World Briefing: October 16, 2024

It is the first time in nearly a week that Israel has attacked Beirut. Images on TV showed plumes of smoke from two locations over Dahieh, where traditionally Hezbollah has a strong presence. The attack happened at around 07:00 local time (05:00 BST), about an hour after Israel issued an evacuation order which mentioned only one building. The Israeli military said it had targeted an underground weapons warehouse used by the group. This is an area of the city that has been heavily bombarded by Israel in recent weeks. But there was a days-long pause in the strikes on Beirut, reportedly following a request by the Biden administration. - BBC

The US has warned Israel it has 30 days to increase access for humanitarian aid into Gaza or risk a reduction in some military aid. It comes as food aid was delivered into northern Gaza for the first time in two weeks, with the UN describing the situation as "desperate.” The US has also said that components for an advance anti-missile system have begun arriving in Israel, with the Pentagon saying the system is intended to help Israel defend itself and will be operational in the "near future" - BBC

With three weeks left until Election Day, Donald Trump is running an unorthodox, freewheeling campaign, directing threats and insults at a wide mix of people and institutions, pushing his travels deeper into Democratic states where nonpartisan analysts do not regard him as competitive, and wielding darkening rhetoric about undocumented immigrants and personal attacks against Harris at campaign events where he often veers off-script and has mixed up words. In recent days, the Republican presidential nominee held a rally in safely Democratic California, where he suggested that a heckler would later “get the hell knocked out of her”; he spoke at an event in Colorado, promoting falsehoods about Venezuelan gangs taking over apartment buildings; he labeled some Americans “the enemy from within” during a televised interview, suggesting the military be deployed against them; and he repeatedly insulted Harris’s intelligence. At the same time, Trump has built a sizable and loyal base of supporters who have cheered his norm-breaking behavior, and while the cumulative electoral effect of his actions will not be known until next month, Trump is running neck-and-neck against Harris. - Washington Post

Russia is cracking down on children identifying as cats and other animals after a powerful ally of President Putin said the trend was part of a western plot to turn people into slaves. The teenage subculture, known in Russian as “kvadrobing”, has made headlines in Russia, as well as in western countries. Schools in Britain and the United States have previously been forced to deny fake reports that they provide litter boxes for children who come to lessons as cats. Vyacheslav Volodin, the Russian parliamentary chairman, alleged that the trend had been instigated by Brussels and Washington as part of a “dehumanisation” project that aimed to turn people into “silent puppets” without rights. - The Times

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was set to at least partially unveil a plan to win the war against Russia to his country’s Parliament on Wednesday after weeks of dropping hints about the blueprint to lukewarm Western allies, including U.S. President Joe Biden. The plan — comprising military, political, diplomatic and economic elements — is considered by many as Ukraine’s last resort to strengthen its hand in any future cease-fire negotiations with Russia. Thus far, however, no country has publicly endorsed it or commented on its feasibility. Zelenskyy is keen to get the “victory plan” in place before a new U.S. president is sworn in next year, though Ukrainian officials say neither presidential candidate will necessarily improve Kyiv’s standing in the war. Zelenskyy’s presentation to Parliament, announced on Monday by presidential adviser Serhii Leshchenko, comes during a bleak moment in Ukraine. The country’s military is suffering losses along the eastern front as Russian forces inch closer to a strategically significant victory near the crucial logistics hub of Pokrovsk. - AP

Context: Reaction so far to Zelensky’s victory plan has been lukewarm at best, with some calling it a re-packaging of a previous one. Solomiya Bobrovska, member of parliament from the "Voice" party and a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, said it’s been developed with no consultation with domestic stakeholders. “Such a plan should involve not just a public discussion, but a discussion and conversations with the elites of Ukraine, so that this plan is written together. Because with one person or one team, which has been ‘cooking’ among themselves for the sixth year, it always ends very badly and the result is deplorable," she said. Bobrovska considers it strange that the parliament is gathering to announce this plan when most of the deputies are on business trips, Radio Svoboda reported

The first asylum seekers arriving from Italy to have their applications processed in Albania arrived via ship to the Albanian port of Shengjin on Wednesday morning. The arrivals will undergo health screening and identification procedures before being transferred, later in the day, to a reception camp in Gjader — located a few dozen kilometres from the port. The boat carried 10 Bangladeshi and six Egyptian nationals who were rescued at sea by the navy ship Libra heading to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Monday. Last week, Italy formally opened two centres in Albania, where it plans to process thousands of asylum-seekers who seek asylum outside its borders. - Euronews

Moldovans will vote twice on Sunday – first, in the country's presidential election, and then in a long anticipated referendum on EU membership. The Central Electoral Commission in Chisinau (CEC) printed around 5.6 million ballot papers for the presidential election and constitutional referendum on Tuesday, which will be distributed to polling stations throughout the country and in diaspora. For the first time, the ballot papers will be available not only in Romanian, but also in five languages of ethnic minorities: Russian, Ukrainian, Gagauz, Bulgarian and Romani. The outcome of the referendum will determine whether EU accession will become a constitutional goal. In the referendum, 12 parties signed up with the “YES” option and two with the “NO” option. A "YES" vote will change Moldova’s constitution. According to recent polls, incumbent President Maia Sandu is leading the presidential race, as well as a "YES" outcome in the referendum. - Euronews

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