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Daily Brief: Madrid Threatens to Suspend Catalan Autonomy

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Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. October 19, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Madrid Threatens to Suspend Catalan Autonomy Madrid vowed on Thursday to take emergency measures, including invoking a constitutional article (DW) that has never before been used, to prevent Catalonia from declaring independence from Spain. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont sent a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy shortly before a Thursday morning deadline threatening a formal declaration of independence (FT) by Catalonia's parliament. Rajoy called a special cabinet meeting for Saturday to decide whether to trigger Article 155 of Spain's constitution, which would allow Madrid to suspend the region's autonomy and take over governance. Some 90 percent of Catalan voters (NYT) favored independence in a referendum held earlier this month. ANALYSIS "Victory by force won't reconcile Catalonia to remaining part of Spain. Rajoy should drop the deadline and propose talks without preconditions," writes Bloomberg. "Madrid's heavy-handed response to the referendum has resulted in the Spanish state losing legitimacy among many, if not most, Catalans," Sebastian Balfour writes for Foreign Affairs. "Appeals to democracy have been used and misused by both sides in the dispute over Catalonia's referendum," Richard Youngs writes for Carnegie Europe.  PACIFIC RIM Labour's Ardern Set to Lead New Zealand The Labour Party's Jacinda Ardern, 37, is set to become New Zealand's youngest prime minister (NYT) in more than 150 years after a minor party threw its support behind her in a coalition government deal on Thursday. Her ascension marks an end to the center-right National Party's nine years in power. CHINA: China posted economic growth of 6.8 percent (WSJ) in the third quarter, boosted by strong manufacturing and exports.  SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Majority of Afghan Army Unit Killed in Attack At least forty-three soldiers from an Afghan army unit were killed in an attack in Kandahar Province on Thursday by militants using an explosives-laden vehicle (NYT). It was the third major attack on Afghan security personnel (BBC) this week. Kosh Sadat and General Stan McChrystal write that a political solution to the problem of the Taliban is preferable in Foreign Affairs. PAKISTAN: Ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter, and son-in-law were indicted in an Islamabad court (Dawn) on Thursday for corruption charges regarding the sources of income used to pay for luxury properties in London. All three pleaded not guilty.  MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Germany to Suspend Training of Iraqi Kurds The defense minister announced that Germany will suspend its training of the Iraqi peshmerga (DW), to whom the country has provided more than $100 million in weapons, to avoid sending what she called a "wrong signal." PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: The U.S. special envoy to the Middle East said Thursday that a new Palestinian unity government between the ruling Fatah party and the militant group Hamas must recognize the state of Israel and disarm Hamas (Middle East Eye). Dana El Kurd writes in Foreign Affairs that the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation takes Palestine a step back. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Somalia After Bombing Ten of thousands protested in major Somali cities on Wednesday, condemning a Saturday attack that killed nearly three hundred people. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and demonstrators denounced the militant group al-Shabab following the attack, though the group has yet to claim responsibility for it (VOA). SOUTH AFRICA: U.S. authorities are reportedly probing individuals and companies in the United States for connections to South Africa's Gupta brothers (FT), a prominent family accused of using its friendship with President Jacob Zuma to direct government appointments and win state contracts. EUROPE Czech Billionaire Front-Runner in Parliamentary Elections An antiestablishment party led by Czechoslovakia's second-richest man (DW) is a front-runner in parliamentary elections set for this weekend. The billionaire tycoon, Andrej Babis, has been skeptical of the euro (FT) and critical of European migration policy. AMERICAS Brazilian Olympics Head Charged With Corruption Federal prosecutors have charged Brazil's Olympic Committee president (NPR), Carlos Nuzman, and businessman Arthur Cesar de Menezes Soares Filho, a fugitive in the United States, with corruption and money laundering for a bribery scheme to secure Rio de Janeiro's successful bid (NYT) to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. This CFR Backgrounder looks at Brazil's corruption fallout. ARGENTINA: Authorities are working to identify a body discovered in a riverbed in southern Argentina (BBC) thought to be that of a missing activist who campaigned for indigenous rights. The activist's disappearance caused national outcry, leading both government and opposition parties to cease campaigning ahead of Sunday elections. UNITED STATES Tillerson Touts U.S.-India Relationship Ahead of Trip U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that "shared values and vision" with India make the United States, compared with China, a long-term partner for the South Asian nation (WSJ). Tillerson travels to India next week. Homeland security officials said Chad, a U.S. counterterrorism partner, was added to the Trump administration's latest travel ban because the country ran out of passport paper (AP) and could not provide a passport sample as part of compliance requirements.         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 19, 2017 at 10:03PM