BLOGONITY

ROME — Italy is transferring the first group of migrants to Albania, the Interior Ministry said Monday, as part of a contentious plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers outside its borders.  A naval ship departed from the island of Lampedusa with 16 men — 10 from Bangladesh and six from Egypt — who were rescued at sea after departing from Libya. The ship is expected to arrive Wednesday morning, a ministry spokesman said.  Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government formally opened the two centers in Albania Friday where Italy plans to process thousands of male migrants requesting asylum after being intercepted in international waters while trying to cross to Europe.  The centers can accommodate up to 400 migrants at first, with that expected to increase to 880 in a few weeks, according to Italian officials.  Women, children, older people and those who are ill or victims of torture will be accommodated in Italy. Families will not be separated.  The five-year deal was endorsed last year by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as an example of “out-of-box thinking” in tackling the migration issue, but human rights groups say it sets a dangerous precedent.  A spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency, which has expressed serious concerns, said Monday that one of its teams was conducting an “independent mission” on board the ship to monitor the screening process.  The agency, also known as UNHCR, has agreed to supervise the first three months to help “safeguard the rights and dignity of those subject to it.”  The agreement, signed last year, calls for Albania to house up to 3,000 male migrants while Italy fast-tracks their asylum claims. The migrants will retain their right under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there.  The two centers will cost Italy 670 million euros ($730 million) over five years. The facilities will be run by Italy and are under Italian jurisdiction, while Albanian guards will provide external security.  Meloni and her right-wing allies have long demanded that European countries share more of the migration burden. …

Paris — The Auto manufacturers competing to persuade drivers to go electric are rolling out cheaper, more tech-rich models at the Paris Motor Show, targeting everyone from luxury clients to students yet to receive their driving licenses.  The biennial show has long been a major industry showcase, tracing its history to 1898.  Chinese manufacturers are attending in force, despite European Union threats to punitively tax imports of their electric vehicles in a brewing trade war with Beijing. Long-established European manufacturers are fighting back with new efforts to win consumers who have balked at high-priced EVs.  Here’s a look at the show’s opening day on Monday.  More new models from China  Chinese EV startups Leapmotor and XPeng showcased models they said incorporate artificial intelligence technology.  Leapmotor, founded in 2015, unveiled a compact electric-powered SUV, the B10. It will be manufactured in Poland for European buyers, said Leapmotor’s head of product planning, Zhong Tianyue. Leapmotor didn’t announce a price for the B10 that will launch next year.  Leapmotor also said a smaller electric commuter car it showcased in Paris, the T03, will retail from a competitive 18,900 euros ($20,620). Those sold in France will be imported from China but assembled in Poland, Zhong said.  Leapmotor also announced a starting price of 36,400 euros ($39,700) in Europe for its larger family car, the C10.  Sales outside of China are through a joint venture with Stellantis, the world’s fourth largest carmaker. Leapmotor said European sales started in September.  Xpeng braces for tariff hit  Attending the Paris show for the first time, the decade-old Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng unveiled a sleek sedan, the P7+.  CEO He Xiaopeng said XPeng aims to deliver in Europe from next year. Intended European prices for the P7+ weren’t given, but the CEO said they will start in China at 209,800 yuan, the equivalent of 27,100 euros, or $29,600.  XPeng’s president, Brian Gu, said the EU’s threatened import duties could complicate the company’s expansion plans if Brussels and Beijing don’t find an amicable solution to their trade dispute before an end-of-October deadline.  Brussels says subsidies help Chinese companies to unfairly undercut EU industry prices, with Chinese-built electric cars jumping from 3.9% of the EV market in 2020 to 25% by September 2023.  “The tariff will put a lot of pressure on our business model. It’s a direct hit on our margin, which is already not very high,” Gu said.  Vehicles for … “Paris Motor Show opens during brewing EV trade war between EU, China” →

Warsaw — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday defended a plan to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as human rights and civil society organizations express concerns about the move.   Poland has struggled since 2021 with migration pressures on its border with Belarus — which is also part of the European Union’s external border.   “It is our right and our duty to protect the Polish and European border,” Tusk said Monday on X. “Its security will not be negotiated.”   Successive Polish governments have accused Belarus and Russia of organizing the mass transfer of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to the EU’s eastern borders to destabilize the West. They view it as part of a hybrid war that they accuse Moscow of waging against the West as it continues its nearly three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine.   Some migrants have applied for asylum in Poland, but before the requests are processed, they travel across the EU’s border-free travel zone to reach Germany or other countries in Western Europe. Germany, where security fears are rising after a spate of extremist attacks, has recently responded by expanding border controls at all of its borders to fight irregular migration. Tusk called Germany’s move “unacceptable.”   Tusk announced his plan to temporarily suspend the right for migrants to seek asylum at a convention of his Civic Coalition on Saturday. It will be part of a strategy that will be presented to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.   Dozens of nongovernmental organizations urged Tusk in an open letter to respect the right to asylum guaranteed by international conventions, which Poland signed, including the Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and Poland’s own constitution.   They argued that fundamental rights and freedoms must be respected.   “It is thanks to them that thousands of Polish women and men found shelter abroad in the difficult times of communist totalitarianism, and we have become one of the greatest beneficiaries of these rights,” the letter said.   It was signed by Amnesty International and 45 other organizations that represent a range of humanitarian, legal and civic causes.   Tusk argued that Finland also suspended accepting asylum applications after facing migration pressure on its border with Russia.   “The right to asylum is used instrumentally in this war and has nothing to do with human rights,” Tusk said on X on Sunday.   A spokesperson for the … “Polish leader Tusk defends decision to suspend asylum law” →

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on Iran’s deputy defense minister, senior members of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and three airlines over allegations that they supplied drones, missiles and other equipment to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.  Deputy Defense Minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari is one of seven senior officials now banned from traveling in Europe and whose assets in the bloc were frozen. The EU said he “is involved in the development of Iran’s [drone] and missile program,” given his high-level defense role.  Iran Air, Mahan Air and Saha Airlines had their assets frozen. The EU said their planes were “used repeatedly to transfer Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles and related technologies to Russia, which have been used in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”  EU foreign ministers endorsed the sanctions at a meeting in Luxembourg.  In March, the bloc had warned that “were Iran to transfer ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia for use against Ukraine, the EU would be prepared to respond swiftly, including with new and significant restrictive measures.”  EU member countries, except for Hungary, have been supplying weapons and ammunition as well as economic and other support to Ukraine worth some 118 billion euros ($129 billion) since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.   …

Moscow — A Russian court on Monday convicted a French citizen of collecting military information and sentenced him to three years in prison. Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in Moscow in June, earlier admitted guilt, setting the stage for a fast-tracked trial. His lawyers’ asked the court to sentence him to a fine. In his remarks before the verdict, Vinatier, speaking Russian, reaffirmed that he fully recognized his guilt and asked the judge for clemency. “I’m asking the Russian Federation to forgive me for failing to observe Russian laws,” he said in Russian. He said that he fell in love with Russia 20 years ago when he began studying the country and concluded his comments with a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin about having patience that better days lie ahead. Detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia and its heavily politicized legal system since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Vinatier’s arrest came as tensions flared between Moscow and Paris following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine. Russian authorities accused Vinatier of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information about Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of the country’s security. Vinatier is an adviser for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Switzerland-based nongovernmental organization. It said in June that it was doing “everything possible to assist” him. The prosecutors charged that Vinatier had collected military information during his meetings with three Russian citizens in Moscow in 2021-22. The Russian citizens weren’t named in the indictment. Vinatier’s lawyers argued the sentence sought by prosecutors was too harsh and asked the judge to sentence him to a fine. They pointed at his career as a political scholar who focused on studying Russia and emphasized that his books and articles have been friendly to the country. While asking the judge for clemency, Vinatier pointed at his two children and his elderly parents he has to take care of. The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone collecting information on military issues to register with authorities as a foreign agent. Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of a Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists intended to stifle criticism of its actions in Ukraine. …

Geneva — The head of the U.N. refugee agency warned on Monday that displacement crises in Lebanon and Sudan could worsen, but said tighter border measures were not the solution, calling them ineffective and sometimes unlawful. Addressing more than 100 diplomats and ministers in Geneva at UNHCR’s annual meeting, Filippo Grandi said an unprecedented 123 million people are now displaced around the world by conflicts, persecution, poverty and climate change. “You might then ask: what can be done? For a start, do not focus only on your borders,” he said, urging leaders instead to look at the reasons people are fleeing their homes. “We must seek to address the root causes of displacement, and work toward solutions,” he said. “I beg you all that we continue to work — together and with humility — to seize every opportunity to find solutions for refugees.” Without naming countries, Grandi said initiatives to outsource, externalize or even suspend asylum schemes were in breach of international law, and he offered countries help in finding fair, fast and lawful asylum schemes. Western governments are under growing domestic pressure to get tougher on asylum seekers and Grandi has previously criticized a plan by the former British government to transfer them to Rwanda. In the same speech he warned that in Lebanon, where more than one million people have fled their homes due to a growing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the situation could worsen further. “Surely, if airstrikes continue, many more will be displaced and some will also decide to move on to other countries.” He called for a drastic increase in support for refugees in Sudan’s civil war, saying lack of resources was already driving them across the Mediterranean Sea and even across the Channel to Britain. “In this lethal equation, something has got to give. Otherwise, nobody should be surprised if displacement keeps growing, in numbers but also in geographic spread,” he said. The UNHCR response to the crisis that aims to help a portion of the more than 11 million people displaced inside Sudan or in neighboring countries is less than 1/3 funded, Grandi said. The number of displaced people around the world has more than doubled in the past decade. Grandi, set to serve as high commissioner until Dec. 2025, said the agency’s funding for this year had recently improved due to U.S. support but remained “well below the needs.” …

Chisinau, Moldova — For many Moldovans, President Maia Sandu has become a symbol of change as she seeks to chart a new pro-European path for the former Soviet Republic.   Since Moscow invaded Moldova’s neighbor Ukraine, Sandu has lobbied for the West to support her country and hear its concerns that it could be the Kremlin’s next target.   She is now running for a second term on October 20 after defeating a Moscow-backed incumbent in 2020.   Applying for Moldova to join the EU in 2022, Sandu, 52, has laid out wide-ranging reforms to fight graft and bring in investment.   In stirring speeches, she has warned of a tough but worthy road ahead for one of Europe’s poorest countries, with a population of 2.6 million.   “Joining the European Union is Moldova’s Marshall Plan,” Sandu said in a speech last month, referring to the economic recovery plan put in place after World War II to rebuild Europe.   ‘Rollercoaster journey’   Born in the village of Risipeni near the Romanian border before Moldova gained independence in 1991, Sandu obtained a master’s degree in international relations in Chisinau and another in public policy after studying at Harvard University in the United States.   After a stint in the economy ministry, she worked as an economist at the World Bank’s office in Chisinau for more than seven years and later as an adviser of the executive director to the World Bank in Washington.   After two years in Washington, in 2012, she received an “unexpected” offer from Moldova’s government to return and become education minister, kicking off what she has described as a “rollercoaster journey” that ended up in her becoming the country’s first woman president.   “The resistance to change, the overwhelming problems in the education sector, the hate speech I was confronted with, all made my life really difficult,” she recalled in a 2022 speech at Harvard University, describing how this built her “resilience.”   In her drive to rid her country of corruption, Sandu founded her own party in 2016, the center-right Action and Solidarity Party (PAS).   “It took quite some thought and ultimately a leap of faith to go into politics, instead of choosing a different, quiet and comfortable career path,” she said in her speech at Harvard.   She ran for president in 2016, but failed to win. In 2019, she was Moldova’s prime minister before trying for the post of president again, this time defeating Moscow-backed incumbent … “Pro-European President Maia Sandu: a force for change in Moldova “ →

…

dijon, France — The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), a sort of “U.N. of wine” which brings together experts from the sector, called for “sustainable development” of the vine Sunday, following a ministerial meeting in France. “The effects of climate change amplify” the challenges facing the vine, stressed 37 members out of 50 participating in the meeting at the OIV headquarters in Dijon. The signatories encourage “biodiversity reservoirs, such as grape varieties and the entire ecosystem that surrounds them, by limiting soil erosion, capturing carbon … and reducing waste,” adds the ministerial declaration, the first in the history of the organization which is celebrating its centenary this year. The OIV has set itself the “objectives” of “supporting innovation, ambitious, resilient and sustainable cultural and oenological practices … as well as biodiversity such as the conservation and use of diversity in the vine, the exploitation of new vine varieties and efficient water management.” The “sustainability” of vines and wine also applies to “economic and social” matters, explained the director general of the OIV, New Zealander John Barker, at a news conference, stressing the need for the sector to adapt to the decline in wine consumption. Created on November 29, 1924, by eight countries (Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Tunisia), the OIV today brings together 50 countries, covering 88% of world wine production, with the notable absence of the United States, which slammed the door in 2001, after the failure of its candidate for its presidency. China will become the 51st member state in November. The organization is not political but brings together technical and scientific experts who exchange information on the sector and try to harmonize standards at the international level. …

Since May 2024, heavy fighting has been going on near the village of Hlyboke, some 30 kilometers from Kharkiv, and animals are the victims of active fighting just as much as locals. Volunteers recently rescued four ponies from Hlyboke, and now these horses are giving back… in their own way. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story. …

Reykjavik, Iceland — Iceland’s three-party coalition government collapsed Sunday over disagreements on policy issues, Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson said, with new elections to be held in November. Benediktsson, head of the conservative Independence Party, told reporters that tensions had mounted within the left-right coalition on issues ranging from foreign policy to asylum seekers and energy. The coalition had been made up of the Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the center-right Progressive Party. The issues “were less discussed in the last election than need to be discussed now”, Benediktsson said, emphasizing “how different the (Left-Green) Movement’s vision for the future is, compared to what I want to stand for.” “It is best if the government has a common vision,” he told the online media site Visir, adding: “It’s disappointing when projects run aground or circumstances change.” He said he would meet Monday with Iceland’s President Halla Tomasdottir to submit a proposal for the dissolution of parliament and parliamentary elections at the end of November. Benediktsson, one of Iceland’s most experienced politicians, has previously served as finance minister, foreign minister and prime minister. He said he had strong backing from his party and planned to stand in the November election. A Gallup poll published on October 1 showed that the coalition government had the support of just one-fourth of voters, at 24.6 percent, the lowest score Gallup has recorded for an Icelandic government in 30 years. The three parties combined came in behind the Social Democrats, which were credited with 26.1 percent. Benediktsson took over as prime minister in April 2024 after Katrin Jakobsdottir, of the Left-Green Movement, resigned to run for the presidency, which she failed to win. The three parties were reelected in 2021, winning 38 of the 63 seats in parliament, up from the 33 they had held since the previous election in 2017. But the Left-Green Movement emerged weaker, losing three seats to hold just eight, while its right-wing partners both posted strong showings.   …

Paris — Chinese state-owned carmaker GAC is exploring the manufacture of EVs in Europe to avoid EU tariffs, the general manager of its international business told Reuters on Sunday, joining a growing list of Chinese companies planning local production.  The company is among China’s largest automakers and is targeting 500,000 overseas sales by 2030. It does not yet sell EVs in Europe but will launch an electric SUV tailored to the European market at the Paris Auto Show, which kicks off Monday.  GAC still viewed Europe as an important market that was “relatively open” despite moves by the European Commission to impose tariffs on EVs made in China, Wei Heigang said, speaking in Paris ahead of the show.  “The tariffs issue definitely has an impact on us. However, all this can be overcome in the long term … I am positive there is going to be a way to get it all resolved,” he said.  “Local production would be one of the ways to resolve this,” he added. “We are very actively exploring this possibility.”  Discussions were at a very early stage and the company was still considering whether to build a new plant or share — or take over — an existing one, according to Wei.  The compact SUV on display in Paris, a 520-kilometer (323-mile) range vehicle called “Aion V,” should launch in some European markets in mid-2025, priced at less than 40,000 euros ($43,748), though the final price has not yet been set, GAC said.  After that launch, the next GAC vehicle due for sale in Europe will be a small electric hatchback, to be released in late 2025.  …

Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron called on Iran’s leader Masoud Pezeshkian to support a “general de-escalation” in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in a telephone conversation Sunday, his office said. Macron stressed “the responsibility of Iran to support a general de-escalation and to use its influence in this direction with the destabilizing actors that enjoy its support.” Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters are fighting Israeli troops in Lebanon. The Iranian presidential website said that in his conversation with Macron, Pezeshkian had called for an end to “crimes” in Lebanon and Gaza. They discussed ways to secure a “cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel,” a statement on the website said. Pezeshkian “asked the French president to work together with other European countries to force the Zionist regime to stop the genocide and crimes in Gaza and Lebanon,” the statement added. The Israeli army is engaged in close combat with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon this Sunday, where it announced for the first time the capture of an enemy fighter. It is also intensifying its airstrikes against the pro-Iranian formation. For its part, the Lebanese Islamist movement said it was fighting Israeli soldiers at the end of the afternoon “with automatic weapons” and “rockets” in at least four villages bordering Israel, with the Israeli army doing “face to face combat.”   After having weakened the Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, Israel moved the front of the war to Lebanon, saying it wanted to allow the return to northern Israel of some 60,000 inhabitants, displaced by the rocket attacks carried out for a year by Hezbollah in support for Hamas. …

Madrid — Thousands protested Sunday in Madrid to demand more affordable housing amid rising anger from Spaniards who feel they are being priced out of the market. Under the slogan “Housing is a right, not a business,” residents marched in the Spanish capital to demand lower housing rental prices and better living conditions. Twelve thousand people took to the streets, according to the Spanish government. “Spaniards cannot live in their own cities. They are forcing us out of the cities. The government has to regulate prices, regulate housing,” said nurse Blanca Prieto, 33. In July, Spain’s government announced a crackdown on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings. It plans to investigate listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to verify if they have licenses. Spain is struggling to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and addressing citizens’ concerns over unaffordable high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative tourist rentals. In a separate demonstration in Barcelona on Sunday against the America’s Cup yachting race, protesters blamed the international sporting event for pushing up rental prices and bringing more tourists into an overcrowded city. Residents of the Canary Islands and Malaga have also staged protests this year against the rise in tourist rentals. Seasonal hospitality workers struggle to find accommodation in these tourism hot spots, with many resorting to sleeping in caravans or even their cars.  …