Eurotopics.net

As part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) virtual summit held on Tuesday, Iran has become the ninth member of this group of states dominated by China and Russia. Belarus also signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect. Commentators from Italy and Russia assess the organisation's potential.

The EU Commission wants to ease the rules regarding the use of genetic engineering in agriculture. The new regulations would apply specifically to plants that have been modified by means of genome editing in a way that would also be possible using conventional breeding methods, exempting them from the genetic modification rules that continue to apply to other designer plants. This would also eliminate the labelling requirement.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has warned of the danger of a Russian attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and says that Russian forces have mined the plant's cooling pond. President Zelensky said on Tuesday that objects resembling explosives had been placed on the roofs. Meanwhile Moscow claims that Ukraine is planning an attack on the plant. Commentators are divided on how dangerous the situation really is.

Israel has announced the completion of a two-day large-scale military offensive in the West Bank. Prime Minister Netanyahu explained, however, that this was "not a one-off operation". After several air strikes, ground troops were sent in to carry out raids in the city of Jenin, which is considered a militant Islamist stronghold. According to the Palestinians at least 13 people were killed. Commentators voice concern.

Russian journalist Yelena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov have been attacked and beaten by unknown assailants in Chechnya. They were on their way to the sentencing of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of two Chechen human rights activists, who was abducted from Nizhny Novgorod and taken to Grozny in early 2022. Musayeva was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. Commentators see the events as significant from several perspectives.