Two Dozen Civilians Reported Dead in Syria's Idlib

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. January 8, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Two Dozen Civilians Reported Dead in Syria's Idlib An explosion and air strikes in Syria's opposition-held city of Idlib on Sunday have killed some forty people (Middle East Eye), including at least twenty-one civilians, according to a monitoring group. The explosion happened near a site used by an Islamist rebel group that draws fighters from Russia and the Caucasus (BBC), some of whom are among the dead, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Local media also reported two attacks outside the city, which is one of the last major rebel strongholds, including an air raid on the town of Jarjanaz. Separately, the Syrian government said it retook a military base outside Damascus (Al Jazeera) that had been under assault by rebels since November. ANALYSIS "This year may not yet be one of peace in Syria, but 2018 may be the last year of this brutal conflict. It has become clear that President Bashar al-Assad and his allies have won the war," Fabrice Balanche writes for Syria Deeply. "Instead of forcing the regime to compromise, the mechanisms of war and destruction, including the anti-Islamic State campaign, allowed it to block any political transition, destroy the prewar order, and create a new one in which it could survive," Kheder Khaddour writes for the Carnegie Middle East Center. "Even as Russia has assumed ownership of Syria, Washington and its allies control key spaces on the country's periphery and possess some relevant if non-decisive leverage," Sam Heller writes for War on the Rocks. PACIFIC RIM Iranian Tanker in Flames After Collision Near China International crews found one body and continued to search on Monday for missing Iranian and Bangladeshi crewmen after an Iranian oil tanker collided with a Hong Kong-flagged vessel (NYT) in the East China Sea late Saturday. The collision may have resulted in the worst oil spill (Reuters) since a 1991 disaster off the Angolan coast. AUSTRALIA: Sydney saw its hottest day on record since 1949 (SMH) on Sunday, at a temperature of 117 degrees Fahrenheit. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Pentagon Watchdog Criticizes Afghan Air Force Reforms The Pentagon's inspector general has released a report criticizing NATO-led efforts to reform Afghanistan's air force (VOA), saying the mission "does not have a plan" to develop a sustainable national force and has failed to define its end goal. INDIA: Four people were arrested for playing Pakistan's national anthem (TOI) at a cricket match in India-controlled Kashmir on Sunday, according to police.  MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA EU to Invite Iran Envoy Following Protests Germany's foreign minister said that he and the EU foreign policy chief will invite their Iranian counterpart to discuss recent anti-government protests in the country (RFE/RL). The German minister said he will not follow the U.S. position of calling on demonstrators to "take back" their government and warned against "instrumentalizing" domestic conflicts in Iran. In Foreign Affairs, Ariane M. Tabatabai writes that anti-government protests won't change Iran's foreign policy. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Zimbabwe Charges Ex-Ministers With Corruption Former foreign and energy ministers who served under ousted President Robert Mugabe (DW) were arrested and charged with corruption on Friday, their lawyers said. The arrests are the latest in a series targeting Mugabe-era ministers. In Foreign Affairs, CFR's John Campbell writes that the coup that ousted Mugabe will likely not lead to reform. SENEGAL: Gunmen killed thirteen people in the southern region of Casamance (AP) on Saturday; no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. A separatist insurgency has lasted in the region for over three decades. EUROPE Germany's Merkel Leads Fresh Coalition Talks German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she believes a new round of coalition talks, which began Sunday and include her Christian Democrats, its sister party, and the center-left Social Democrats, may yield a new government (BBC) after three months of political stalemate since a September general election. FRANCE: Corporate deals in France reached a ten-year record high in 2017, according to the data company Dealogic, totaling some $250 billion (FT). Ronald Tiersky writes in Foreign Affairs that President Emmanuel Macron is remaking France. AMERICAS No Evidence of Sonic Attacks in Cuba, U.S. Senator Says Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), after meeting with top Cuban officials on Friday, said the United States has found no evidence that sonic attacks (AP) were behind illnesses that affected some two dozen U.S. diplomats and their spouses beginning in 2016.  UNITED STATES East Coast Sees Coldest Temperature in Decades Temperatures in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island dropped to as low as -9 degrees Fahrenheit (Guardian) during a deep freeze across the region over the weekend. Boston marked its lowest temperature in a century. The United States is facing a nationwide shortage of intravenous bags (WSJ), which hospital officials say stems from hurricane damage to a major manufacturer in Puerto Rico. GLOBAL Civilian Deaths From Explosives Jump in 2017 More than fifteen thousand civilians were killed in 2017 by explosive weapons, an increase of 42 percent compared to the previous year, according to a new survey from the research and advocacy group Action on Armed Violence. The rise was driven by the near-doubling of civilian deaths (Guardian) from air strikes.         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: January 08, 2018 at 11:03PM