 12 migrants back to Italy on Saturday from newly opened asylum processing centres in Albania following a court decision in Rome. The ruling is a key hurdle in the administration’s plan to outsource some of its migrant processing to Albania. As Euronews reported: the 12 were part of the first batch of 16 migrants to be sent to the two centres that opened last week under a five-year deal to host 3,000 migrants per month picked up by the Italian coast guard, to vet them for possible asylum in Italy or to be sent back to their countries. But each migrant’s detention must now be reviewed by special migration courts in Italy under Italian law, and on Friday a court in Rome rejected the detention of the 12, arguing that they cannot be sent back to their countries or origin - Bangladesh and Egypt -because the court did not deem the countries to be safe enough.

In an ongoing backlash against over-tourism in Spain, residents of Valencia turned out in the tens of thousands, according to a former MSNBC editor on the scene, to protest the high cost of housing due to an inundation of tourism. In recent months, tourists have been subjected to protests and even water gun provocations in various European tourists hotspots.

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