A Singapore Summit | Iran Sanctions | Niger Ambush Report
Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. May 11, 2018 Daily News Brief TOP OF THE AGENDA Singapore to Host Kim-Trump Summit Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong hailed an upcoming summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald J. Trump, set to take place in his country on June 12 (Straits Times), as a "significant step on the path to peace." President Trump announced the date and location for the highly anticipated and unprecedented summit on Twitter yesterday. A White House spokesperson said Singapore was selected due to its neutrality and its ability to ensure the security of both leaders (Straits Times). President Trump reportedly preferred meeting Kim in the demilitarized zone (NYT), a location viewed as politically fraught by his advisors. ANALYSIS "Trump's negotiating record after almost 16 months in office shows him supremely confident and adept at making dramatic gestures and issuing hardball ultimatums. Yet he and his team have demonstrated little facility in constructing compromise on thorny issues such as the one he faces with Kim," Toluse Olorunnipa writes for Bloomberg. "Rather than concessions, the White House should consider offering Pyongyang the opportunity for military-to-military confidence-building and perhaps even an invitation to participate in joint exercises one day," writes CFR's Patricia M. Kim. "North Korea has been selling the same promise to denuclearize for 27 years, getting a good price every time," Mona Charen writes for the National Review. PACIFIC RIM Royal Pardon Paves Way for Malaysian PM's Successor New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia's king has agreed to pardon politician Anwar Ibrahim (Star), the de facto leader of the coalition that won the country's general election this week and who is in jail for corruption and sodomy. Ibrahim is expected to succeed Mahathir (Bloomberg), who is 92. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA In Tit-for-Tat, Pakistan to Impose Restrictions on U.S. Diplomats U.S. travel restrictions on Pakistani diplomats, which prohibit them from traveling outside twenty-five miles (VOA) of their U.S. embassies or consulates, take effect today. Pakistan's foreign ministry told the U.S. embassy in Islamabad it will place reciprocal measures (Dawn) on U.S. diplomats. UZBEKISTAN: The Uzbek government ordered the prosecutor general and labor ministry to end forced labor in the country (RFE/RL), where state employees and students at state-run schools have long been forced to work in cotton fields during picking season. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Iran Denies Attacking Golan Heights Israeli charges that Iran launched missiles at the Golan Heights (DW), territory controlled by Israel since 1967, were "freely invented and baseless," an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said. He said the Israeli claim was designed to justify a Thursday attack on Iranian positions in Syria. IRAN: The United States and the United Arab Emirates imposed sanctions on several Iranian companies and individuals for allegedly running illegal currency operations from the UAE (WSJ). They are the first sanctions announced since a U.S. decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement earlier this week. In Foreign Affairs, Seyed Hossein Mousavian writes that pulling out of the deal will push Iran further into the camp of U.S. geopolitical rivals. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Ugandan Lawmakers Oppose UN Base Move Lawmakers criticized a proposal by the UN secretary-general to relocate a major logistics base (VOA) from the city of Entebbe to Kenya's capital, Nairobi, calling the move an injustice in light of Uganda's contributions to regional peacekeeping missions. GAMBIA: The finance ministry said it will sell a fleet of luxury vehicles and planes (Reuters) that belonged to ousted leader Yahya Jammeh to pay off debt incurred during Jammeh's rule. EUROPE U.S. Is Not 'World’s Economic Policeman,' France Says The French finance minister said European companies should feel free to do business with Iran (AP) despite a U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions on Tehran, which prohibit foreign companies that use U.S. banks from trading with Iran. SPAIN: Exiled Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont endorsed lawyer and writer Quim Torra to become head of the regional government, a move that could end months of political deadlock (FT). AMERICAS Argentina Begins Talks With IMF The treasury minister met with the International Monetary Fund's managing director and a U.S. Treasury official to discuss a so-called standby agreement, in which the IMF would lay out reforms Argentina must pursue in exchange for aid, to stem the rapid decline of its currency (FT). NORTH AMERICA: U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Trump administration must notify lawmakers of any revisions to the NAFTA trade deal by next Thursday to give Congress enough time to vote on a new agreement (Reuters) before its current session ends. Andres Rozental and Rohinton Medhora discuss what lies ahead for NAFTA on this episode of the President's Inbox podcast. UNITED STATES DoD Issues Report on Deadly Niger Ambush A Defense Department inquiry into an ambush in Niger last October that killed several American and Nigerien soldiers [PDF] identified a series of institutional and individual failures leading up to the incident. Among those highlighted were junior officers' mischaracterization of the mission (NYT) and incomplete training. U.S. net neutrality rules will expire on June 11 (Reuters), the Federal Communications Commission said yesterday, paving the way for broadband service providers to explore charging customers more to access certain online content. 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: May 11, 2018 at 10:02PM
