Daily Brief: Trump Shows Openness to Negotiate With North Korea
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 7, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Trump Shows Openness to Negotiate With North Korea While in Seoul on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald J. Trump expressed a willingness (AP) to negotiate with Pyongyang, saying North Korea should "come to the table" and "make a deal." Speaking alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a five-country Asia tour, Trump praised South Korea's purchase of U.S. weapons, and the two leaders announced they reached an agreement to increase the number and range of U.S. missiles (DW) in South Korea. U.S. aircraft carriers are expected to carry out a military drill off the Korean peninsula in the coming days, and Trump will address South Korea's national assembly (Korea Times) on Wednesday, the first such speech by a U.S. president since 1993. ANALYSIS "If the United States is serious about reducing the prospects for war and nuclear missile proliferation, as well as strengthening its alliance with South Korea, the Trump administration cannot hand South Korea a blank check," Zachary Keck and Henry Sokolski write for Foreign Affairs. "The United States and South Korea will need to have a serious conversation on whether and how they are prepared to modify their alliance in the case of unification, in order to gain China's support for a unified Korean Peninsula led by the South Korean government," writes CFR's Patricia M. Kim. "For all the talk of dysfunction and policy incoherence in Washington under President Donald J. Trump, his administration has started to get some things right, especially when it comes to Asia policy," Dhruva Jaishankar writes for the Brookings Institution. PACIFIC RIM Trump Urges Japan to Buy U.S. Arms President Trump called on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday to buy "massive" amounts of arms from the United States (WSJ) during a visit to Tokyo, saying such a deal would create "a lot" of U.S. jobs and enhance Japan's security. Abe said Japan "will be buying more." CFR's Sheila A. Smith discusses Abe's push for defense reforms with Hitoshi Tanaka of the Japan Research Institute. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Islamic State Claims Kabul TV Station Attack The self-proclaimed Islamic State has claimed an attack in which gunmen stormed the private TV station Shamshad (RFE/RL), killing at least one person. The station resumed programming shortly after the assault, in which an employee said the attackers wore police uniforms (Al Jazeera). BANGLADESH: Police in Dhaka have arrested a militant accused of killing American blogger Avijit Roy (Reuters) in 2015. Roy was critical of religious extremism in his writing. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Trump Endorses Saudi Prince Amid Crackdown President Trump wrote on Twitter on Monday that he has "great confidence" in Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Reuters) and that some of the officials and royals arrested in a major purge had been "milking" their country for years. Saudi Arabia's attorney general said the arrest orders were "merely the start" of an anticorruption drive (BBC). CFR's Elliott Abrams writes in the New York Times that the Saudi crown prince is a modernizer who believes absolute monarchy is the path forward. EGYPT: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi for the first time publicly voiced opposition to amending the constitution (DW) to allow him to serve three terms. Sisi said it does not suit him to "stay one more day against the will of the Egyptians." CFR's Steven A. Cook writes in Salon that Egypt has descended into corruption. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Liberia's Top Court Suspends Presidential Runoff The Supreme Court suspended a runoff slated for Tuesday (BBC) amid allegations of irregularities by the third-place candidate in an October 10 general election. It is not yet clear when the poll will be rescheduled. ZIMBABWE: President Robert Mugabe, in power since 1980, has dismissed his vice president (VOA), paving the way for his wife Grace Mugabe to succeed him. EUROPE EU States Expected to Sign Defense Pact A majority of EU member states are expected in the coming days to sign on to a landmark joint defense deal (FT) pushed by Germany and France to create a permanent cooperation structure, which would include pooling military logistics and weapons development. President Trump has called on NATO allies in Europe to contribute more to the continent's security. ITALY: Italian police are investigating the deaths of more than two dozen teenage migrant women (WaPo) from Nigeria whose bodies were found in the Mediterranean on Sunday. AMERICAS Nicaraguans Lose U.S. Protected Status The Trump administration has ended the temporary protected status that allowed some 2,500 Nicaraguans to live and work in the United States (VOA) following a 1998 hurricane, while it has extended the status for fifty-seven thousand Hondurans for six months. More than two hundred thousand Haitians and Salvadorans await similar announcements (Miami Herald). MEXICO: The deputy foreign minister has denounced the planned execution of a Mexican national (Reuters) in the U.S. state of Texas. He said the death row inmate was not given the opportunity to meet consular officials, violating an international treaty on consular relations. UNITED STATES Leak Reveals Apple Relocated Untaxed Profits A leak of corporate records from a Bermuda-based law firm shows the U.S. tech giant Apple moved its profits to the island of Jersey (NYT), which generally does not tax corporate income, after its use of Irish subsidiaries to avoid taxes became the target of investigations. The Air Force has admitted it failed to report to federal authorities (WaPo) a 2014 domestic violence conviction against the gunman who killed twenty-six people at a church in Texas on Sunday, a procedure that would have prevented him from purchasing firearms. Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: November 07, 2017 at 11:05PM
Daily Brief: Crown Prince's Purge Shakes Saudi Kingdom
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 6, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Crown Prince's Purge Shakes Saudi Kingdom Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered dozens of arrests among the kingdom's elite (NYT) in what was ostensibly a crackdown on corruption over a weekend of turmoil in which Lebanon's prime minister also announced his resignation. At least eleven of the crown prince's cousins, four ministers, and tens of former ministers were among those arrested without formal charges or apparent legal process (Reuters). Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he would resign in a televised address from Riyadh on Saturday, citing an alleged plot on his life (BBC) and denouncing the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and political party Hezbollah. Separately, a high-ranking Saudi prince, Mansour bin Muqrin, and eight other officials were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday (AP); officials have not yet identified the cause of the crash. ANALYSIS "It is hard to see how a new hyper-modern, economically advanced kingdom is going to emerge out of backstabbing and purges, conducted at the highest level," Madawi Al-Rasheed writes for Middle East Eye. "This steady seizure of power has given rise to resistance within and outside the royal family, and Mohammed bin Salman's elevation to crown prince was not unanimously supported when the top royal princes met to approve it," CFR's Elliott Abrams writes for the New York Times. "The kingdom is at a crossroads: Its economy has flatlined with low oil prices; the war in Yemen is a quagmire; the blockade of Qatar is a failure; Iranian influence is rampant in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq; and the succession is a question mark. It is the most volatile period in Saudi history in over a half-century," Bruce Riedel writes for Al-Monitor. PACIFIC RIM Trump Pressures Japan Over Trade Imbalance In a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while visiting Tokyo, U.S. President Donald J. Trump said U.S. companies need "reliable" access to the Japanese market to "eliminate" the U.S. trade imbalance (Japan Times). At the same time, he emphasized the country's "solidarity" with Japan over the North Korean weapons threat. Ahead of Trump's visit to South Korea, Seoul announced sanctions on eighteen individuals (Reuters) at North Korean financial institutions. CFR President Richard N. Haass writes that China will likely continue to resist deploying its full leverage in North Korea despite urging from President Trump. VIETNAM: A typhoon off Vietnam's south-central coast (VOA) over the weekend killed at least forty-nine people, including nine members of a cargo ship that sunk. UNITED STATES Suspect Identified in Texas Church Massacre Authorities identified twenty-six-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, who received a "bad conduct" discharge from the U.S. Air Force in 2014 (WSJ), as the shooter in a massacre at a church in Sutherland Springs, TX, that killed twenty-six people. Kelley was found dead in a wrecked vehicle (WaPo) after a civilian pursued him from the church. U.S. President Donald J. Trump urged Saudi Arabia to list the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco on the U.S. stock exchange (Al Jazeera) in a phone call on Sunday with King Salman. Aramco is expected to sell five percent of its shares next year in what could be the world's largest initial public offering. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA U.S., Afghanistan Probe Civilian Deaths The U.S. military and Afghan Defense Ministry have announced investigations into reports of up to twenty-two civilian deaths (RFE/RL) during a joint U.S.-Afghan operation last week in Kunduz Province. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said on Friday she will seek a war crimes investigation into the conflict in Afghanistan (Al Jazeera); an ICC report last year said both Afghan and U.S. forces may have committed such crimes. INDIA/PAKISTAN: Heavy smog covered large swaths of Pakistan and India (AP) over the weekend. The pollution appeared to cause the deaths of eight people in vehicle accidents (Dawn) in Pakistan's Punjab Province. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Dozens of Saudi Strikes Reported Around Yemeni Capital Locals reported at least twenty-nine air strikes (Al Jazeera) in and around the province of Sanaa on Sunday after Saudi Arabia accused Houthi rebels in Yemen of launching a ballistic missile toward its capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia said it will temporarily close all air, land, and seaport access to Yemen (Reuters) to stem weapons flows to Houthi rebels from Iran. CFR's Michael P. Dempsey writes that neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia are expected to abandon the conflict in Yemen anytime soon in the Washington Post. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Red Cross: Widespread Fraud During Ebola Outbreak The Red Cross has reported up to $6 million was lost to fraud in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia (AP) due to overbilling, fake invoices, and collusion between Red Cross staffers and one Sierra Leonean bank during the region’s ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016. The organization said it is "outraged" by the discoveries. SOMALIA: The United States has ordered all non-essential staff to leave its Mogadishu mission (VOA) in light of "specific threat information" against them. EUROPE Leak Reveals British Queen's Offshore Investments A new leak of millions of financial documents dubbed the Paradise Papers shows about $13 million of Queen Elizabeth II's private money is invested offshore through funds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda (BBC). The leak also reveals U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross invested in a shipping company owned by close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin (RFE/RL). This CFR Backgrounder lays out the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. GERMANY: The island of Fiji will preside over a new round of UN climate talks (France 24) opening in Bonn, Germany, on Monday. Delegates from nearly two hundred countries aim to clarify the rules under the Paris Agreement (BBC) over the next two weeks. AMERICAS Venezuelan Lawmaker Takes Refuge in Ambassador's Home The vice president of Venezuela's opposition-controlled National Assembly has taken refuge in the home of the Chilean ambassador in Caracas (BBC) following a Supreme Court decision on Friday to strip him of his immunity from prosecution. MEXICO: The national oil company Pemex has announced Mexico's largest onshore oil discovery (Reuters) in a decade and a half in the eastern state of Veracruz. 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From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: November 06, 2017 at 11:04PM
Daily Brief: North Korea, Trade to Dominate Trump's Asia Tour
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 3, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA North Korea, Trade to Dominate Trump's Asia Tour U.S. President Donald J. Trump begins today a twelve-day trip that will take him to five Asian nations (NPR) and two international summits, his longest stint abroad since taking office. Before heading to Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday (Japan Times), Trump will stop in Hawaii (White House) for a briefing by the U.S. Pacific Command. During the trip, he is expected to focus on the North Korean weapons threat (DW) and trade with the region following his decision to pull the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Trump will also make visits to South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. ANALYSIS "It now appears there will be no grand bargain—not on North Korea, not on trade, and not on the South China Sea. That is ok. A grand bargain should take time and thought, and the administration has not had much of either over the past ten months," writes CFR's Elizabeth C. Economy. "Trade with Southeast Asia, taken together, creates over a half million jobs in the United States. Having ten non-threatening countries at the center of Asia is geopolitically stabilizing," former U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN Nina Hachigian said in an interview with Foreign Policy Interrupted. "Barack Obama called himself America's 'first Pacific president', and spoke of 'rebalancing' the U.S. to Asia. Mr. Trump's outlook is unlikely to take in much beyond domestic political considerations and his vows to defend the American worker," writes the Guardian. PACIFIC RIM U.S. Lawmakers Propose Myanmar Sanctions A bipartisan group of senators has proposed reinstating some sanctions on Myanmar that were lifted in 2016 in light of the the country's steps toward democracy as well as barring most U.S. assistance to Myanmar's military (Reuters). The proposed sanctions do not target State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick writes that the sanctions bill is important but belated. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Modi Lauds India Business Ranking Prime Minister Narendra Modi has credited recent reforms, including easing requirements for compliance, with boosting India's ranking (PTI) on the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" index into the top one hundred countries. AFGHANISTAN: The international health insurer Cigna, a major supplier to defense contractors, said Thursday that "business has dissipated" (Bloomberg) as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have winded down. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Syrian Forces Say Deir Ez-Zor Recaptured State media reported Friday that the military and allied forces have retaken Deir ez-Zour (Al Jazeera), the last of the self-proclaimed Islamic State's urban strongholds. The militant group, which had controlled the city since 2014, has lost the vast majority of the territory (NYT) in its so-called caliphate. ISRAEL: UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that Britain is "proud" of its role in creating the state of Israel at a Thursday dinner with her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu (Guardian) celebrating the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, which announced UK support for a "home" in Palestine for Jewish people. Thousands protested the anniversary (DW) near the British consulate in Ramallah. Jonathan Schneer looks at why Britain made the Balfour Declaration in Foreign Affairs. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA IMF Predicts Modest Growth Recovery for Africa The International Monetary Fund has predicted that growth in sub-Saharan African economies will rebound to 2.6 percent this year (VOA) and increase to 3.4 percent in 2018. The forecasted boost follows growth last year of 1.4 percent, a twenty-year low for the region. MALI: A military force with troops from five African nations and backed by France and the United States, known as the G5 Sahel, has launched operations this week (Reuters). The force is expected to work with four thousand French troops deployed to the region since 2013. EUROPE Arrest Warrant Expected for Catalan Leader A lawyer for deposed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, now in Belgium, said he expects an arrest warrant and extradition request (EUobserver) for Puigdemont to be issued from Madrid on Friday. ITALY: Sicily's regional election on Sunday will pit the antiestablishment Five Star Movement against a center-right coalition backed by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The vote is seen as a test of the political mood (Politico) ahead of national parliamentary elections in 2018. AMERICAS Venezuela Sets Out to Restructure Debt President Nicolas Maduro said Thursday that the state oil company will make good on a $1.1 billion bond payment due in 2017 (FT), at which point Venezuela will begin restructuring and refinancing its remaining foreign debt. Economic sanctions by the United States could prevent the country from contracting new debt (NYT). HONDURAS: A new report by an international panel of experts says the death of environmental activist Berta Caceres (BBC) involved state security forces and an energy company whose dam project she opposed. The report was commissioned by Caceres's rights organization. UNITED STATES Trump Nominates New Fed Chair President Trump has announced Jerome Powell, currently a Federal Reserve governor, as his pick to lead the country's central bank (Economist). Powell's views on monetary policy are viewed as similar to those of current Fed Chair Janet Yellen. This CFR Backgrounder looks at the role of the U.S. Federal Reserve. A top U.S. Navy officer said a "gradual erosion of the margins of safety" was behind a series of naval vessel collisions this year and announced revisions to address preparedness at sea (Reuters) following a review by the navy that showed sailors are overworked and insufficiently trained. Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: November 03, 2017 at 10:05PM
Daily Brief: Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Visits Rakhine
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 2, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Visits Rakhine Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, visited Rakhine State on Thursday (DW) for the first time since a crackdown by security forces against Rohingya Muslims began there in August. The crackdown, which the United Nations has called disproportionate and tantamount to ethnic cleansing, has prompted an exodus of more than half a million refugees from the ethnic minority, largely to Bangladesh. The leader, accompanied by military and state officials, met with Rohingya still residing in the country. She told locals that the government is there to help them and said that they should not fight among themselves (Guardian), according to an advocate for Rohingya citing a witness account of her visit. ANALYSIS "As longtime democracy activists fear a return to international isolation and military dominance, diplomats are torn between the need to stand on the right side of history and fear that stronger rebukes, such as sanctions, will further imperil the country's fragile democratic transition," Poppy McPherson writes for the Guardian. "As [Myanmar] inched toward civilian rule, many foreign countries seemed convinced that its military, which was still committing massive abuses, had already changed; foreign leaders were buying a new narrative that the country was inevitably on the path to democratization," CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick writes for the Atlantic. "Her government's actions suggest that Aung San Suu Kyi is broadly sympathetic to the security forces' approach," Lynn Kuok writes for Foreign Affairs. PACIFIC RIM Migrants Protest Detention Center Shutdown Asylum seekers at Australia's offshore detention facility on Manus Island lost electricity and access to water after officials closed the center on Tuesday, shutting off all utilities there (Guardian). The approximately six hundred asylum seekers (BBC), who originally sought to reach Australia, have said they fear for their safety outside the camp following reports of anti-immigrant attacks. Nicholas Van Hear proposes a new transnational polity for refugees in Foreign Affairs. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Ousted PM Returns to Pakistan for Trial Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arrived in Islamabad from London to face corruption charges (Dawn) at a national accountability court on Friday. The Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from his office (Reuters) in July over unreported income. INDIA: At least sixteen workers were killed and eighty injured in an explosion at a state-run coal-fired plant (DW) in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Twenty-Nine Yemeni Civilians Killed in Strike Local sources have reported that an air strike on a hotel and nearby market in the northwestern province of Saada on Wednesday killed at least twenty-nine civilians (VOA). The area has been repeatedly targeted by a Saudi-led coalition (Al Jazeera) carrying out air strike campaigns in Yemen since 2015, after Houthi rebels took control of the capital. SYRIA: The Syrian National Council, a Turkey-based opposition coalition, said it will not participate in peace negotiations (Guardian) planned for later this month in Sochi, and that it would only meet with the Syrian government in Geneva or at UN-sponsored talks. This CFR Backgrounder looks at who's who in Syria's civil war. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Dozens Dead in Eritrea Protests An opposition group has reported that security forces killed more than two dozen people in the capital Asmara after the government ordered an Islamic school to ban head coverings and religious instruction (Al Jazeera). The U.S. embassy there has confirmed reports of gunfire and protests (DW). NIGER: Prime Minister Brigi Rafini said Wednesday that he is open to the United States using armed drones in Niger (WSJ) and that the United States operates there at the government's request. U.S. officials recently revealed that deploying an armed drone was considered ahead of a patrol by Green Berets who were the target of a deadly ambush last month. EUROPE Catalan Leaders Appear in Madrid Court Nine officials from Catalonia's regional government appeared in a Madrid court on Thursday to face charges of rebellion and sedition (BBC) following an October 1 independence referendum opposed by the central government. Ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, currently in Belgium, did not appear. R. Joseph Huddleston discusses the roots of the Catalan independence crisis in Foreign Affairs. UK: Defense Minister Michael Fallon has resigned after a female journalist accused him of sexual harassment. When asked if he may face additional harassment charges (EUobserver), Fallon said what "might have been acceptable" fifteen years ago is "clearly not acceptable now." AMERICAS Colombia's Timochenko to Run for President Rodrigo Londono, popularly known as Timochenko and former leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), has announced that he will run for president in 2018 (BBC). Londono and other former FARC commanders are expected to face trial for human rights crimes (Reuters) committed during the country's decades-long civil conflict. CUBA: The United States and Israel were the only dissenters in an annual United Nations voteon Wednesday to condemn the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba (NYT). The United States has traditionally opposed the motion, but abstained from the vote for the first time last year. UNITED STATES New York Terrorism Suspect Charged in Federal Court Federal prosecutors charged Sayfullo Saipov on Wednesday with plowing a truck into cyclists (NYT) on a Manhattan bike path a day earlier, the deadliest terrorist attack in New York since 9/11. Prosecutors said Saipov has confessed to the attack (RFE/RL) and asked to hang the flag of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in his hospital room. The Central Intelligence Agency released on Wednesday some 470,000 documents recovered in a 2011 raid (Guardian) on the Pakistan home of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The agency said the release aims to "enhance public understanding" of the militant group. 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From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: November 02, 2017 at 09:59PM
Daily Brief: Uzbek Identified as New York Attack Suspect
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 1, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Uzbek Identified as New York Attack Suspect A spokesman for Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said local authorities are ready to assist U.S. investigators (FT) after one of the country's citizens was identified as the assailant in a New York terror attack that killed eight people on Tuesday. Twenty-nine-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, in critical condition after being shot by police, reportedly moved to the United States in 2010 (Guardian) and worked there as a driver. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the attack a "cowardly act of terror," while police reported finding notes referring to the Islamic State near the truck used to plow through pedestrians on a Manhattan bike path. Five of those killed were Argentine tourists (NYT); another was Belgian. U.S. President Donald J. Trump has ordered "extreme vetting" of immigrants (BBC) to be enhanced in response to the attack. No group has so far claimed responsibility (Al Jazeera). ANALYSIS "ISIS has for years encouraged so-called lone-wolf attacks, including the driving of vehicles into crowds," Katrina Manson writes for the Financial Times. "Authorities in many countries are growing increasingly worried about the threat posed by radicals from Central Asia, a region of traditionally moderate Islam where dictatorial regimes and economic disenfranchisement have led many to embrace extremism," Michael McGowan and Shaun Walker write for the Guardian. "A key difference between this attack and others that have occurred: Authorities took Saipov alive, meaning investigators could gain firsthand information from him rather than relying solely on the trail he left behind," Renae Merle, Devlin Barrett, and Mark Berman write for the Washington Post. PACIFIC RIM Malaysia Probes Breach of Millions of Phone Accounts Malaysia's communications commission is investigating reports that forty-six million mobile phone accounts in the country were breached, with personal information including home addresses leaked onto the dark web (BBC). The entire country of thirty-two million is believed to have been affected. CHINA: State media reported that the national capital region, home to eight of China's ten most polluted cities, will set up a joint anti-smog agency to oversee the region's war on pollution. The northern region already plans to cut industrial output and limit car use (Reuters) this winter. Sagatom Saha and Theresa Lou discuss China's coal problem in Foreign Affairs. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Report: Afghan Government's Reach Hits Two-Year Low The percentage of territory that Afghanistan's central government controls has reached its low point since a U.S. special inspector general began gathering such data two years ago. The Kabul government now controls or influences 57 percent (VOA) of the country's 407 districts. Foreign Affairs asked dozens of experts if it is time for a U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan. PAKISTAN: The party of deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has decided to back his brother, Shehbaz, as candidate for prime minister if Nawaz remains ineligible to run (Dawn) following a Supreme Court ruling in a corruption case against him. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Medical Charity: Yemen Cholera Outbreak on Decline The medical charity Doctors Without Borders has announced it will close most of its cholera treatment facilities in Yemen as an outbreak of the disease appears to wane. The organization said millions are still in "dire" health situations (BBC) without access to basic health care. Asher Orkaby discusses the roots of Yemen's humanitarian crisis in Foreign Affairs. IRAQ: The World Bank has approved $400 million in financing (Reuters) in addition to $350 million already approved in 2015 for reconstruction of Iraqi territory recaptured from the self-proclaimed Islamic State. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Mogadishu Bans Trucks During Daytime Somali officials imposed earlier this week a daytime ban on large trucks and tankers in the capital city following a truck bombing last month that killed more than 350 people (SMN). NIGERIA: The Russian state-owned atomic energy corporation Rosatom has signed a deal with Nigeria to build two nuclear power plants (BBC). The firm is reportedly involved in similar negotiations with Ghana and South Africa. EUROPE France's Airbus May Have Violated U.S. Arms Rules The Toulouse-based airline manufacturer Airbus said in a report on Tuesday it provided false information to the U.S. State Department regarding its compliance with rules (NYT) on arms sales abroad. The company also warned that penalties it may face from European corruption investigations could significantly undermine its finances. BOSNIA: Bosnian authorities said Tuesday they have extradited a terrorism suspect to the United States (AP). Local media have identified the suspect as Kosovo-born Mirsad Kandic, an alleged Islamic State supporter. AMERICAS Honduran, Nicaraguan Immigrants Face U.S. Deadline Nearly sixty thousand immigrants from the two central American countries will learn on Monday if their temporary protected status in the United States will be extended. The status became available to nationals of the two countries in 1999 following environmental disasters (VOA). COLOMBIA: Colombia's defense minister has authorized the use of air strikes against dissident rebels (Colombia Reports) formerly members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which signed a peace deal with the government last year. UNITED STATES California Wildfire Damage Claims Top $3.3 Billion Insurance claims after October wildfires that killed forty-three people and destroyed or damaged more than fifteen thousand homes and businesses now exceed $3.3 billion (AP), surpassing the total from California's 1991 Oakland Hills fire. Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: November 01, 2017 at 09:57PM
Daily Brief: Facebook Raises Estimate of Russia's U.S. Election Reach
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. October 31, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Facebook Raises Estimate of Russia's U.S. Election Reach Russia-based operatives published some eighty million posts on Facebook (Reuters) over a two-year period in an attempt to influence U.S. politics, reaching an estimated 126 million Americans, the social media company said Monday. The latest total far exceeds earlier disclosed estimates by the social media giant and is included in written testimony to be presented to U.S. lawmakers in hearings starting on Tuesday. Google publicly acknowledged for the first time on Monday it found evidence Russian operatives had used Youtube to influence American voters (WaPo). Twitter is expected to tell lawmakers it identified 2,752 accounts managed by one Russian firm (BBC), as well as more than thirty-six thousand automated accounts, or bots, that sent out 1.4 million tweets during the campaign. ANALYSIS "As a public and as citizens, we no longer know if we're seeing the same information or what anybody else is seeing, and without a common basis of information, little by little, public debate is becoming impossible," the University of North Carolina's Zeynep Tufekci said in a TED Talk. "The [Supreme] Court's vision of an internet able to inoculate democratic debate against the influx of money was always unrealistic," writes CFR's Karen Kornbluh. "The potential for Facebook to have an impact on an election was clear for at least half a decade before Donald Trump was elected," Alexis C. Madrigal writes for the Atlantic. PACIFIC RIM Seoul, Beijing to Mend Ties After U.S. Missile Defense Standoff Seoul and Beijing are seeking to bolster relations after a year-long standoff over China's opposition to the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea (Reuters), according to the latter's foreign ministry. The two countries' leaders will meet at a summit next week in Vietnam (Korea Times). NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand's climate change minister said the government is considering creating a new visa category for climate change refugees (Radio NZ). SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India Opens New Trade Route to Afghanistan India has dispatched its first shipment of wheat along a new trade route to Afghanistan that bypasses Pakistan by using the Iranian port of Chabahar (VOA). Six more shipments totaling 1.1 million tons are expected over the coming months. CFR's Alyssa Ayres discusses India's role in stabilizing Afghanistan in The Print. PAKISTAN: ExxonMobil has pulled out of a project to import liquefied natural gas to Pakistan (Reuters) through Karachi's Port Qasim, undermining what would have been a major boost to imports after years of winter gas shortages. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Civilians Killed in Strike on Libya's Derna Seventeen people, including a woman and four children, were reported killed in an air strike in the city of Derna (Libya Express), according to local media. It was not yet clear which country carried out the strike (Al Jazeera). GULF: The International Monetary Fund has projected economic growth in the Gulf Cooperation Community (Middle East Eye) to be just 0.5 percent this year and advised the oil-exporting nations to diversify their economies away from petroleum. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA U.S. Pledges $60 Million for Multinational Sahel Force The United States pledged $60 million on Monday (WSJ) toward a UN-backed antiterrorism force of five thousand soldiers from five West African countries. The force's annual operating budget is expected to be $500 million (NYT). ETHIOPIA: A war crimes trial for Eshetu Alemu, an aide to former communist leader Mengistu Haile Mariam, began at The Hague on Monday. Alemu is accused of ordering seventy-five people executed (BBC) during the 1970s. EUROPE Facing Charges, Catalan Leader Goes to Belgium Deposed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont traveled with several of his cabinet members to Brussels on Monday amid speculation he may seek asylum in Belgium (FT). Prosecutors in Madrid have charged him with rebellion, sedition, and embezzlement (DW). R. Joseph Huddleston discusses the roots of the Catalan independence crisis in Foreign Affairs. AZERBAIJAN: The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey inaugurated on Monday a new five-hundred-mile rail line (Reuters) connecting the three countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the railway, which links Europe and China while bypassing Russia, is "part of a big Silk Road." AMERICAS Brazil Posts Record Homicide Toll for 2016 More than sixty-one thousand people were murdered in Brazil last year (LAHT), according to data from the nongovernmental Brazilian Public Safety Forum. The total, up 4 percent from 2015, is Brazil's highest on record. Robert Muggah and Ilona Szabo de Carvalho discuss Latin America's homicide epidemic in Foreign Affairs. VENEZUELA: Three opposition parties have said they will not participate in municipal elections (BBC) in December, claiming the voting system is rigged in favor of President Nicolas Maduro's ruling party. UNITED STATES Three Former Trump Aides Charged in Russia Probe Special counsel Robert Mueller, leading a probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, has charged Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for President Donald J. Trump, as well as campaign advisors Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos with crimes including money laundering and conspiracy against the United States. Manafort and Gates surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (NYT), while Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents and is cooperating with Mueller's team. Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: October 31, 2017 at 10:01PM
Daily Brief: Kurdish Leader Resigns as Tensions With Baghdad Persist
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. October 30, 2017 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Kurdish Leader Resigns as Tensions With Baghdad Persist Kurdish President Masoud Barzani announced on Sunday he will step down this week (Rudaw) in the latest fallout from an October 1 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan opposed by Baghdad and the United States. Barzani's resignation comes as Iraqi forces have retaken over the last two weeks disputed territories that were controlled by Kurdish forces. The Kurdish parliament has voted on a bill on apportioning presidential power that appears to favor Barzani's nephew (WSJ), Nechirvan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. Barzani said Baghdad's recent military offensives were aimed at "breaking the will of the people of Kurdistan" (FT). ANALYSIS "Mr. Barzani's letter [of resignation] marks a rapid fall from grace. Only weeks ago he was the champion of his people’s long-harboured dream of statehood," Erika Solomon writes for the Financial Times. "It is an indictment of U.S. foreign policy that the two major players in the U.S.-led military campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) have come to blows: the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government," Ranj Alaaldin writes for Foreign Affairs. "By holding the referendum despite international opposition, not to mention outright rejection by Iraq's government and at a time when the Kurdish house was in disarray, Barzani was guilty of misjudgment that may set back the Kurdish independence struggle for years," Yezid Sayigh writes for the Carnegie Middle East Center. This episode of The President's Inbox looks at the Kurdish movement for independence. UNITED STATES Report: First Charges in Russia Interference Probe Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for President Donald J. Trump, and one of his former business partners have been told to surrender to federal authorities (NYT). The charges against the men, which have not yet been made public, represent the first in a special investigation into Russia's alleged interference in last year's presidential election. Puerto Rico has canceled a $300 million contract (VOA) with a Montana energy firm to restore its electrical grid following damage by Hurricane Maria. The company came under scrutiny for having just two full-time employees before winning the contract. PACIFIC RIM Thousands Protest in Favor of Myanmar Military Thousands of people demonstrated in support of Myanmar's military (VOA) in Yangon on Sunday. A crackdown by security forces on areas populated by Rohingya Muslim minorities since August has prompted an exodus of more than half a million refugees. Eric P. Schwartz of Refugees International discussed his recent trip to Myanmar at this CFR event. AUSTRALIA: Australia plans to cut water, electricity, and food supplies to a detention center (FT) for asylum seekers on the island of Manus on Tuesday. More than six hundred detainees have refused relocation to Papua New Guinea, where at least three attacks by locals against migrants have been reported. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Taliban Says U.S. Hostage in 'Dangerous' Health A professor from the American University of Afghanistan who was kidnapped by militants in August of last year (RFE/RL) is suffering from heart disease and kidney complications, according to a Taliban spokesman. The militant group has called on the United States to negotiate his release. INDIA: Donald Trump Jr. is expected to launch two residential projects in the South Asian country (WaPo) for the Trump Organization in the coming weeks. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA UN Condemns Mass Grave Found in Benghazi The United Nations and UN-backed government in Tripoli have condemned dozens of killings that resulted in a mass grave discovered east of Benghazi (Al Jazeera). Military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control eastern Libya, has vowed an investigation; witnesses said the victims had been arrested by Haftar's forces. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Kenya's Odinga Calls for New Election Opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for a new presidential election within ninety days (VOA) after boycotting a Thursday rerun of an August presidential election that the Supreme Court annulled over irregularities. Voting last week in four counties that are strongholds for Odinga was indefinitely postponed due to security concerns (Africa News). CFR's John Campbell says there's no end in sight for Kenya's election crisis. TOGO: President Faure Gnassingbe spoke publicly for the first time (Al Jazeera) since demonstrations began in August challenging his family's half-century-long rule. Gnassingbe, who took power in 2005, told his party's congress that Togo must be "courageous and patient to embrace this situation." EUROPE Catalan Leader Rejects Madrid Takeover Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has said he does not recognize Madrid's order (BBC) stripping him of control of the semiautonomous region. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called for regional elections in December, while Spain's foreign minister said Puigdemont could run for reelection if he is not in prison (Guardian). Sebastian Balfour discusses the history of Catalan nationalism in Foreign Affairs. EUROPE: The United Nations will vote on Monday on a proposal backed by France and Italy to create a five-nation security force (Guardian) to combat human trafficking and terrorism in the Sahel. AMERICAS Canada's Liberals Push Rise in Immigration Levels Canada's immigration minister said regarding a new immigration plan by his Liberal Party that accepting 300,000 immigrants a year (CBC) is Canada's "new normal," with family reunifications and demand from employers driving the increase. The country last year saw its fastest growth in immigrant arrivals (Globe and Mail) in three decades. MEXICO: Thousands of Mexicans paid homage to the nearly five hundred people killed in two earthquakes last month (NYT) during annual Day of the Dead celebrations on Saturday. Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org
Date: October 30, 2017 at 10:15PM
