Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.

Former career US diplomat charged with secretly spying for Cuban intelligence for decades

Summary: A retired US diplomat, Manuel Rocha, was arrested on Friday and has been charged with spying on the US for Cuba since at least 1981, following an FBI sting operation that led to his self-incrimination, among other things calling the US the “enemy” and bragging about his efforts to serve the Cuban cause to an undercover agent.

Context: Rocha, who’s now 73-years-old, was apparently tasked with all sorts of clandestine projects and was also told to maintain an otherwise normal life as a politically conservative American, which required he support former president Donald Trump and criticize Cuba in public while acting as a mole for the country in private; while working for the US government, Rocha served at top posts in Bolivia, Argentina, and Havana, and since leaving the government he has worked as a senior adviser for an international public relations firm and a well-known US law firm.

—The Associated Press

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Netanyahu corruption trial resumes, adding to Israeli leader’s challenges

Summary: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corruption trial, which was paused following the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas, resumed on Monday, bringing the legal complications he faces back into the news even as he struggles with international pushback against the country’s military efforts in Gaza.

Context: Netanyahu has been on trial since 2020 for allegedly providing favors for businesspeople in exchange for luxury goods, presented as gifts, and for favoring some media entities with regulatory cut-outs in exchange for positive coverage for himself and his administration; Netanyahu denies these charges, but has also faced criticism for his efforts to strip the attorney general of powers that would allow him to oversee the prosecution of Netanyahu’s case, and for attempting to give himself more power over the country’s court system—an effort that led to widespread, persistent protests across Israel.

—The New York Times

EU budget dispute threatens €50 billion war lifeline for Ukraine

Summary: Debates focused on the European Union’s joint budget, which includes €50 billion in support for Ukraine, have slowed progress toward passing it, which could leave Ukraine short on outside humanitarian and military resources.

Context: These debates, and a failure to reach an easy compromise, are partly the consequence of the recent election in the Netherlands, which saw the country’s far-right party attain a surprising victory, and efforts by Hungary’s government to derail these talks, and any discussions about accession to the EU for Ukraine; in parallel, the US government has warned that if Congress doesn’t make new money available for Ukraine by the end of the year, they won’t be able to send any new weapons or equipment, either—which would leave Ukraine lacking inflows of support from its primary international benefactors at a moment in which Russia’s invasion of the country has turned into something of a grinding, attritional stalemate.

—Financial Times

The Israeli military is apparently (based on satellite imagery) moving into southern Gaza, en masse, aiming for a major, final battle between themselves and Hamas leadership—though analysts have said that Palestinians who have been forced to relocate to this area by the Israeli military are likely to be caught in the crossfire, as they don’t really have anywhere else to go.

—The Washington Post

10.4 million

Number of votes the Venezuelan government claims were cast in what they say was a successful (and positive, with 95% of votes cast being in the affirmative) referendum on whether the country should annex a significant (and oil-rich) portion of neighboring Guyana.

Critics of the government suggest that this number (which is short of the president’s target of 12 million votes) is likely inflated, as polling stations were all but deserted on voting day, and suggest the vote may have been rigged (in addition to the questions asked on the referendum being quite leading, heavily slanted in favor of this outcome).

—Bloomberg

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