World Briefing: September 17, 2024
A second apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump is raising new alarms about whether the Secret Service can adequately protect the Republican presidential candidate or if more needs to be done to bolster his security. While Secret Service agents on Sunday prevented the potential shooter from firing at Trump while golfing at his West Palm Beach course — unlike the would-be assassin in Pennsylvania — questions remain about how another gunman was able to get within several hundred yards of the former president. Acting US Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe met with Trump and local law enforcement on Monday and defended his agency's response to the gunman, emphasizing that the Sunday golf outing was an "off-the-record movement" that was not on Trump's calendar. - CNN
UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer thanked his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, for her :strong leadership on the Ukraine file. In a joint press conference in Rome following talks that focused on combating the migrant crisis, he said on helping Ukraine: "We will work together side by side for as long as necessary." When pressed by reporters, Meloni gave vague answers on supporting Ukraine’s ability to strike deeper inside Russia but says there’s no going back on support to Kyiv and that allies are united. On the solution to the asylum processing crisis, Starmer said Meloni was taking “great interest” in Italy’s plan to process asylum claims in Albania.
The EU is preparing to provide up to 40-billion Euros in new loans for Ukraine this year regardless of US participation, after previous G7 plans to use frozen Russian assets to aid Kyiv faltered. The unilateral push comes amid concern in Brussels that Hungary will prevent the bloc from delivering safeguards required by the US to join the frozen assets scheme, according to sources. The funds would aid the financial stability of Ukraine, which faces as $38bn financing gap in 2025. According to a draft legal proposal, the EU would raise an unspecified number of billions in loans to Ukraine by the end of this year - FT
The number of Ukrainians and Russians killed or wounded in the grinding two-and-a-half year war has reached about one-million. A confidential Ukrainian estimate this year put the number of dead Ukrainian troops at 80,000 and the wounded at 400,000, people familiar with the matter said. Western intelligence estaimates of Russian casualties vary, with some putting the number of dead as high as nearly 200,000 and wounded at around 400,000. - WSJ
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen put women in many of the top roles of her new team in her next five-year tenure at the head of the bloc on Tuesday after many EU member states had been reluctant to live up to her demand for gender parity. Von der Leyen put six women among the eight top positions in her team. She and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas were already agreed on by government leaders, but she added Spanish Socialist Teresa Ribero to lead the green transition on top of becoming the competition and anti-trust czar. Three other women were also named as vice presidents - France 24
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong has issued a statement saying it is “extremely concerned” by reports that journalists in the territory have been harassed and threatened online and offline because of their work. The Hong Kong Journalists Association has reported that journalists, along with their family and associates, have been subjects of a targeted campaign of harassment in recent months. The FCC says: “These bullying messages are illegal, and should be condemned not only for the violence they seek to inflict, but also for their threats to the freedom of the press as it is guaranteed as a fundamental right in Hong Kong. We advocate for journalists’ right to continue to carry out their work unhindered, free of harassment and danger, and we stand in solidarity with all journalists in Hong Kong who seek to work and live in a safe environment. We note that reports have been made to the authorities and ask that they urgently investigate these reported threats to ensure the safety of journalists working in the city.”
The Sobesednik publishing house in Russia has suspended for up to three months production at all of its outlets, including its popular newspaper, following a decision by authorities to place the company on the list of "foreign agents," Yelena Milchanovska, a Sobesednik correspondent, said on September 17. The Justice Ministry added Sobesednik, which launched its operations in 1984, to its list of "foreign agents" on September 13. The company has said it will appeal the move. In recent years, Sobesednik has been one of the few outlets to criticize the Kremlin and give a platform to opposition figures and activists - RFE/RL
Amazon is demanding that its corporate employees return to the office five days a week, joining several other companies that have changed their pandemic-era hybrid policies. Research has shown that workers' productivity remains consistent at home but many executives say more onsite face time is needed to maintain culture, spur collaboration and better mentor young employees. - CNN
