WORLD BRIEFING: January 30, 2024
The U.S. failed to stop a deadly attack on an American military outpost in Jordan when the enemy drone approached its target at the same time a U.S. drone was also returning to base, U.S. officials said Monday. The return of the U.S. drone led to some confusion over whether the incoming drone was friend or foe, officials have concluded so far. The enemy drone was launched from Iraq by a militia backed by Tehran, U.S. officials said. The outpost, Tower 22, sits in Jordan, near the borders of Iraq and Syria - WSJ
At around 4:50 p.m. on Monday, rocket sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel. Some 11 rockets were fired from southern Khan Yunis, 6 of which were intercepted, according to Israeli news outlet Ynet.
The United Nations' top court will rule on Friday whether it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine accusing Russia of violating international law by using a false accusation of genocide as the pretext for its 2022 invasion. Kyiv launched the case at the International Court of Justice days after the start of the full-scale war in 2022, arguing that Russia breached the 1948 Genocide Convention by wrongly claiming Ukraine was committing genocide against Russian-speaking people in the country - AP
A Ukrainian court has reportedly rejected a bail request for the former head of the Department of Military and Technical Policy of the Ministry of Defense Oleksandr Liev, who’s implicated in a $40 million arms procurement scandal. Prosecutors asked for detention and bail in the amount of about $7 million, but the court rejected the request. Liev and four other people are suspected of embezzling almost 1.5 billion hryvnias for the purchase of shells for the Armed Forces. According to the SBU, in August 2022, officials of the Ministry of Defense concluded a contract for the purchase of a wholesale batch of artillery shells with the arms supplier Lviv Arsenal. Then the Ministry of Defense transferred the money to the company's accounts, but the company did not send the artillery shells - Suspilne
The decision of the Russian Federation not to invite OSCE observers to the upcoming presidential election is deeply regrettable, leaders of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) said today. “We are greatly disappointed at the decision not to invite the OSCE to observe the Russian presidential election,” said ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci. “This runs contrary to the OSCE commitments made by the Russian Federation, and at the same time will deny the country’s voters and institutions an impartial and independent assessment of the election."
The EU will sabotage Hungary’s economy if Budapest blocks fresh aid to Ukraine at a summit this week, under a confidential plan drawn up by Brussels that marks a significant escalation in the battle between the EU and its most pro-Russian member state. In a document drawn up by EU officials and seen by the Financial Times, Brussels has outlined a strategy to explicitly target Hungary’s economic weaknesses, imperil its currency and drive a collapse in investor confidence in a bid to hurt “jobs and growth” if Budapest refuses to lift its veto against the aid to Kyiv. Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s premier, has vowed to block the use of the EU budget to provide €50bn in financial aid to Ukraine at an emergency summit of leaders on Thursday. If he does not back down, other EU leaders should publicly vow to permanently shut off all EU funding to Budapest with the intention of spooking the markets, precipitating a run on the country’s forint currency and a surge in the cost of its borrowing, Brussels stated in the document. “This is Europe telling Viktor Orbán ‘enough is enough; it’s time to get in line. You may have a pistol, but we have the bazooka’,” said Mujtaba Rahman, Europe director at Eurasia Group, a consultancy. The document declares that “in the case of no agreement in the February 1 [summit], other heads of state and government would publicly declare that in the light of the unconstructive behaviour of the Hungarian PM . . . they cannot imagine that” EU funds would be provided to Budapest. Without that funding, “financial markets and European and international companies might be less interested to invest in Hungary”, the document stated. Such punishment “could quickly trigger a further increase of the cost of funding of the public deficit and a drop in the currency” - FT
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets. The decision was announced by special court Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain during a hearing held at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi - Sky News
South Africa's former President Jacob Zuma has been suspended from the party he once led, after refusing to vote for it and launching a rival organisation. The governing African National Congress (ANC) announced its decision on Monday. “Zuma and others whose conduct is in conflict with our values and principles, will find themselves outside the African National Congress," said Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula. Mr Zuma's nine years as president, from 2009, were dogged by scandal. An official inquiry said the former president placed the interests of corrupt associates ahead of those of his country, in a process known as "state capture". After he left office, he was jailed in 2021 for not appearing at the inquiry. He also faces corruption charges over a 1999 arms deal. He denies wrongdoing in all cases - BBC
