G7: Aiuti all’Ucraina e Cessate il fuoco a Gaza 🗞️ Rassegna del 14/06/2024

Israele

(REUTERS) Israeli forces advance deeper into Rafah as diplomacy falters

• Israeli tanks advanced deeper into the western area of Rafah, amid one of the worst nights of bombardment from air, ground, and sea, forcing many families to flee their homes and tents under darkness, residents said on Thursday.
• Residents said the Israeli forces thrust towards the Al-Mawasi area of Rafah near the beach, which is designated as a humanitarian area in all announcements and maps published by the Israeli army since it began its Rafah offensive in May.
• The Israeli military denied in a statement it had launched any strikes inside the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone.
• Israel said its assault aimed to wipe out Hamas' last intact combat units in Rafah, a city which had sheltered more than a million people before the latest advance began. Most of those people have now moved north towards Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.
• The Israeli military said in a statement it was continuing "intelligence-based, targeted operations" on Rafah, saying forces in the past day had located weapons and killed Palestinian gunmen in close-range combat.

(REUTERS) Biden will urge G7 leaders to push Hamas to back ceasefire deal - White House's Sullivan

• U.S. President Joe Biden will urge fellow leaders of Group of Seven nations to support ceasefire negotiations and encourage Hamas to accept a proposal backed by Israel, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday.
• Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 leaders in southern Italy, Sullivan said the world should encourage the Palestinian militant group to accept the proposal and avoid stalemate.
• Sullivan said Israel is standing behind a ceasefire proposal for the eight-month-old war in the Gaza Strip, and the goal is to bridge gaps with Hamas and get to a deal soon.
• Hamas has welcomed the ceasefire proposal, but insists any agreement must secure an end to the war, a demand Israel still rejects. Israel described Hamas's response to the new U.S. peace proposal as total rejection.
• Since a brief week-long truce in November, repeated attempts to arrange a ceasefire have failed, with Hamas insisting on a permanent end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Ucraina

(Wall Street Journal) U.S. and Allies Scrounge for Patriots—or Any Air Defenses—to Help Ukraine

• The U.S. will send Ukraine an additional Patriot missile-defense system to protect against Russian attacks, U.S. defense officials said. But shortages of the highly effective equipment and a continuing systems modernization are prompting U.S. officials to urge Ukraine to seek air defenses from other allies.
• Patriot batteries, which have helped protect Ukrainian troops and civilian assets over recent months, including around Kyiv, are complex assemblages of networked elements, including radar, launchers and interceptor systems. Each can fire dozens of interceptor missiles in a single engagement with attacking planes, missiles or rockets.
• In a sign of the complexity, the Netherlands is ready to offer Ukraine Patriot components but doesn’t have all the necessary elements for a whole system, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said, referring to the situation as “the Patriot puzzle.”
• Air defenses for Ukraine are a top issue at the NATO gathering. The meeting includes sessions with Ukrainian representatives and planning for NATO’s annual summit, in Washington next month, where allies will unveil a range of commitments to Ukraine for its fight against Russia’s invasion.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intensified calls for more air-defense systems this spring after Russia’s military ramped up bombing of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. He said the country needs at least seven more Patriot systems.

Russia

UK:

(REUTERS) UK imposes first sanctions targeting ships breaching Russian oil restrictions

• Britain on Thursday imposed its first sanctions targeting vessels in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "shadow fleet" that it said was used to circumvent Western sanctions on the trade in Russian oil.
• The action, part of 50 new sanctions and co-ordinated with G7 partners, also targeted suppliers of munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to Russia’s military, including entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, the government said.
• "Today’s action includes the UK’s first sanctions targeting vessels in Putin’s shadow fleet, used by Russia to circumvent UK and G7 sanctions and continue unfettered trade in Russian oil," a government statement said.
• Britain also sanctioned Russia's leading financial marketplace, the Moscow Exchange (MOEX.MM), opens new tab, saying it had obtained a benefit from or supported the Kremlin "by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance."

Politica internazionale

Nord America

USA:

(REUTERS) US Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill mifepristone

• The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to restrict access to the abortion pill, handing a victory on Thursday to President Joe Biden's administration in its efforts to preserve broad access to the drug.
• The justices, two years after ending the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion, ruled in a 9-0 decision authored by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh to overturn a lower court's decision to roll back Food and Drug Administration steps in 2016 and 2021 that eased how the drug, called mifepristone, is prescribed and distributed.
• The pill, given FDA regulatory approval in 2000, is used in more than 60% of U.S. abortions.
• The court ruled that the plaintiffs behind the lawsuit challenging mifepristone lacked the necessary legal standing to pursue the case, which required that they show they have been harmed in a way that can be traced to the FDA.
• The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, in 2022 overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent that had legalized abortion nationwide, prompting 14 states to enact measures banning or sharply restricting the procedure.

America Latina

Argentina:

(Associated Press) Jittery markets rally after Argentina’s Milei gets his first legislative ‘triumph’ on broad reforms

• Argentina’s Senate began what’s likely to be an all-night voting marathon on the details of President Javier Milei ‘s sweeping proposals to slash spending and boost his own powers early Thursday, shortly after giving the plan overall approval in a narrow vote as thousands of protesters clashed with police outside.
• Senators voted 37 to 36 late Wednesday to give provisional approval to the two bills after a daylong heated debate while thousands of protesters poured into the streets, burning cars and throwing Molotov cocktails as hundreds of federal security forces pushed back with rounds of tear gas and water cannons.
• The vote — decided by a tiebreaking vote from Vice President Victoria Villarruel — delivered a major boost to Milei, whose efforts to overhaul the government and economy have run into tough resistance in Argentina’s opposition-dominated Congress.
• Right-wing and left-wing lawmakers have clashed over various parts of the 238-article state reform bill, including the declaration of a one-year state of emergency and delegation of broad powers to the president in energy, pensions, security and other matters until the end of Milei’s term in 2027. Other controversial measures include an incentive scheme that would give investors lucrative tax breaks for 30 years.
• Milei is a political outsider with just two years’ experience as a lawmaker, and his 3-year-old party, Liberty Advances, holds just 15% of seats in the lower house and 10% of the Senate.

Asia e Pacifico

Cina:

(REUTERS) China pushes rival Ukraine peace plan before Swiss summit, diplomats say

• China, skipping a weekend summit on a peace plan for Ukraine, has been lobbying governments for its alternative plan, 10 diplomats said, with one calling Beijing's campaign a "subtle boycott" of the global meeting in Switzerland.
• Ninety states and organisations have registered to take part in the summit on Saturday and Sunday in the alpine resort of Lucerne, which will seek to build support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's peace proposals, including the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
• Moscow, which was not invited to Lucerne, has dismissed the meeting as futile. China, which has close ties to Russia, says it will not attend the conference because it does not meet Beijing's requirements, including the participation of Russia.
• China and Russia proclaimed a "no limits" partnership just days before President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Russia's smaller neighbour in February 2022. Beijing says it is neutral in the conflict and has not supplied Moscow with weapons or ammunition. After China said it was not going to the Lucerne summit, Zelenskiy accused Beijing of helping Moscow undermine the meeting, an accusation China's foreign ministry denied.
• Ukraine, the United States and other Western governments had lobbied hard for China to attend the talks, as they seek legitimacy for the summit and a broad consensus on a roadmap to a future peace process. In conversations with developing nations, China has not overtly criticised the Swiss summit or directly asked countries to abstain, the Beijing-based diplomats told Reuters.