UK Cabinet Resignations | Thai Cave Rescue | India Gay Rights Case

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. July 10, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Resignations Rock May’s Cabinet UK Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to fight any attempts to oust her (FT) after two prominent pro-Brexit ministers and three junior members of her government resigned over disputes about May’s plan for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who resigned on Monday, said Britain would be “headed for the status of colony” (Vox) under May’s Brexit plan. Johnson’s exit came just hours after the resignation of Brexit Secretary David Davis, who accused the prime minister (BBC) of “giving away too much, too easily” in negotiations with Europe. Johnson and others in the “leave” camp fear that May’s negotiating strategy could limit Britain’s ability to strike trade deals (Guardian) with non-EU countries. ANALYSIS “The resignations of the foreign and Brexit secretaries are causing a short-term crisis, but a large majority of Conservative MPs do not support them. They are what the Chinese would call ‘paper tigers’,” Malcolm Rifkind writes for the Guardian. “As much as the hardcore Brexiteers huff and puff about May going soft and betraying the legacy of Henry VIII—who started the English Reformation rather than bowing to the will of a European authority, the Pope—they have presented no convincing answers to the challenges with which the Prime Minister and her advisers have been wrestling,” John Cassidy writes for the New Yorker. “[The UK does] not want to recognize the necessity of the freedom of movement of people, which is a key principle of the single market. They do not want to pay. They do not want to recognize the regulatory framework of the EU. The don't want to be part of our trade policy. Those are the red lines of the UK—not our red lines, their red lines,” EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said at a CFR event. PACIFIC RIM Entire Soccer Team Rescued From Thai Cave Divers on Tuesday rescued the remaining four young soccer players, as well as their coach, trapped in a cave (CNN) in northern Thailand. The head of the international rescue operation, which sought to guide the team of twelve boys and the coach out amid rising water levels, called it a “race against time.” JAPAN: Rescuers in the country’s west continued to look for dozens of people still missing after heavy rains and mudslides that began last week. At least 155 people have died (Kyodo), the highest death toll due to heavy rains in Japan since 1982. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA India’s Top Court Hears Landmark Gay Rights Case The Supreme Court of India will hear a series of petitions seeking to overturn a colonial-era law that criminalizes same-sex intercourse (Guardian). A New Delhi court ruling had effectively struck down the ban in 2009, but the supreme court reinstated it in 2013 following an appeal by religious groups (Hindustan Times). AFGHANISTAN: Some two hundred religious scholars from fifty-seven countries are in Saudi Arabia today to discuss how to end the conflict in Afghanistan (Tolo). MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA China Announces $20 Billion in Middle East Loans President Xi Jinping told a gathering of envoys from twenty-one Arab countries in Beijing that the roughly $20 billion in loans will fund an “industrial revival” (Reuters) in the oil, gas, nuclear, and clean energy sectors in the region. Xi also pledged $106 million in aid to Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen. IRAQ: Electoral authorities began a manual recount (AP) of ballots from six provinces where some groups alleged fraud during May parliamentary elections. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Regional Blocs Welcome Eritrea-Ethiopia Peace Deal The African Union called plans between Ethiopia and Eritrea to renew diplomatic relations (Africa News) after two decades of hostility a “milestone,” while the European Union said the move “raises unprecedented prospects for reconciliation.” The neighboring countries declared an end (NYT) to their state of war on Monday. CFR’s Michelle D. Gavin looks at Ethiopia’s long political transition. NIGERIA: Nearly forty political parties announced an opposition alliance that has resolved to back a single candidate (Vanguard) in next year’s presidential election in a bid to oust President Muhammadu Buhari. EUROPE Turkish Lira Tumbles With Erdogan’s Cabinet Picks President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his new cabinet yesterday, naming his son-in-law (Bloomberg) the next finance minister. Following the announcement, the lira dropped the most since a 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan. CFR’s Henri J. Barkey discusses what Erdogan’s reelection means for Turkey, Syria, and the Kurds. AMERICAS Major Armed Group to Demobilize, Says Colombia’s Santos President Juan Manuel Santos announced that the country’s largest paramilitary group, the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or the Gulf Clan, will begin its surrender (Colombia Reports) in the coming days. The group did not confirm a demobilization plan. HAITI: A transportation strike over recently increased fuel prices brought Port-au-Prince (LAHT) effectively to a standstill yesterday. UNITED STATES Judge Rejects Move to Change Migrant Detention Rules A Los Angeles judge rejected the Trump administration’s bid to amend a decree prohibiting the long-term detention of migrant families (LA Times), calling it a “cynical attempt” to shift responsibility for immigration policy to the courts. The judge said nothing is preventing the government from reconsidering what she called a policy of “blanket detention.” This CFR Backgrounder looks at the U.S. immigration debate. More than twenty thousand businesses and residences in Puerto Rico were without power (Miami Herald), including 1,500 that never regained power after Hurricane Maria last year, as storms caused by what was Hurricane Beryl swept over the island.         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: July 10, 2018 at 10:01PM