.
Black Sea
October 2, 2024 Ukraine has made significant strategic gains in the Black Sea and views the region as a growing area of focus. Despite not having a sizable surface fleet, Ukraine has been able to effectively combat the Russian navy’s ships to the point where the Russian Black Sea fleet moved ships away from Crimea for safety, allowing more secure passage of grain shipments. With recent Western aid packages to Ukraine lessening in frequency, more funds and attention should be paid to supporting this theater where Ukraine has proven especially effective. ’Bolstering Ukraine’s capabilities in the Black Sea will provide a better bargaining chip at the negotiating table”. In addition, western navies should take note to learn from Russia's shortcomings and Ukraine's successes in the Black Sea. Drawing on its strikes on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet that have forced the end of the Russian blockade, Ukraine has begun using its southern ports to send grain ships along the coastline of Romania and Bulgaria, where the relatively shallow waters prohibit Russian submarine operations. (Source: wilsoncenter *)
* The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a Washington, D.C.–based think tank.
by Kornegay, Jr. & Toftner
Europe
Hungary
October 2, 2024 4:55 pm CET Ongoing dispute around Erasmus student exchanges with Brussels. September marked the beginning of the first academic year in which students from Hungarian public foundation universities could no longer participate in Erasmus student exchanges. Hungary has proposed a new draft law that it hopes will resolve its ongoing dispute around Erasmus student exchanges with Brussels by banning ministers, MPs and mayors from top positions in public university. The bill was published Tuesday and has now been submitted for public consultation. Budapest hopes the move will allow the affected universities to regain Erasmus and Horizon funding. In early 2023, twenty one Hungarian universities were blocked from signing new EU grants because they were on the boards filled by people from Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party. When the news broke, all the ministers who held positions in the trusts resigned from their university posts, but other ruling party politicians stayed on. Navracsics, the minister who led earlier negotiations with the Commission, told in January 2024 that the negotiations had reached a ’dead end’ and claimed that the European Parliament was blackmailing the Commission to reach a consensus on the issue. The ban had led to complaints in 2023 about the loss of millions of euros for universities 'which were not excluded from Horizon Europe research partnerships - they could only participate in them without EU funding'. Despite the government’s openness and initiatives, the European Commission ’has refused to act on the matter for almost a year,’ the ministry said in a statement. (Source: politico)
by Körömi
October 02, 2024 09:18 The fact that Israel is a prosperous, successful state incites a fit of rage in many people, said Szánthó, director general of the Center for Fundamental Rights, during a speech at the center’s conference in Budapest. The director also mentioned Trump, calling him a strong leader and saying that had he been president of the U.S., the massacre on Oct. 7 would not have occurred. (Source: Remix)
France
02.10.2024 France urges nationals in Iran to leave 'as soon as possible' (Source: Anadolu Agency – Turkey)
02/10/24 | 12:46 pm “Committed to Israel’s security, France today mobilised its military resources in the Middle East to counter the Iranian threat,” the French presidency said in a statement overnight after an emergency security cabinet meeting to discuss the regional escalation. “The head of state also reiterated France’s demand that Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population.” The foreign ministry said it had convened a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East on Wednesday afternoon. The French presidency said it would also organise soon a conference in support of Lebanon. Iran said early on Wednesday that its missile attack on Israel was finished barring further provocation, while Israel and the U.S. promised to retaliate against Tehran’s assault as fears of a wider war intensified. (Source: DD News – India)
Russia
October 2, 2024 5:52 pm CET Russia captures key Ukrainian town in Donetsk region. Bielieskov, a research fellow at the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, said that after Vuhledar the Russians will concentrate on Kurakhove, which opens another entryway for them to attack Pokrovsk, a strategically important city for the Ukrainian army's logistics in the region. (Source: Politico – U.S.)
Ukraine
(2 October 2024 19:46 CEST) Ukraine’s troops pull back from key eastern town of Vuhledar /Photo/ (Source: Independent – United Kingdom)
United Kingdom
02/10/2024 - 9:29 GMT+2 US State Department Spokesman Miller said its partners assisted Israel and Washington in countering Iran's latest missile strike on Israel. He told reporters that it would allow them to comment on their own. So far, the UK's Defence Secretary Healey has acknowledged his country's forces were involved. Netanyahu has promised a severe response to a 180-missile barrage, but what form it will take is as yet unclear. /Video, photo/ (Source: Euronews – Headquarters Lyon)
Council of Europe
02.10.2024 WikiLeaks founder Assange declared 'political prisoner' by Council of Europe. A motion, which called attention to Assange’s ongoing detention and the punitive actions he has faced, was passed with 88 votes in favor, 13 votes against, and 20 abstentions. It emphasized that a free press is crucial to the functioning of democratic states, and welcomed the release of Assange, recognizing his role in exposing information that highlighted potential human rights violations and war crimes. The motion criticized UK authorities for their failure to protect Assange’s freedom of expression, and urged the US to reform its espionage laws, which have led to severe charges against the journalist and publisher. Assange has doggedly opposed extradition to the US and spent seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in a bid to prevent the handover. He was ejected from the diplomatic compound in 2019 and has spent the last five years in a British prison as he fought an extradition order to the US. He was freed after formally accepting a plea deal in a federal court on the Northern Mariana Islands, a remote US territory in the western Pacific, that saw him plead guilty to a felony charge of violating the Espionage Act related to his publication of military and diplomatic documents. He then flew on to his native Australia where he was greeted by his wife, Stella. The Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) called on the US to carry out an impartial investigation into the allegations WikiLeaks revealed, including those related to human rights abuses. (Source: Anadolu Agency – Turkey)
Asia
Iran
(2024. okt. 2.) 11:36 CEST) IRGC Commander-In-Chief orders attack on Israel /video/ (Source: CRUX (YouTube) – India)
Note: 26 866 views on Oct. 2
(Wednesday) Oct 2, 2024, 10:32 AM Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Araghchi said on Wednesday morning that last night a warning message regarding the ’retaliatory attack on occupied Palestine’ was sent to the US through the Swiss embassy in Tehran. Answering a question on whether Iran informed the US before launching the attack, he said, "No, I do not confirm." "First, exchanging messages does not mean coordination. No messages were exchanged, but logically, after the attack, it is necessary to give our warnings to all parties, including the Americans, and this has been done." "The warning that I mentioned last night was correctly and precisely given to the Swiss embassy to convey to the Americans, and the main point of it was that this was our defense action, which was carried out according to Article 51 of the Charter, and it was our right to defend ourselves, and our operation was carried out. And we do not intend to continue unless the other parties respond." Araghchi added that in the message, Iran also warned the US to not interfere, ’otherwise, they would face a tough response from Iran’. (Source: Mehr - Iran)
Oct 2, 2024, 9:40 AM Which missiles Iran used in its retaliatory attack on Israel /Photo/ (Source: Mehr – Iran)
Oct 2, 2024, 7:08 AM On September 23, Israel started a military operation codenamed Northern Arrows against Hezbollah in Lebanon, carrying out widespread strikes on the Arab country. In a strike on September 27, Israel assassinated Hezbollah Secretary-General Nasrallah in Beirut. ’Hezbollah confirmed his martyrdom and vowed to continue standing up to Israel’. On October 1, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out a massive attack on Israel with ballistic and hypersonic missiles. An air raid alert was issued throughout the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, and people were ordered to take shelter. The IRGC said 90% of the missiles successfully hit their designated targets. ’The operation came in response to the regime’s assassinations of Hamas’ chief IHaniyeh, Hezbollah’s leader Nasrallah, and IRGC commander Nilforooshan’."A complete failure of the Biden administration in the Middle East. A bloody drama that is only gaining momentum. The White House's inarticulate statements demonstrate complete helplessness in resolving crises. The efforts of [US Secretary of State] Blinken have led to tens of thousands of victims and a stalemate,’ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zakharova wrote on Telegram, TASS reported. (Source: Mehr – Iran)
"October 2, 2024" The top Iranian diplomat held phone conversations with Lammy, Baerbock, and Séjourné, the foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, France, and several other countries, regarding Iran’s missile strikes on Israeli-occupied territories and the ongoing tensions in Gaza and Lebanon. Araghchi reiterated his call for all countries to work toward establishing a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. (Source: Iran Front Page – Iran)
Israel
12:29 ET, Oct 2 2024 Israel ‘preparing to target Iran’s oil fields in revenge attack’. Tel Aviv vowed a ’significant retaliation’ to Iran's over 180 missile blitz. /Video, photo, map/ (Source: The U.S. Sun)
Lebanon
October 02, 2024 2:59 AM Lebanese health officials said Thursday an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment building in Beirut, killing at least six people and wounding seven others. Israel’s military said Thursday its airstrikes targeted 200 militant targets in Lebanon, including a building in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon that Hezbollah used to store weapons. That strike killed about 15 militants, Israel said. Israel announced Wednesday the death of eight of its soldiers who were killed in fighting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, a day after it started what it says is a “limited” ground operation to destroy militant infrastructure there. (Source: Voice of America – U.S.)
Nepal
2 Oct 2024 07:20 AM (GMT) More than 200 killed - devastating floods in Nepal. /Video/ (Source: Al Jazeera – Qatar)
Palestine
02 October 2024 (9:14 AM) US announces $336 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank. It will enable USAID partners to continue providing life-saving humanitarian aid, including vital food assistance, expanded support in emergency health care, nutrition, psychosocial services, and increased access to safe drinking water, hygiene products, and sanitation services. This funding will also support emergency shelter assistance to displaced Gazans to help them prepare for the upcoming winter months, It brings the total US humanitarian assistance announced for the Palestinian people to over $1 billion since October 2023. (Source: Gulf Today – United Arab Emirates)
Persian Gulf
2 October 2024 9:31 AM) Airlines in the Gulf alter routes after Iran's missile strikes at Israel (Source: TRT World - Turkey)
Turkey
2 October 2024 11:06 am "Whatever it does, Israel will be stopped sooner or later," Turkish president Erdogan had said speaking at the opening sessions of the Turkish Parliament.."The UN General Assembly should rapidly implement the authority to recommend the use of force, as it did with the 1950 Uniting for Peace resolution, if the Security Council can't show the necessary will," he said. The resolution allows the UNGA to step in if disagreements between the UNSC's permanent members with veto powers - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - mean they fail to maintain international peace. Notably, the Security Council is the only body of the United Nations that can make legally binding decisions such as that of authorising use of force or imposing sanctions. (Source: Outlook India)
North America
United States
Oct 2, 2024 Two U.S. Navy destroyers launched approximately a dozen interceptors to bolster Israel’s defenses against an unprecedented missile onslaught from Iran on Tuesday. USS Cole and USS Bulkeley engaged Iranian ballistic missiles /Video/ (Source: BulgarianMilitary – Bulgaria)
October 2, 2024 ’China is ready for war’. Thanks to a crumbling defense industrial base, America is not (Foreign Affairs – U.S.)
10/02/24 1:32 PM ET Biden opposes Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites (Source: The Hill - U.S.)
0/02/2024 In a civil debate, Republican vice president candidate Vance sought to blame Democratic presidential nominee Harris for America's ills; Democratic candidate Walz blamed Republican former President Trump, for sowing division among Americans. /Video/ (Source: DW – Germany)
United Nations
02.10.2024 UN Security Council expresses support to UN chief Guterres, after Israel's decision to declare him 'persona non grata' (Source: Anadolu Agency, Turkey.)
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