Daily Brief: European, African Leaders Vow Military Action on Migrant Crisis

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. November 30, 2017 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA European, African Leaders Vow Military Action on Migrant Crisis French President Emmanuel Macron said European states will undertake military operations in Libya (EUobserver) to fight slave trafficking there, and to assist African migrants attempting to reach Europe to instead return to their home countries. The announcement came Wednesday during an annual African Union–European Union summit in the Ivorian city of Abidjan. European Council President Donald Tusk said the two regions share responsibility to make migration more humane (Reuters) following recent reports of Libyan human traffickers auctioning African migrants. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to return stranded migrants (BBC) back to their home countries. U.S. President Donald J. Trump is set to meet with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj (Guardian), head of the UN-backed government, at the White House on Friday. ANALYSIS "Libya cannot be used as a convenient place to park the blame for the international community's failure to deal with a global migration crisis," Guma El-Gamaty writes for the New Arab. "Since the EU intensified efforts earlier this year to prevent African migrants from traveling north in their thousands, Libya, once a funnel to Europe, has now largely turned into a dead end," Francesco Semprini and Jacob Svendsen write for the Guardian. "Washington's current priority is to prevent jihadist groups such as ISIS from gaining a foothold in the country. But apart from that limited mission—which is likely to be supported by a small number of U.S. Special Forces—the United States is now content to let its close allies tackle Libya the way they see fit," Jalel Harchaoui writes for Foreign Affairs. PACIFIC RIM U.S. Moves to Deny China Market Economy Status In a legal filing to the World Trade Organization expected to be released Thursday, the United States argues that China should not be granted market economy status (FT). Such recognition would make it harder for the United States to bring anti-dumping cases against Chinese firms. CFR's Brad W. Setser writes that the United States' traditional Asian allies are a bigger concern than China when it comes to trade imbalances. AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced a royal commission inquiry into the country's banking sector following charges of misconduct (BBC), including rate-rigging and insurance fraud. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Three Killed in U.S. Strike on Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Pakistan intelligence officials said that a U.S. drone strike on Thursday killed three suspected Taliban-affiliated militants (RFE/RL), while an Afghan provincial government spokesman said the death toll was seven. Whether the strike took place on Afghan or Pakistani soil (AP) was unclear. UZBEKISTAN: A Wednesday flight from Kabul on Afghanistan's Kam Air marked the start of the first-ever direct commercial service (RFE/RL) between the Afghan capital and Tashkent.  MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA UK Calls on Saudi Arabia to Ease Yemen Siege UK Prime Minister Theresa May, during a three-day Middle East tour, said Saudi Arabia must ease its blockade on Yemen to avoid worsening the "humanitarian catastrophe" there (Al Jazeera). The Red Cross said it has made an "unsustainable" decision (BBC) to purchase a month's worth of diesel fuel for pumping and sanitation to supply clean water to two Yemeni cities. SAUDI ARABIA: A Saudi prince detained for three weeks on corruption charges (BBC) was released on Tuesday after reaching a settlement worth $1 billion (Reuters), authorities said. Andrew Leber and Christopher Carothers ask in Foreign Affairs if the purge underway in Saudi Arabia is really about corruption. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AFRICOM Denies Charge U.S. Forces Killed Somali Civilians The U.S. Africa Command has denied a report (Military Times) that alleges U.S. special forces massacred villagers near the town of Bariire in an August operation, saying only armed enemy combatants were killed. The report, which claims ten civilians were killed (Daily Beast), includes interviews with surviving villagers and Somali investigators.  EUROPE Netherlands to Probe Convicted War Criminal's Death Dutch prosecutors have announced a probe into the death of Slobodan Praljak (DW), a former Bosnian Croat general who appeared to drink poison after his appeal at the Hague was rejected on Wednesday. Prosecutors say they will look into whether Praljak received outside help to obtain the substance. TURKEY: An Iranian-Turkish gold trader testified at a New York trial on Wednesday that he paid more than $50 million in bribes (AP) to Turkey's economy minister in 2012. CFR's Steven A. Cook writes in Politico that Turkey feels burned by Trump. AMERICAS Honduran Election Results Remain Unclear Vote tallies for President Juan Orlando Hernandez and rival candidate Salvador Nasralla were within a tenth of a percentage point (FT) of each other with 83 percent of ballots from a Sunday election counted. Nasralla has accused the electoral court (BBC) of manipulating the vote count. ARGENTINA: Twenty-nine former Argentine officials were given life sentences on Wednesday for the torture and murders of thousands of people (NYT) suspected of opposing the military regime in power from 1976 to 1983. UNITED STATES British Leaders Rebuke Trump for Sharing Anti-Muslim Videos London Mayor Sadiq Khan said President Trump should apologize to the British people (London City Hall) for sharing videos on Twitter from a far-right British group that purported to show Muslims carrying out acts of violence. Prime Minister Theresa May also denounced the social media posts (Al Jazeera). A committee that controls broadcast journalists' access to Capitol Hill has revoked credentials for the Russian television outlet RT after the company was obliged earlier this month to register as a foreign agent (AP).         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 30, 2017 at 11:02PM