Daily Brief: Zimbabwe's Mugabe Ignores Deadline to Step Down

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 20, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Zimbabwe's Mugabe Ignores Deadline to Step Down Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe ignored a noon deadline on Monday (Al Jazeera) to resign that was set by his ruling party, saying a military coup last week was not a challenge to his authority. The party, ZANU-PF, expelled Mugabe as the party's leader on Sunday and installed ousted Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa (VOA) as its new leader. The party has said it will impeach Mugabe if he declines to step down; legal experts say the process could take weeks. Thousands in the capital Harare and elsewhere demonstrated in street rallies against the president (WaPo) in the past week, the largest in the country's history. Mugabe, ninety-three years old, has been in power for thirty-seven years. ANALYSIS "For years, the ruling party ZANU-PF has been strategizing for a post-Mugabe era; should someone like Mnangagwa take over, Zimbabwe would have replaced an old rag with another old rag," Kamissa Camara said in an interview with Foreign Policy Interrupted. "The coup should not be seen as a popular uprising. Rather, it is a 'palace coup' within the governing ZANU-PF political party motivated by a struggle between two factions over who will succeed Mugabe when he is incapacitated or dies," CFR's John Campbell writes for the Hill. "Celebration is not because Zimbabweans prefer military rule, no. It simply demonstrates how Mugabe's long rule has become almost universally despised, even within his own party," Alex T. Magaisa writes for African Arguments. EUROPE German Coalition Government Talks Collapse Germany's centrist Free Democrats announced early on Monday they are exiting coalition talks (DW) with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and the left-wing Greens. Merkel, who won a fourth term in September, could call for new elections (Bloomberg) or choose to rely on a minority government. SPAIN: The attorney general, who had been leading a probe against pro-independence leaders from the Catalonia region, died suddenly from a kidney infection (NYT) while in Argentina for a law conference on Saturday. PACIFIC RIM U.S. Pulls Funding for Cambodian Elections Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than thirty years, has called on the United States to end all aid to his country (Reuters) after Washington announced on Friday it would cut funding to support the nation's elections in 2018. The move came after Cambodia's Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition party. Sebastian Strangio writes in Foreign Affairs that democracy is crumbling in Cambodia. MYANMAR: Speaking alongside Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi laid out a proposal for resolving the Rohingya refugee crisis (Bloomberg) that includes a cease-fire and repatriation of those who have fled Myanmar. CFR's Jamille Bigio discusses sexual violence against the Rohingya. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India Scraps Israeli Missile Deal India's Defense Ministry has reportedly canceled a deal to purchase $500 million in missiles (Indian Express) from an Israeli firm in favor of developing a version of the weapons at home. In anticipation of the deal, the Israeli company opened a missile manufacturing plant (Haaretz) in the city of Hyderabad this year with an Indian partner. PAKISTAN: Fatalities in Pakistan due to terrorism declined 12 percent from 2015 to 2016 (VOA), according to a new report by the Australia-based Institute of Economics and Peace. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Hariri to Return to Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who announced a surprise resignation from Saudi Arabia earlier this month and is now in France, said he will return to Lebanon for independence day celebrations (Al Jazeera) this week. Lebanese President Michel Aoun is expected at that point to either reappoint Hariri to his post (Daily Star) or name a new candidate. Mohamad Bazzi discusses Hariri's resignation in this CFR interview. ISRAEL: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday an agreement with unspecified countries to deport forty thousand African asylum seekers (DW) from Israel. The deal is reported to include payments of $5,000 to Rwanda (Haaretz) for each deported migrant it accepts. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Kenyan Supreme Court Backs Incumbent's Win The Supreme Court has upheld an October rerun of Kenya's presidential election that handed victory to incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta (Bloomberg). Five people died during demonstrations on Friday (Standard) as opposition leader Raila Odinga returned to the country from the United States. AMERICAS Chilean Presidential Election Goes to Runoff Conservative former President Sebastian Pinera came out in first in the initial round (WSJ) of the country's presidential election on Sunday but failed to win enough votes to avoid a runoff against Socialist Alejandro Guillier. VENEZUELA: Ousted Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, an opponent of President Nicolas Maduro who has been under house arrest since 2015, has fled to Spain (BBC) to reunite with his family.  UNITED STATES Thousands March for Puerto Rico Aid Demonstrators in Washington on Sunday called for greater aid to Puerto Rico (WaPo). Half of the U.S. territory's residents are still without electricity and 10 percent lack running water two months after the island was hit by Hurricane Maria. The United States and Poland have reached a $10.5 billion arms deal (DW) that covers missiles, launching stations, and radars to be made by the U.S. defense giant Raytheon.         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 20, 2017 at 10:58PM