World Briefing: October 22, 2024

Israel said late Monday it planned to carry out more strikes in Lebanon against a Hezbollah-run financial institution that it targeted the night before and which it says uses customers’ deposits to finance attacks against Israel. At least 15 branches of Al-Qard Al-Hasan were hit late Sunday in the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, across southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. One strike flattened a nine-story building in Beirut with a branch inside it. The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes, and there were no reports of casualties. Associated Press journalists witnessed strikes late Monday in the coastal region of Ouzai, near Beirut’s airport, and Lebanon’s Health Ministry said an airstrike near Beirut’s largest public hospital killed four, including a child, and wounded 24. It was the first strike on the Lebanese capital in 10 days. - AP

South Korea has summoned the Russian ambassador, seeking the "immediate withdrawal" of North Korean troops which it says are being trained to fight in Ukraine. About 1,500 North Korean soldiers, including those from the special forces, have already arrived in Russia, according to Seoul's spy agency. In a meeting with the ambassador Georgiy Zinoviev, South Korea's vice-foreign minister Kim Hong-kyun denounced the move and warned that Seoul will "respond with all measures available". Mr Zinoviev said he would relay the concerns, but stressed that the cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang is "within the framework of international law". South Korea has long accused the North of supplying weapons to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, but it says the current situation has gone beyond the transfer of military materials. Some South Korean media reports have suggested as many as12,000 North Korean soldiers are expected to be deployed. - BBC

South Korean media claimed on Monday that Seoul could send military and intelligence personnel to Ukraine after the North dispatched troops to support Russia in the war. A report said the government and military of South Korea "are reviewing a plan to send an appropriate number of personnel, including intelligence officers [specialized in North Korea] and experts in enemy tactics," to Ukraine, citing a South Korean intelligence official. South Korean personnel in Ukraine would interrogate or provide interpretation services if North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces, the report said. They would also provide Kyiv with information about the North's military tactics, doctrine, and operations. The Defense Ministry of the South said at a press briefing later on Monday that it will review measures with "an open attitude" regarding possible supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine. Seoul has provided humanitarian aid to Kyiv during the Russia-Ukraine War. - Newsweek

Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to hold a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said, according to RFE/RL. The October 22-24 summit, which brings together leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and several other countries, is seen by Moscow as an opportunity to demonstrate that efforts by the West to isolate Russia over its military offensive in Ukraine have failed. Meanwhile , Ukraine has strongly criticised the UN chief’s trip to Russia, saying: “The UN secretary general declined Ukraine’s invitation to the first global peace summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin.”

Seven Jewish Israeli citizens – all residents of Haifa and the North, who emigrated from Azerbaijan -  were arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years. They reportedly carrying out over 600 missions over the last two years, at the behest of Tehran. Chief Superintendent Yaron Binyamin said, “This is one of the most severe cases we’ve ever investigated. There is a real possibility that the main charge will be aiding the enemy in wartime, for which the penalty is death or life imprisonment.”

A senior member of the family that has dominated Singapore since independence has been granted asylum in the UK after fleeing what he says was a campaign of persecution. In an exclusive interview, Lee Hsien Yang told the Guardian the authoritarian regime founded by his father turned on him as he endorsed the opposition following a family rift. “Despite the very advanced economic prosperity that Singapore has, there’s a dark side to it, that the government is repressive,” he said. “What people think, that this is some kind of paradise – it isn’t. Under the rule of his brother, who was prime minister for 20 years until May, Lee Hsien Yang claims the authorities used what he called baseless allegations against him, his wife and his son to bring a series of legal actions. These “escalated to the point where I believe for my own personal safety I should not continue to live in Singapore”. In a system that brooks little dissent, a ruling elite that prides itself on its reputation for probity is rarely denounced so thoroughly – especially by one of its own.

Refugees and aid agencies have warned of deteriorating conditions in overcrowded and severely underfunded camps in Chad, as intensifying violence and a hunger crisis in Sudan drive huge numbers across the border. About 25,000 people – the vast majority women and children – crossed into eastern Chad in the first week of October, a record number for a single week in 2024. Chad, one of the world’s poorest countries, hosts 681,944 Sudanese refugees – the highest number globally. Many will move on towards Italy, other European countries, southern Africa and the Gulf, the UN has said. - Guardian

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