Aumentano le vittime in Medio Oriente 🗞️ Rassegna del 28/03/2024

Israele

Israele-Gaza:

(New York Times): Two days after the U.N. call for a cease-fire, Israeli strikes on Gaza haven’t let up.

• Israel’s air force on Wednesday continued to pound the Gaza Strip with strikes, and Hamas fighters kept up attacks against Israeli soldiers, a further indication that a United Nations Security Council resolution this week calling for a cease-fire had failed to persuade either side as attempts for an agreement appeared to falter.
• Israel has been outspoken in its condemnation of the Security Council resolution, which called for a cease-fire for the remaining weeks of Ramadan that would lead to a “lasting, sustainable” halt in the fighting and the unconditional release of all hostages held by militants in Gaza. The United States, which has vetoed previous attempts, abstained, allowing the resolution to pass.
• On Wednesday, three Palestinian human rights groups said that there had been an intensification of Israeli bombardments on Rafah over the previous 72 hours, killing dozens.
• Over the last 48 hours, the Qassam Brigades has also published videos purporting to show militants firing on Israeli forces, but it was not clear when the videos were taken.

Gaza:

(New York Times) Gazan authorities say 12 people drowned trying to retrieve airdropped aid.

• The authorities in Gaza said late Tuesday that a total of 12 people had drowned while trying to retrieve airdropped aid that had fallen into the Mediterranean, calling for an end to the airdrops — a last resort to get urgently needed food and other supplies into the enclave — and an increase in deliveries by land.
• It was not possible to confirm the details independently and it was not clear which country was responsible for the airdrop in question.
• Three of approximately 80 aid bundles dropped by the United States on Monday “were reported to have had parachute malfunctions and landed in the water,” a Pentagon spokeswoman, Sabrina Singh, said at a news conference on Tuesday.
• Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said on Wednesday that the Biden administration expressed “condolences to the families of those who died.” But she did not confirm whether the aid packages that had fallen into the sea were dropped by the United States.

Israele-Libano:

(New York Times) A 25-year-old was killed in Israel, while 7 people were killed overnight in Lebanon.

• The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it carried out an overnight strike targeting a “significant terrorist operative” and others who were with him near the town of al-Habbariyeh in southern Lebanon.
• Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike hit an emergency medical center and killed seven paramedics and denounced what it called an “unacceptable” attack on a health center.
• Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday, killing at least one person in a barrage. A direct hit on a building in the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona killed a 25-year-old, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s nonprofit emergency medical service.

Ucraina

(REUTERS) Russia may have used new guided bomb to attack Ukraine's Kharkiv, local officials say

• Russia may have used a new type of guided bomb in airstrikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv that killed at least one person on Wednesday, local officials said.
• The officials said four children including a three-month-old baby were among 19 people wounded in Kharkiv in the latest strikes since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, some of which have caused blackouts, including in Kharkiv.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attack as "Russian terror" and Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional police, said Moscow may have used a new type of guided bomb which he described as the UMPB D-30.
• "This is something between a guided aerial bomb which they (the Russians) have used recently, and a missile. It's a flying bomb so to say," Tymoshko said at the site of the strike.

(CNN) Ukraine relies on Starlink for its drone war. Russia appears to be bypassing sanctions to use the devices too

• Ukrainian front-line troops say they are experiencing connection problems with the vital Starlink internet service, owned by Elon Musk and used to run Kyiv’s fleet of attack drones, while also reporting an increase in Russian use of the devices, despite this being prohibited by US sanctions
• In a series of interviews across the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers have said connection speeds have dropped in the past months, and reported other connection problems. The complaints coincide with a rise in Ukrainian sightings of Russian uses of the satellite internet service, run by Musk’s SpaceX, and social media posts in which Russian crowdfunders claim to have successfully bypassed sanctions on Russian use of the devices, buying them in third countries.
• The reason for the reports of a deteriorating service in Ukraine are unclear, and Starlink, SpaceX and Musk declined to comment.
• Even with the Starlink devices that are firmly in the Ukrainian military’s control, there is a concern among Ukrainian officials that Russians may hijack their communications or hack them. Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service claimed last year that Russian military hackers were trying to steal battlefield communications sent from Ukrainian soldiers’ mobile devices to Starlink terminals.

Russia

(REUTERS) Russia struggles to collect oil payments as China, UAE, Turkey raise bank scrutiny

• Russian oil firms face delays of up to several months to be paid for crude and fuel as banks in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) become more wary of U.S. secondary sanctions, eight sources familiar with the matter said.
• Payment delays reduce revenue to the Kremlin and make them erratic, allowing Washington to achieve its dual policy sanction goals - to disrupt money going to the Kremlin to punish it for the war in Ukraine while not interrupting global energy flows.
• Several banks in China, the UAE and Turkey have boosted their sanctions compliance requirements in recent weeks, resulting in delays or even the rejection of money transfers to Moscow, according to the eight banking and trading sources.
• Following the U.S. order, Chinese, UAE and Turkish banks that work with Russia have increased checks, started asking for extra documentation and trained more staff to make sure deals were compliant with the price cap, the trading sources said.

(REUTERS) Russia increases gasoline imports from Belarus as domestic supplies shrink

• Russia has increased gasoline imports from neighbouring Belarus in March to tackle the risk of shortages in its domestic market because of unscheduled repairs at Russian refineries after drone attacks, four industry and trade sources said on Wednesday.
• Usually Russia is a net exporter of fuel and a supplier to international markets, but the disruption of Russian refining has forced oil companies to import.
• Already Russia banned gasoline exports from March 1 to try to secure enough fuel for its domestic market after repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries since the start of the year.

Europa

Portogallo

(REUTERS) Portugal's parliament elects speaker after impasse, instability looms

• Portugal's fragmented new parliament on Wednesday elected a speaker after three failed votes the previous day underscored the weakness of the centre-right election winner and the growing influence of the far right.
• The Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition won the March 10 election by a slim margin over the incumbent Socialists, far short of a working majority. The far-right Chega quadrupled its parliamentary representation, reflecting a political tilt to right-wing populism across Europe.
• Analysts have anticipated instability for the AD minority government that has just 80 seats and is unlikely to be able to pass legislation without support from Chega, whose leader Andre Ventura has demanded a long-term deal in exchange for support.
• After the compromise announced on Wednesday, Ventura said it clearly showed that PSD (Social Democratic Party) had chosen its "travel companion" for its mandate and that it now needs to govern with it.

Politica internazionale

America Latina

Brasile:

(REUTERS) Brazil police investigate Bolsonaro's stay in February at Hungary embassy -source

• Brazilian police are investigating why former president Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia last month right after his passport was seized in an investigation into an alleged military coup plot, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
• The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the police report on the probe will be sent to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the investigation into an alleged plan for a military coup after Bolsonaro was defeated in October 2022 by leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
• On Feb. 8, police had seized Bolsonaro's passport and accused him of editing a draft decree to overturn the results of the 2022 election, pressing military chiefs to join a coup, and planning to jail Moraes.

Asia e Pacifico

Cina:

(ASSOCIATED PRESS) China’s Xi issues a positive message in meeting with U.S. business leaders as relations improve

• China’s nationalist leader Xi Jinping has called for closer trade ties with the U.S. during a meeting with top American business leaders in Beijing that comes amid a steady improvement in relations that had sunk to the lowest level in years.
• Xi emphasized Wednesday the mutually beneficial economic ties between the world’s two largest economies, despite heavy U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports and Washington’s accusations of undue Communist Party influence, unfair trade barriers and theft of intellectual property.
• China’s economy has struggled to recover from severe self-imposed restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic that it lifted only at the end of 2022, but Xi said China was again contributing to world economic growth in the double digits percentage-wise.[...]China’s economy has been bogged down by a crisis in its property market in which builders are struggling under mountains of debt and buyers are paying off loans on apartments that may never be completed. Other issues, such as an aging population and high youth unemployment, are prompting China’s leaders to lean more heavily on boosting export manufacturing to make up for weak demand at home.
• U.S. officials have renewed concerns over Chinese industrial policy practices and overcapacity, and the resulting impact on U.S. workers and companies, that they blame in part on China’s massive trade surplus that amounted to more than $279 billion last year, its lowest level in about a decade.

(REUTERS) Dutch PM downplays conflict over ASML after meeting with China's Xi

• Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday downplayed conflict between the Netherlands and China over restrictions on the export of equipment made by Dutch firm ASML (ASML.AS), opens new tab, following a meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
• Earlier this year, the Dutch government began denying licences for ASML to export advanced "DUV" tool lines to China, joining a U.S. effort to curb chip exports to the world's second-biggest economy.
• Now in doubt is whether The Hague will allow ASML to continue servicing the billions of euros worth of advanced equipment it has already sold to Chinese customers that now falls under export restrictions when current licences expire.Rutte declined to take questions on whether his government may deny licences for ASML, the biggest maker of equipment for computer chip makers, to continue maintaining tools for those Chinese customers, as desired by Washington.
• The Netherlands makes sure "when it's about our semiconductor sector and companies like ASML, when we have to take (export restriction) measures, that they are never aimed at one country specifically, and we always try to make sure the impact is limited," Rutte said.

Thailandia:
(REUTERS) Thailand moves closer to legalising same-sex unions as parliament passes landmark bill

• Thailand's parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday, a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to becoming its third territory to legalise same-sex unions.
• The bill had the support of all of Thailand's major parties and was more than a decade in the making. It still requires approval from the Senate and endorsement from the king before it becomes law and would take effect 120 days later. The legislation was passed by 400 of the 415 lawmakers present, with only 10 voting against it and could see Thailand join Taiwan and Nepal in allowing same-sex unions.

Africa

Senegal:

(Associated Press) Senegal’s president-elect pledges to fight corruption after a stunning victory for the 44-year-old

• Senegal woke up Tuesday to a new president-elect, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a former tax inspector and political newcomer who inspired voters, including many unemployed youth, with a vow to fight corruption and reform the economy.
• Faye, 44, was catapulted into the presidential campaign when he was backed by the popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who had been barred from running due to a prior conviction. Winning Sunday’s presidential election was a dramatic rise for Faye, who was released from prison less than two weeks ago and is now due to be the youngest leader of the West African nation.“I pledge to govern with humility and transparency, and to fight corruption at all levels. I pledge to devote myself fully to rebuilding our institutions,” he said during his first speech Monday night as president-elect, restating promises made during his campaign.
• The election followed months of unrest ignited by the arrests last year of Sonko and Faye, and concerns that the president would seek a third term in office despite constitutional term limits. The violence shook Senegal’s reputation as a stable democracy in a region that has seen a wave of coups. Rights groups said dozens were killed in the protests, while some 1,000 people were jailed.
• Faye was considered an anti-establishment candidate, and his campaign messages of economic reform and anti-corruption resonated with the youth. Almost a third of young people are unemployed with thousands risking their lives on dangerous journeys in search of jobs in the West.

Nigeria:

(REUTERS) Nigeria's Dangote oil refinery could accelerate European sector's decline

• Nigeria's giant Dangote oil refinery could bring to an end a decades-long gasoline trade from Europe to Africa worth $17 billion a year, heaping pressure on European refineries already at risk of closure from heightened competition, analysts and traders said.
• The refinery started production in January and cost $20 billion to build. It can refine up to 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) and will be the largest in Africa and Europe when it reaches full capacity this or next year.
• As much as 300-400,000 bpd of refining capacity in Europe is at risk of closure because of rising global gasoline production, according to Kpler's analyst Andon Pavlov.
• European refineries don't produce enough diesel to meet regional needs but produce too much gasoline and rely on exports to clear excess supply. West Africa has long been the main outlet for gasoline that doesn't meet stricter environmental restrictions in Europe on sulphur and metals content.