Foreign Digest: Moldova; Netherlands, Ukraine and Russia; Georgia, Saudi Arabia, and Italy

Moldova

            After inconclusive parliamentary elections in February, which I posted about at the time, Moldova’s high court ruled the coalition formed early this month by the pro-European Union center-right bloc of parties and the pro-Russian Socialists was formed after the 90-day constitutional deadline and annulled the elections.  The ruling center-left party stepped in to continue to hold power, but after domestic and international pressure, including from the United States, the Prime Minister resigned in the middle of this month and pledged a peaceful transition for the unnatural coalition to take power.

Netherlands, Ukraine and Russia

            Prosecutors in the Netherlands last week charged four people, including three Russians and one Ukrainian who had long worked for the Russians, for the missile strike that brought down a Malaysian civilian airline filled with mostly Dutch passengers over Ukraine in 2014.  The jet was struck during the rebellion in eastern Ukraine by Russophiles that is fostered and supported by the Russian Federation, led by tyrant and kleptocrat Vladimir Putin.  Russia had invaded and seized the Crimean Peninsula earlier that year, in violation of the post-Cold War treaty between Russia and Ukraine in which the former agreed to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the latter.

Georgia

            There were anti-Russian protests in Georgia last week after the pro-Kremlin Government allowed a Member of Parliament of the Russian Federation to attend an inter-parliamentary session on Orthodoxy in the Georgian Parliament.  There were many injuries and arrests, but demonstrations have continued.  The protesters also called for new elections and political reforms.  Russia, under tyrant and kleptocrat Vladimir Putin, invaded the former Soviet Republic in 2008, establishing puppet states in breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia. 

Saudi Arabia

            The United Nations, after an investigation, accused the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia last week of ordering the murder of a journalist critical of the Saudi regime who was a United States permanent resident in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey last year. 

Italy

           The high court of Italy ruled last week that a fetus is a human being during labor.  Therefore, a healthcare provider could be charged with manslaughter, not culpable abortion, for negligence during labor.  The Italian Republic has a liberal abortion law, but abortion is rare, as most Italian medical providers opt not to perform abortions.