World Briefing: October 26, 2024

Israel says it has concluded strikes on Iranian military targets and all its planes have returned safely home. Earlier Israel said it had conducted "precise strikes on military targets" in Iran, as blasts were heard in Tehran. The Israel Defense Forces say the strikes are in response to "months of continuous attacks from the regime of Iran" and after a barrage of Iranian missiles hit Israel on 1 October . Military bases in the west and south west of the Iranian capital have been targeted, according to an Iranian news agency close to the country's Revolutionary Guards. Iranian state media is so far denying the attacks caused any real damage, says Bahman Kalbasi of BBC Persian. The US was briefed on the strikesbeforehand, but did not have any involvement - BBC

Satellite imagery over the past two years shows construction vehicles renovating an old Soviet-era laboratory called Sergiev Posad-6 - previously quiet for decades - and breaking ground on 10 new buildings, totaling more than 250,000 square feet, with several of them bearing hallmarks of biological labs designed to handle extremely dangerous pathogens. It had once been a major research center for biological weapons, with a history of experiments with the viruses that cause smallpox, Ebola and hemorrhagic fevers. There has been no sign such weapons have been used in the Ukraine conflict, but the construction of new labs at Sergiev Posad-6 is being closely watched by U.S. intelligence agencies and bioweapons experts amid worries about Moscow’s intentions as the conflict grinds through its third year. The images showed multiple signatures that, when combined, indicate a high-containment biological facility: dozens of rooftop air handling units, layouts consistent with partitioned labs, underground infrastructure, heightened security features and what appears to be a power plant - Washington Post

The U.S. is split exactly down the middle on Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, according to the latest national poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College, the final one ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. The poll, which comes as both candidates campaign feverishly to win over swing state voters, found that Trump and Harris each claimed the support of 48 percent of likely voters. In The New York Times’ analysis of its own poll, the paper said the result didn’t bode well for Harris, who had a three-point lead in its previous poll. “In recent elections, Democrats have had an edge in the popular vote even when they have lost the Electoral College and thus the White House,” the Times analysis reads. “They have been looking to Ms. Harris to build a strong national lead as a sign that she would do well in such critical swing states as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.” All the other major national polls also have the race for the popular vote within 3 percentage points. - Daily Beast

Chinese hackers targeted data from phones used by former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, as part of what appears to be a wide-ranging intelligence-collection effort, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Investigators are working to determine what communications data, if any, was taken or observed by the sophisticated penetration of telecom systems, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an active and highly sensitive national security case. The type of information on phones used by a presidential candidate and his running mate could be a gold mine for an intelligence agency: Who they called and texted, how often they communicated with certain people and how long they talked to those people could be highly valuable to an adversary like China. That sort of communications data could be even more useful if hackers could observe it in real time - NYT

The Kremlin’s message boiled down to this: we still have plenty of friends in the world. Over three days in the Russian city of Kazan, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted more than 20 leaders from many of the world’s fastest developing nations. With each photo op, each bilateral meeting, each handshake seemingly proof the West’s attempts to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine had failed. Speaking to international journalists in the closing hours of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, Putin dismissed reports of conspiratorial ties with Trump as an old story and called reports of Russia trying to sow chaos in Western politics “nonsense. Putin also commented on Western intelligence reports of North Korean troops were now in Russia and preparing to deploy to Ukraine, saying, “if satellite photos show something, it must be there.” He then pointed to a newly ratified Russia-North Korea security pact, adding he never doubted Pyongyang's commitment to the treaty - NPR

On Friday, the Washington Post’s publisher, Will Lewis, announced that the paper would no longer make endorsements for president—after its journalists had already drafted an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. The decision was made by Jeff Bezos, the paper’s owner. This represents the first time the Post has sat out a presidential endorsement since 1988 - CJR

The UN human rights chief has said the Gaza war's “darkest moment” is unfolding in the north of the territory, where Israel has said it is carrying out a ground offensive to stop Hamas fighters from regrouping. “As we speak, the Israeli military is subjecting an entire population to bombing, siege and risk of starvation,” Volker Türk said. He called on world leaders to act, saying states had a duty under the Geneva Conventions to ensure respect for international humanitarian law. There was no immediate response from the Israeli military, but it has said its troops have killed “hundreds of terrorists” and evacuated 45,000 civilians in Jabalia since going back into the area on 6 October - BBC

On October 24, just ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in Georgia, officials from the Investigative Service of Georgia’s Ministry of Finance raided the homes of two staff members of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab in Tbilisi, confiscating their electronic devices. They were not detained and have not been charged by Georgian authorities, according to the Washington, DC-based think tank. “The Atlantic Council is deeply concerned about this development and its impact on our staff’s work shortly before Georgian elections….We trust that Georgian authorities will provide more clarity on their actions, ensure the safety and security of our staff, return their property, and allow them to continue their contributions to Georgian democracy,” said Graham Brookie, the Atlantic Council’s vice president for technology programs and strategy, as well as the senior director of the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab)

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