North Korean Hardball | Malaysia's Anwar Released | Backlash Over Gaza

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. May 16, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA North Korea Threatens to Cancel Kim-Trump Summit Pyongyang canceled high-level talks with Seoul scheduled for today in protest of ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills (Korea Times) and said it would reconsider a June summit between leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald J. Trump. A North Korean vice minister of foreign affairs accused top U.S. officials of contradicting intentions for dialogue by asserting that the country abandon its nuclear weapons ahead of any sanctions relief (NYT). A South Korean presidential spokesperson said Seoul believes Pyongyang is still committed to abandoning its nuclear weapons program (Yonhap) and that the cancellation is a "pain we must endure to get good results." ANALYSIS "North Korea and the U.S. agreed on the big picture, but they still have different ideas on a detailed process. Pyongyang is trying to boost its negotiation power with such actions," Jin Chang-soo told the Nikkei Asian Review. "With the drills as a pretext, Pyongyang is indirectly expressing discontent at the recent hard-line stances from Washington, such as moving the North's nuclear weapons to the U.S., removing biochemical weapons and raising an issue of human rights abuse," Shin Beom-chul said in an interview with the Korea Times. "South Korea's objectives largely align with those of the United States. But because a conflict would inevitably spill onto its own soil, South Korea is more likely to privilege political solutions over military ones," Robert Jervis and Mira Rapp-Hooper write for Foreign Affairs. PACIFIC RIM Malaysian Party Leader Released From Prison Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim left prison, where he was serving a five-year sentence on sodomy charges, after receiving a royal pardon (Star) on Wednesday. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has indicated he would hand power to Anwar (Guardian), leader of Mahathir's party coalition, in several years. In World Politics Review, CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick discusses the surprise defeat of Malaysia's ruling party in last week's election. INDONESIA: The self-proclaimed Islamic State said it was behind an attack on a police station (Al Jazeera) on the island of Sumatra, in which at least one officer was killed. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Taliban Launches Attack on Afghan Province's Capital The governor of Farah Province fled and local security forces retreated to their compounds on Tuesday as militants raided Farah city (Guardian), near the Iranian border. Insurgents carried out several similar attacks on the city last year. This CFR panel examined the United States' longest war. AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN: The neighboring countries concluded a fourth round of meetings on a joint peace plan, which included commitments to deny use of their territories (Tolo) to groups carrying out what they called anti-state activities across the border. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Diplomatic Backlash Over Gaza Violence Grows The Palestine Liberation Organization recalled its top envoy to the United States (Hill) and Turkey expelled its Israeli ambassador (Haaretz) after Israeli forces killed sixty Palestinian protesters on Monday, when the United States opened a new embassy in Jerusalem. Britain and Germany called for an independent probe (DW) into the killings. In Foreign Affairs, Khaled Elgindy discusses the political perils of neglecting Gaza and East Jerusalem. SYRIA: A global chemical weapons watchdog concluded that chlorine gas was likely used (DW) in a February attack on the town of Saraqeb in Idlib Province. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Africa Sees Sharpest Increase in IDPs in 2017 The number of internally displaced people across sub-Saharan Africa jumped by more than eight million last year, according to a new report by the Swiss monitoring group IDMC. Some 2.2 million of newly displaced people in the region were in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ETHIOPIA: The Foreign Affairs Ministry denied reports that Ethiopian envoys participated (Addis Standard) in the opening of a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on Monday. A Nigerian presidential official also denied his country's ambassador to Israel attended the event (Guardian). EUROPE Italian Parties Near Deal to Form Government Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right Northern League, said his party and the antiestablishment Five Star Movement will soon conclude government coalition talks (Bloomberg). A leaked draft of a coalition deal included a provision that would allow Italy to leave the eurozone (FT), though both parties have said such a provision has been removed. GERMANY: Six former employees of German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch are on trial on charges that they illegally exported weapons to Mexico (DW). AMERICAS Kellogg's Pulls Out of Venezuela The U.S.-based food company Kellogg's, which produces most of the breakfast cereal consumed in Venezuela (WSJ), said it is closing its operations there due to "economic and social deterioration." This CFR panel discussed how the United States should address Venezuela's humanitarian and political crisis. CUBA: The EU foreign affairs chief, while meeting with her Cuban counterpart, said the island nation could serve as a mediator (Reuters) between Venezuela's government and opposition. UNITED STATES U.S. Designates Head of Iran's Central Bank a Terrorist The United States added the head of Iran's central bank, accused of funneling money to Lebanon's Hezbollah (NYT), as well as another top bank official and the chairman of Iraq's al-Bilad Islamic Bank, to its global terrorist list. GLOBAL Total Billionaires Worldwide Reached 2,754 in 2017 The number of billionaires grew by roughly 15 percent last year (Guardian), according to a new report by the research firm Wealth-X, which said the increase was due to the "remarkable performances in equity markets and global economy."         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 16, 2018 at 10:05PM