Ukraine accuses Russia of hitting civilian ship
09 Nov 2023
On 8 November Ukraine said that a Russian missile had struck a civilian ship while it was moored in a port in the Black Sea region of Odessa, killing a pilot and injuring four others. The missile hit the ship’s superstructure, which includes the command cabin. The ship was travelling under the Liberian flag, and the three wounded crew members were citizens of the Philippines. If confirmed, the attack would be the first time that Russian forces have hit a civilian vessel sailing near the Odessa region since Moscow pulled out of a UN-brokered deal in July which allowed Ukraine to export its grain through the Black Sea. In another incident, on 3 November, Russia targeted a military medals ceremony, killing at least a dozen men. The Ukrainian army has been criticised for organising an event involving so many soldiers in such a public and old-fashioned way. See
The sixth Paris Peace Forum, on 10 and 11 November, will focus on four different topics. Emmanuel Macron, along with Barbadian PM Mia Mottley and several African leaders, will assess the progress of the ‘Paris Pact for People and the Planet’, launched in June, which aims to provide substantial funding to combat poverty and climate change, in preparation for December’s COP28 in Dubai. An appeal will be launched to address the ‘collapse’ of ‘all ice surfaces on a global scale.’States affected by glacier loss, such as Nepal and Kyrgyzstan, will participate, as will China and India. Although Russia, a major Arctic actor, will not participate due to the conflict in Ukraine, the Elysée asserts that this will not be an obstacle to cooperation between other countries. Macron will also preside over the fifth Christchurch Call Summit, launched with New Zealand after the terrorist attack in Christchurch in 2019, aiming to enhance efforts to ‘combat terrorist and violent extremist content online’. Another top priority for Macron is to regulate digital platforms and artificial intelligence.
Latest news from Gaza
09 Nov 2023
Israel will begin to implement four-hour ’humanitarian pauses’ in northern Gaza each day to allow people to flee, the White House has said. A spokesman called the move a step in the right direction, and said the USA wanted the pauses to continue as long as they are needed. Israel has committed to announcing each window at least three hours in advance. The US still does not support a ceasefire in Gaza at this time, but aims to see at least 150 humanitarian trucks entering the strip each day. Fierce fighting has continued, and the health ministry in Gaza (controlled by Hamas) says that the number of Palestinians killed is now more than 10,000. Meanwhile, Islamic Jihad has released a video of two hostages, and offered to release them if certain conditions were met. The hostages criticised Benjamin Netanyahu; it was not certain if they were reading from a script. A humanitarian conference in Paris today called for a total ceasefire: see
On 6 November more than twenty people, including women and children, were killed in an attack by English-speaking separatists in western Cameroon. Since the end of 2016, this area (populated mainly by the English-speaking minority) has seen a deadly conflict between pro-independence armed groups and the security forces. Each side has been accused of crimes against civilians by international NGOs and the UN. The government said that the ‘terrorists’ attacked using firearms and traditional weapons, and burnt down around ten houses. A resident thought the attack was probably made on that day because it was the anniversary of Paul Biya's accession to power as president; he added that a meeting of the RDPC (the all-powerful presidential party) had been scheduled to take place nearby. Cameroon, which has a population of nearly 30 million, has been ruled with an iron fist for 41 years by Biya.
USA / Italy: sixteen mafia leaders arrested
09 Nov 2023
On 7 November, sixteen alleged leaders and associates of the Gambino crime family were arrested in the US and Italy. The charges against them include racketeering, extortion, witness retaliation, conspiracy and fraud. Another suspect is still at large. The US-based suspects were due to appear in court in New York on Wednesday. Prosecutors have outlined a pattern of intimidation and violent assaults intended to embezzle funds and defraud unions and employee benefit plans. The defendants were also charged with threatening witnesses, money laundering and firearms offences. The Gambino family is one of the five prominent New York-area mafia syndicates collectively known as La Cosa Nostra. The defendants face maximum sentences of between twenty and 180 years in prison.
France said on 8 November that one of its citizens being held in Iran has been sentenced to five years in prison on a baseless conviction, and called for his immediate release and that of three other of its nationals held in the country. Ties between the two countries have been strained over the issue in what Paris has said are arbitrary arrests that are equivalent to state hostage taking. Louis Arnaud, who has been held since September 2022, is being detained at the Evin prison in Tehran. His mother said that the pretexts given for his sentencing were for propaganda and harming the security of the Iranian state: ‘These are completely baseless, a carbon copy of what they attribute to other Europeans held in Iran.’ In recent years, the elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests - a charge which the government denies.
Argentina: election outcome difficult to predict
09 Nov 2023
Opinion polls are showing an increasingly tight race between Peronist economy minister Sergio Massa and radical libertarian Javier Milei ahead of a runoff ballot for president on 19 November. The two candidates offer polarised visions for the embattled Latin American country, the region's third largest economy, a major supplier of grains, beef and lithium, but also the largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). One recent survey showed Massa ahead with 42.4% of the likely vote against Milei on 39.7%, his lead more than cut in half versus the previous poll in late October. He is still seen as the candidate to beat, but Milei has gained ground, winning the backing of conservative Patricia Bullrich, who finished third in the first-round vote, and her powerful ally, former President Mauricio Macri. Significantly, with some 18% of those polled remaining unsure, the outcome is hard to call.
The Democratic Party's strong showing in off-year elections has encouraged Joe Biden and his supporters, although his popularity is low (it is now 39%, the lowest since April). Some segments of the party have lost faith in Biden, frustrated by his Israel stance, the lack of movement on climate change, or high prices. However, encouraging signs included a victory by Democratic incumbent governor Andy Beshear in Kentucky over a well-regarded Republican opponent, the passage in Republican-voting Ohio of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, and Democratic wins in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The Ohio result shows abortion rights remain a winning political issue for Democrats after the conservative majority on the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion, overriding public opinion. Whether victories for Democrats this week are a definitive sign of strength for Biden's re-election is unclear. Biden, who turns 81 this month, currently faces no serious primary challengers and has raised tens of millions of dollars for his re-election campaign. His fundraising has surpassed that of Donald Trump, 77, who backed the losing Kentucky governor candidate.