WORLD BRIEFING: March 26, 2024
The UN Security Council has called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, after the US did not veto the measure in a shift from its previous position. The resolution also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The Security Council had been at an impasse since the war began in October, failing to agree on a ceasefire call. The move by the US signals growing divergence between it and its ally Israel over Israel's offensive in Gaza. The US abstained from the vote, while the remainder of the council's 15 members voted in favour. It had previously blocked resolutions calling for a ceasefire, saying such a move would be wrong while delicate negotiations for a truce and hostage releases were continuing between Israel and Hamas - BBC
In another violent day in Ukraine, the southern port city of Odesa was plunged into almost total darkness after a wave of Russian drone and rocket attacks. While the authorities claimed some 300,000 people would be without power for a few short hours, a drive through the city indicated that the impact would be many times larger. Small and large businesses were all impacted, with one of the larger urban supermarkets forced to toss huge amounts of perishable items, a Santim employee told me late Monday. Many petrol stations were closed and traffic and street lights off. At least four people were reported injured from a rocket strike Monday. In Kyiv, additional injuries were reported from a morning rocket attack
A summons to Moscow's ambassador in Warsaw to explain a violation of Polish airspace by a Russian cruise missile was ignored Monday. The Armed Forces Operational Command of Poland said a cruise missile launched toward Ukraine from long-range bombers in Russia had violated Polish airspace near the village of Oserdow around 4:23 a.m. (0323 GMT). Authorities said the missile had been in Polish airspace for 39 seconds, adding that it would have been shot it down had there been any indication it was aimed at a Polish target. NATO member state Poland scrambled F-16 fighter jets in response to the brief incursion. Polish Deputy Minister Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said Warsaw's response to the incident would be based upon information provided by the Russian ambassador.
My analysis: Russian Ambassador Sergei Andreyev failed to show up to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In diplomatic protocol terms this is grounds for expulsion but let’s see what the Poles, who’ve repeatedly failed to stand up to earlier Russian incursions react.
Senegal opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a political newcomer popular among the country's disaffected youth, was set to be declared the next president after his main rival called him on Monday to concede defeat. Provisional results showed Faye with about 53.7% and Amadou Ba - from the current ruling coalition - with 36.2% based on tallies from 90% of polling stations in the first-round vote, the electoral commission said. Ba and President Macky Sall both congratulated Faye, who turned 44 on Monday. They hailed the outcome as a win for Senegal, whose reputation as one of West Africa's most stable democracies took a hit when Sall postponed the vote. "The Senegalese people have reinforced the good health of our democracy.. I wish him (Faye) success at the head of our country," Ba said. A peaceful transition of power in Senegal would mark a boost for democracy in West Africa, where there have been eight military coups since 2020 - Reuters
Singapore authorities have told the Israeli embassy to remove a post on its Facebook page that Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam called an “astonishing attempt to rewrite history”. The post was “insensitive”, “inappropriate” and “completely unacceptable” as it carried the risk of undermining safety, security and harmony in Singapore, he said. “I was very upset when I was told about it,” he told reporters on Monday. “And the Ministry of Home Affairs spoke with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday and said that the embassy has to take the post down immediately, and they have taken it down.”
More than 33,000 people have fled their homes in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince, UN officials say, amid ongoing gang violence which has plunged the crises-stricken nation into yet more chaos. But tens of thousands remain trapped in the city, where heavily armed gangs now control more than 80% of the territory. More than 200 gangs are believed to operate in Haiti, with nearly two dozen concentrated in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, the Associated Press reports.
