USA accusano Russia su armi chimiche. Arresti a UCLA. Proteste in Georgia🗞️ Rassegna del 03/05/2024

Israele

(Reuters) Israel says Turkey's Erdogan is breaking agreements by blocking ports for trade

• Israel's foreign minister said on Thursday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.

• Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the foreign ministry to work to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.

(Associated Press) Hamas is sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks in the latest sign of progress

• Hamas said Thursday that it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks, in a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza.

• After months of stop-and-start negotiations, the cease-fire efforts appear to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and American mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days. 

• But chances for the deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas.

Ucraina

(BBC) Russia using chemical choking agents in Ukraine, US says

• The US has accused Russia of deploying chemical weapons as a "method of warfare" in Ukraine, in violation of international laws banning their use.

• State department officials said Russia used the choking agent chloropicrin to win "battlefield gains" over Ukraine. Chloropicrin - which the US says Russia has used to "dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions" - is an oily substance which was widely used during World War One. It causes irritation of the lungs, eyes and skin and can cause vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea, according to the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

•  The allegations, which US officials said were not an "isolated" incident, would contravene the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which Russia signed.
• The Kremlin rejected the accusations, calling them "baseless".

(Associated Press) Kyiv’s forces are up against a concerted Russian push in eastern Ukraine, a military official says

• The situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine is worsening but local defenders are so far holding firm against a concerted push by Russia’s bigger and better-equipped forces, a senior Ukrainian military official said Thursday.

• Nazar Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukrainian strategic command in the east of the country, said Russia has amassed troops in the Donetsk region in an effort to punch through the Ukrainian defensive line.

Europa

(New York Times) Protests Swell in Georgia Over ‘Foreign Interests’ Bill

• The authorities in the Eastern European nation said security forces had used water cannons and tear gas as demonstrators took to the streets over divisive legislation advanced by Parliament.

• Security forces clashed with protesters in Georgia’s capital on Wednesday night after the Eastern European nation’s Parliament advanced controversial new legislation that has ignited weeks of demonstrations.

• Since the governing party, Georgian Dream, pushed a bill through Parliament early last month that the pro-Western opposition believes could be used to crack down on dissent and hamper the country’s efforts to join the European Union, protesters have taken to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, night after night.

• Their numbers swelled on Wednesday after Parliament approved the bill in the second of three required votes.

Politica internazionale

Nord America

(Reuters) California police flatten pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA, arrest protesters

• Hundreds of helmeted police swarmed the site of a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of California at Los Angeles early on Thursday, firing flash bangs, arresting defiant demonstrators and dismantling their encampment.

• Prior to moving in, police urged demonstrators in repeated announcements to clear the protest zone, which occupied a central plaza about the size of a football field.

(Associated Press) President Joe Biden calls Japan and India ‘xenophobic’ nations that do not welcome immigrants

• President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.

• The remarks, at a campaign fundraising event Wednesday evening, came just three weeks after the White House hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a lavish official visit, during which the two leaders celebrated what Biden called an “unbreakable alliance,” particularly on global security matters.

Africa

(Reuters) Russian troops enter base housing US military in Niger, US official says

• Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting U.S. troops, a senior U.S. defense told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger's junta to expel U.S. forces from the country.

• The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the U.S. to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington's fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.

• A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with U.S. troops but were using a separate hanger at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger's capital.

• The move by Russia's military puts U.S. and Russian troops in close proximity at a time when the nations' military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.