Possibile accordo sugli ostaggi. Ungheria ratifica l’ingresso della Svezia 🗞️Rassegna del 27/2/2024

Israele

(New York Times) The proposal includes the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinians convicted of terrorism.

• In a major shift, Israeli negotiators have signaled that Israel could release a group of high-profile Palestinian prisoners serving lengthy jail terms in exchange for the freedom of some of the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, officials say.
• The idea is seen as the basis for negotiations with Hamas, which has not responded to the proposal. The Israeli government had previously avoided such a concession partly because the release of Palestinians convicted of major acts of terrorism, even in exchange for Israeli hostages, would attract significant domestic criticism.
• Other elements of a possible deal — including the length of a cease-fire and Hamas’s demand for a complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza — are still under discussion.

(Reuters) Israel strikes deeper into Lebanon after Hezbollah downs drone

• Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Monday, killing at least two Hezbollah members in its deepest attack into Lebanese territory since hostilities erupted with the Iran-backed group last October, sources in Lebanon said. Underlining the risks of escalation, Hezbollah responded by firing 60 rockets at an Israeli army headquarters in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the group's al-Manar television reported. An Israeli army spokesperson said dozens of rockets were fired towards the Golan Heights from Lebanon.
• The Israeli army said its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah air defences in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing of an Israeli drone, which Hezbollah said it had shot down with a surface-to-air missile earlier on Monday.
• Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant indicated on Sunday that Israel planned to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. "If a temporary pause is reached in Gaza, we will increase the fire in the north separately, and will continue until the full withdrawal of Hezbollah [from the border] and the return of Israeli citizens to their homes," he said.

(Associated Press) What would a new Palestinian government in the West Bank mean for the war in Gaza?

• The Palestinian Authority’s prime minister announced his government’s resignation on Monday, seen as the first step in a reform process urged by the United States as part of its latest ambitious plans to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• In announcing his resignation, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said new arrangements were needed to address “the new reality in the Gaza Strip.” Abbas accepted Shtayyeh’s resignation and is expected to replace him with Mohammad Mustafa, a U.S.-educated economist who has held senior positions at the World Bank and currently leads the Palestine Investment Fund. He was deputy prime minister and economy minister from 2013-2015.
• As a political independent and not a Fatah loyalist like Shtayyeh, Mustafa’s appointment would likely be welcomed by the U.S., Israel and other countries.

Russia

Sullo scambio di ostaggi che doveva coinvolgere Navalny:

(Reuters) Navalny was close to being freed in prisoner swap between Russia and West - ally

• The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Navalny ally Maria Pevchikh, who is based outside Russia, did not present documentary evidence for her assertion. Speaking on YouTube, Pevchikh said talks about exchanging Navalny and two unnamed U.S. nationals for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian FSB security service hit man in jail in Germany, were in their final stages at the time of his death.
• Yulia, Navalny's wife, said on the X social media network that Pevchikh's intervention had shown why Putin had killed her husband. "And we will definitely find out who exactly and how exactly executed this crime," she wrote.
• Two Russian sources told Reuters that talks on swapping Navalny had been held and that an exchange had been agreed in principle. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited by the Financial Times as saying he was not aware of any agreement to exchange Navalny. Vadim Krasikov was jailed for life in Germany after being convicted of killing an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in Berlin in 2019. Putin signalled in an interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson this month that he wanted to get Krasikov, whom he cast as a patriot, back. The German government declined to comment on Monday.

(Meduza) ‘We needed to get him out of prison’ Navalny’s team says Putin killed him because negotiations for his release in prisoner swap were nearing completion

• The final version of the deal, which Pevchikh says was nearing completion, would have seen Russia trade Navalny and “two American citizens” for Vadim Krasikov, who is serving prison time in Germany for the assassination of the former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili. Because Putin is eager to secure Krasikov’s release but was unwilling to let Navalny go free, Pevchikh said, he decided to “get rid of the bargaining chip” and wait for his next chance to make a swap.
• The plan finally “received approval” in the spring of 2023, she continued — but this was followed by months of hesitation and miscommunication from various players. By December 2023, however, the plan was “back in action.” According to Pevchikh, there were “traces” of these “near-negotiations” in the media, including in U.S. news reports about Putin’s alleged desire to secure Krasikov’s release, as well as in Putin’s allusion to the topic in his interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this month.
• After learning of Navalny’s death, Pevchikh said, she was told that it was Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich who ultimately delivered the proposal for the exchange to Vladimir Putin. When she contacted Abramovich for comment, he neither confirmed nor denied having served as an informal negotiator in the talks.

Discorso di Orlov virgolettato:

(Human Rights Watch) Closing Statement by Oleg Orlov, Co-chair of Memorial, at His Second Criminal Trial on Politically Motivated Charges of “Discrediting Russia’s Armed Forces,”

• “The state in our country controls not only public, political, and economic life. It also seeks total control over culture and the sciences and invades private life. The state has become all-pervasive. It’s been only a little over four months since my first trial ended, and in that time many things happened that illustrate how rapidly our country is sinking ever more deeply into darkness.”
• “It’s not just public criticism that’s banned, but any independent thought. Even actions seemingly unrelated to politics or criticism of the authorities can be punished. There is no field of art where free artistic expression is possible, there is no academic freedom in the humanities, there is no more private life.”
• Members of parliament, investigators, prosecutors, and judges do not openly acknowledge this. They hide it under absurd and illogical wording of new so-called laws, indictments, and verdicts. But that’s the reality. Right now, Alexey Gorinov, Alexandra Skochilenko, Igor Baryshnikov, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and many others are slowly being killed in penal colonies and prisons. They are being killed for protesting against the bloodshed in Ukraine, for wanting Russia to become a democratic, prosperous state that does not pose a threat to the world around it.

Europa

Svezia:

(Reuters) Sweden clears final hurdle to join NATO as Hungary approves accession

• Hungary's vote ended months of delays to complete Sweden's security policy shift and followed a visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday, during which the two countries signed an arms deal.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has faced pressure from NATO allies to fall in line and seal Sweden's accession to the alliance.
• Sweden also brings resources such as cutting-edge submarines tailored to Baltic Sea conditions and a sizable fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets into the alliance. It is increasing military spending and should reach NATO's threshold of 2% of GDP this year.

Danimarca:

(Guardian) Denmark drops investigation into Nord Stream pipeline blasts

• Denmark has dropped its investigation into the 2022 explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany, becoming the second country to do so after Sweden closed a separate inquiry.
• Sweden dropped its investigation into the explosions this month, saying it lacked jurisdiction in the case but had handed evidence to German investigators, who are yet to publish any findings.
• There remains no accepted explanation. A series of unconfirmed reports variously accusing Russia, the US and Ukraine are filling an information vacuum as investigations continue. Russia has accused the US of staging the explosions, which Moscow described as a terror attack. The US has denied involvement.

Belgio:

(Guardian) Farmers clash with riot police in Brussels as EU agriculture leaders meet

• Farmers from Spain, Portugal and Italy joined their Belgian counterparts for the latest show of force by a months-long, Europe-wide movement demanding action on high costs, low product prices, cheap non-EU imports and strict EU environmental rules.
• The rolling protests, which on Saturday led to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, being heckled by furious farmers at the Paris agricultural fair, have unnerved leaders before European elections in June that are likely to produce major gains for far-right populist parties.
• Ministers were meeting to debate European Commission proposals to ease the pressure on farmers, including simplifying the bloc’s common agricultural policy (CAP) by reducing farm inspections and exempting small farms from some green rules.

Politica internazionale

Nord America

Stati Uniti:  

(Reuters) Republican Party leader Ronna McDaniel to step down after pressure from Trump

• The move reflected the former president's sway over the party as he prepares for a likely rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in November.
• Following a Feb. 5 meeting with McDaniel, Trump wrote on social media that he would be pushing for changes at the Republican National Committee (RNC) after South Carolina's primary on Saturday, which he handily won over the state's former governor, Nikki Haley.
• The RNC plays a critical role in raising money for the nominee, promoting the party's message, marshalling resources and turning out voters. Whoever replaces McDaniel will face the challenge of unifying a fractured party.

(Washington Post) Clock is ticking for Trump to post bonds worth half a billion dollars

• According to state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron’s final judgment, entered Friday, Trump now owes New York at least $454 million — the $355 million penalty plus interest, which is now accruing at a rate of $112,000 per day. Separately, he faces an $83.3 million judgment in a federal defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.
• Trump has vowed to appeal both cases, and filed his notice of appeal in the business fraud case Monday. But he must immediately grapple with the enormous sums that are at stake: To keep both judgments from being enforced while he appeals, he must put up the entire amount in either cash or bonds, according to legal experts.
• Most of Trump’s wealth is tied up in real estate, and it’s not clear whether he has enough cash on hand to cover what he now owes. Trump has not said how he plans to put up the money.

America Latina

Brasile:

(Reuters) Brazil's Bolsonaro gathers supporters in show of strength amid coup probe

• Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gathered thousands of supporters on Sao Paulo's iconic Paulista Avenue on Sunday to demonstrate political strength amid investigations that many believe could land him in jail. The far-right former president, who called the rally after being targeted by a police raid earlier this month investigating an alleged coup attempt, spoke for about 20 minutes to defend himself while reminiscing about his 2019-2022 term.
• Bolsonaro had his passport confiscated and was accused of editing a draft decree to overturn election results, pressuring military chiefs to join a coup attempt and plotting to jail a Supreme Court justice after his electoral loss to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2022.
• Supporters of Bolsonaro, a populist often likened to former U.S. President Donald Trump, invaded and ransacked Brazil's presidential palace, Supreme Court and Congress calling for a military coup on Jan. 8, 2023, a week after Lula took office. Bolsonaro on Sunday denied the accusations and said he was being "persecuted," adding that the draft decree was based on the constitution. He also called for amnesty for people who took part in the Jan. 8 riot.