This week we take a peek at Trump’s criminal trial as it begins.
In other news, on Friday the world’s biggest election kicked off in India, the US House approves $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and two Russian spies are arrested in Germany.
All this and much more in our latest Monday Briefing edition! Have a read to start your week well informed!
Spotlight: A Former President On Trial.
by Bojan Zeric
Is it possible to select twelve individuals who can impartially pass judgement on a former US President and candidate for the next US Presidency in an era in which extreme political opinions are tossed around on social media by individuals from all spheres of society?
As we saw this week, the answer is yes, it is possible, provided some time and a lot of patience. US law holds that jurors be selected randomly within the population among individuals who are deemed impartial by all parties involved in the litigation. On the fifteenth floor of a freezing courtroom in New York, former US President Donald Trump – in this case just a simple defendant – watched tens of people declare that they have consolidated opinions on him that prevent them from passing an impartial judgement: some called him racist and sexist, some called him narcissistic, some were scrapped by the judge based on the social media content they had posted.
Of the many trials Donald Trump will undergo over the next months and years, this is the only one that is bound to end before the November presidential elections, and from a merely legal standpoint, it is deemed to be the weakest one. The story is by now pretty known: during the 2016 electoral campaign, porn actress Stormy Daniels was paid 130k dollars not to reveal that ten years before she had had a sexual relationship with president-to-be Donald Trump.
Of course, the sexual intercourse itself, as well as the request not to disclose it, does not carry any legal significance. What makes the matter salient from a legal standpoint is the payment itself, its modality as well as its magnitude: Mrs. Daniels was paid in one tranche from the personal account of Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s lawyer at the time; Mr. Trump paid Mr. Cohen back over the following few months with his firms’ money. According to the prosecution, both of these payments violate the law. In theory, US law punishes this kind of offense with administrative sanctions, so even if he is convicted, Mr. Trump does not risk jail time; however, the trial is bound to have great political consequences, the main one being that Mr. Trump is required by law to be in court for the entire duration of the trial, four days a week for two months. The implication is that for the next few months, Mr. Trump will be able to campaign only three days a week. We will see whether the Trump Committee’s continuous attempts to paint the candidate as a martyr will benefit from this trial, or whether the situation risks undermining the campaign. Stay tuned.
Around the World: Elections in India, Israel’s strike on Iran, and floods in Dubai.
You can click on the embedded links to read more about the events from trusted news sources. Happy reading!
by Chiara Todesco and Giulio Savare
India election opens as Narendra Modi seeks third term in power. [link to FT]
The world’s biggest election kicked off in India on Friday, with around 968 million people eligible to vote in the seven-stage process that ends on 1 June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata party is expected to win the elections and secure the third consecutive mandate for the incumbent prime minister, Narendra Modi, who emphasizes his own success in raising India’s stature on the global stage, building infrastructure and driving the current economic growth. The election has raised concerns as the opposition, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, has accused Modi’s government of promoting divisive anti-Muslim rhetoric and attempting to rig the vote by arresting opponents.
US agrees to pull troops out of Niger. [link to BBC News]
Amid talks in Washington between the US deputy secretary and Niger’s Prime Minister, on Friday, the US has announced an orderly withdrawal of its troops that were part of an operation set in the country to monitor regional jihadist activity.
The announcement came short after the arrival of dozens of Russian military instructors in Niger. Niger has recently distanced itself from local democracies, allying with the junta-led Burkina Faso and Mali. The three countries recently quit the French-led G5 Sahel force, founded in 2014 to stemIslamicc terrorism, and have launched their own defense pact called the Alliance of Sahel States.
Israel’s strike on Iran. [link to The Guardian]
Israel launched a strike against Iran in the early hours of Friday in what appeared to be limited retaliation for Tehran’s attack last weekend. Iranian officials reported no damage to military infrastructure and said explosions near the city of Isfahan were caused by anti-aircraft batteries shooting down unidentified objects. Both sides limited their comments on the attack, signaling that neither country wanted a further escalation that could spark a regional conflict.
House Approves $95 Billion Aid Bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. [link to NYT]
On Saturday, the US House of Representatives voted to approve a package of national security bills, including $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sanctions on Iran and a ban on TikTok in the country unless its Chinese owner sells it off. After months of delays, Speaker Mike Johnson took a risk against the anti-interventionist wing of his party to advance the bills. The aid package, approved by a large bipartisan coalition, comes at a crucial time for Ukraine, as scarcity of resources and ammunition has shifted the momentum in Moscow’s favor.
‘Apocalyptic’ Dubai floods shake picture-perfect city. [link to BBC News]
Over 48 hours, roughly twice the yearly average amount of rain fell on the UAE. The videos of the sky of Dubai becoming pitch black and of the wind throwing furniture away from the skyscrapers’ balconies shock the internet. It is not the first time that the desertic area of the Gulf experience heavy rainfall, but the four storms that hit the UAE have been the worst since 1949. One of the most heavily hit infrastructures has been Dubai International Airport, which is the second busiest in the world, especially for its function as a hub for connecting flights. The US news agency Bloomberg initially reported that cloud seeding by the National Center of Meteorology had intensified the rainfall, but UAE officials denied taking any such measures. A research team at the University of Hohenheim collaborating with the NCM wrote that they were unaware of any cloud seeding operation earlier in the week.
European News: Russian Spies, Draghi on European Competitiveness, and Protests in Georgia.
by Pietro Ferrari and Zoe Di Lieto
This weeks’ focus on: Russian spies in Germany?
Bayreuth, 120 miles North of Munich, witnessed an arrest of two dual citizens of Russia and Germany on Wednesday, April 17. Both men are claimed to be part of a plot to sabotage aid to Ukraine. The two men are accused of taking part in a plot to sabotage aid to Ukraine and to destroy German military infrastructure. They were caught while illegally taking pictures of the military target they planned to blow up.
The two men have not been formally charged, but they are suspected of working with a foreign intelligence service. One man had recently been in contact with Russian intelligence services.
Germany, an important European supporter of Ukraine, has labelled this a “particularly serious case of suspected agent activity.”
What has been German’s role in providing help to Ukraine since Russian’s invasion in 2022? So far, German donations account for 32 billion euros, which is the highest recorded amount for a European country.
It is not the first time since the start of the war, that German citizens are accused of spying for the Russian forces. “We know that the Russian regime is focusing on our country” claimed Germany’s justice prime minister following the latest arrests. Security has been heightened in critical sites and further investigations will be conducted.
Draghi’s report holds the key to Europe’s future competitiveness. [link to EU News]
Former Italian prime minister and president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi has been once again under public spotlight this week, thanks to his ambitious report aimed at innovating the European Union institutional framework. “Radical change” is needed, and radical change will be proposed. The measures are currently being discussed by the European Council and, as always, they will have to go through a long bargaining process among leaders, yet a new European direction is needed as soon as possible in this adverse geopolitical situation.
Georgia advances ‘foreign agents’ bill as 20,000 rally against it. [link to Al Jazeera]
Protests sparked in Georgian capital Tbilisi after the government re-introduced a bill that is described by international observers as pro-Russian. The proposal, backed by 83 out of 150 lawmakers of the Georgian Dream party, is aimed at countering western influence in the region, classifying NGOs that receive more than 20% of founding from abroad as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power”. Similar legislation has been used by the Russian regime to censor nonaligned media. In the small Caucasian republic the pro-European sentiment was already quite clear last year, when a similar bill was cancelled after public outrage.
Australian Artist Wins Top Prize at Venice Biennale. [link to NYT]
On Saturday April 20, Archie Moore, an indigenous Australian artist won the Venice Biennale top prize, the Golden Lion. He created an installation called “kith and kin” related to the deaths of Indigenous Australians, kept in custody by the police. “A mournful archive” that “stands out for its strong aesthetic, its lyricism and its invocation of shared loss for occluded pasts” claimed a member of the Biennale jury.
Bocconi news: Bocconi 2 the Park, Earth Day initiatives, and Upcoming events.
As sunny and windy days mark the upcoming conclusion of an intense academic year at Bocconi, there’s a sense of happiness and a desire to gather as many happy memories as possible before the curtains close. Football legend Gianluigi Buffon graced Bocconi to discuss Italy’s journey at the 2006 World Cup, as invited by Astra on April 17th. Furthermore, the sixteenth edition of B2P took place last week, bringing together artists and students at Parco Ravizza.
Today, April 22, in celebration of Earth Day, Bocconi is embarking on a significant initiative in partnership with AMSA, the Municipality of Milan’s waste management department. All faculty and staff with individual waste bins in their offices are encouraged to personally bring them to Piazza Sraffa, where a designated collection area and information point has been set up. The materials from these bins will be repurposed to create recreational areas, featuring eco-friendly furniture like chairs and benches on our campus.
Plus, have you noticed strange colorful stickers on the university’s trash bins? Well, Bocconi has established new Recycling Areas, complete with clear infographics and digital media guides on “where to discard what,” facilitating waste separation and recycling efforts. Rector Billari and Mr. Taranto affirm that Bocconi will regularly assess waste separation progress and take pride in sharing these achievements with the entire Bocconian community.
Upcoming events:
April 29 | EXPLORING CUTTING-EDGE HORIZONS WITH AI AND TECHNOLOGY FOR SMART CITIES | 18:30 – 19:30 | Aula 302 via Sarfatti 25
Every week, your TiL Monday Briefing 🗞: you better read it with a cup of coffee! ☕️
Head of the Monday Briefing column: Pietro Ferrari. Current writing staff: Vatsal Aggarwal, Cristiana Murè. Cartoons by Polina Mednikova. The Monday Briefing column was established in its current form in 2021 by Bojan Zeric.
Raised in Rome by Bosnian parents, I try to use writing as a tool to decipher the world around me and all its complexities by taking different perspectives into consideration. In Bocconi, I am studying Politics and Policy Analysis.
I'm Chiara Todesco, I live in Milan where I'm attending the first year at Bocconi’s bachelor in International Politics and Government. I have done classical studies at liceo classico Carducci and I'm interested in humanities and politics. I like to study and deepen my knowledge about international dynamics. I'm active in my territory as “consigliera di municipio”.
Always trying to extend my knowledge about the mysterious forces that shape our reality, sometimes with some weird model, sometimes by reading the news. In this chapter of my life I am pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Economic and Social Sciences at Bocconi.
Hi, it’s Zoe Di Lieto here, student from the Economic and social sciences course here in Bocconi. I grew up in Rome and I’ve only recently moved to Milan for university. I’m a passionate reader, I love to travel and I like to play a little guitar occasionally. I’d say the fields I’m most interested in are literature, philosophy and cultures, especially how different cultural background affects social behavior.
I am a cosmopolitan human being, deeply passionate about journalism, political economics, equality and sustainability. I started reading and writing at the age of 4, which have been my lifelong saviors. As a child, I enjoyed playing and painting. Furthermore, my wanderlust has led me through scout, exchange and Interrail adventures. Now, as a former 'BIG' student, I immerse myself in politics and policy analysis, creating new kind of canvases and traveling by data.
Having lived both in Italy and the UK, I enjoy exploring how multiculturalism affects our personal identities. I use language, writing and journalism as tools to decipher the world around me. And, I will of course never turn down a lively convo about current news. With a degree in Economic and Social sciences, I’m now pursuing a master’s in Politics and Policy Analysis.
