Brexit and the Irish Border | Putin's White House Invite | Kunduz Strikes

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. July 20, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Brexit Battle Looms Over Irish Border British Prime Minister Theresa May, in a speech in Belfast, called the European Union’s current Brexit proposal on the Irish border “unworkable” and urged the bloc (Guardian) to evolve its position on the issue so they can move forward with negotiations, heightening fears a Brexit deal could be out of reach for the two sides. The European Union had said that a “hard border” between Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland could be avoided through a backstop solution in which the former remains largely within the bloc’s single market and customs union. May argued, however, that such a proposal would create a de facto border down the Irish Sea, between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. In the Friday speech, May said she will never accept (BBC) a “third country” customs border within her own country. ANALYSIS “The UK and the EU would prefer to solve the Irish border issue through an overarching economic and security deal. However the UK’s current red lines, which include leaving the customs union and the single market, make that very difficult and could lead to no deal at all,” John Campbell writes for the BBC. “If Britain refuses to enforce checks on the Irish Sea, it implies the EU would allow an open land border with the UK stretching 499 km, or enforce checks on the continent, disrupting the flow of Irish goods within the single market,” Alex Barker and Claire Jones write for the Financial Times. “[Northern Ireland staying in the customs union] would maintain the status quo for both nationalists and unionists, at the cost of watering down Brexit and angering pro-Brexit politicians and voters, perhaps leading to the downfall of the current government led by Prime Minister Theresa May,” Henry Farrell writes for Foreign Affairs. UNITED STATES White House Invite to Putin Surprises Intel Chief U.S. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats appeared blindsided when NBC’s Andrea Mitchell questioned him about a White House decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin (WaPo) to visit Washington this fall. While meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Trump appeared to question U.S. intelligence assessments led by Coats on Russian election interference. PACIFIC RIM South Korea’s Park Gets Additional Sentence Ousted President Park Geun-hye received an eight-year prison sentence (Korea Times) on Friday for loss of state funds and election interference. The latest sentence comes on top of the twenty-four-year one she is already serving for corruption. AUSTRALIA: The United Nations criticized Australia for a policy of “actively and indefinitely separating” (VOA) parents and children seeking asylum in the country, citing a recent case in which a Sri Lankan man was deported while his partner and infant child remained in Australia. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Civilians Killed in Kunduz Air Strikes At least fourteen people, including women and children, were reportedly killed during joint U.S.-Afghan air strikes in northern Kunduz Province. A U.S. military official said he did not have indications (WaPo) the U.S. strikes caused civilian deaths, while an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesperson said the government was “deeply saddened” by the report.  This CFR panel examined the United States’ longest war.  INDIA: Whatsapp, a messaging app owned by Facebook, announced it will limit message forwarding (Hindustan Times) by its users in India. The move comes after the government complained that rumors and misinformation are “propagated by mischief mongers” on the app. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Iraq’s Sadr Backs Protesters in South Influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose political bloc won in a May general election, called on politicians to hold off forming a government (Reuters) until they meet what he called “rightful demands” raised by protesters in the country’s south. Demonstrators have called for fair distribution (AP) of natural resource revenue. SYRIA: A Michigan man accused of being a fighter for the self-proclaimed Islamic State and an Indiana woman who married an Islamic State militant were apprehended by U.S.-allied forces in Syria (NYT) and are expected to be brought to the United States for prosecution. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA U.S. Renews Protections for Somalis The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is extending temporary protected status (VOA) through 2020 for some five hundred Somali migrants living and working in the United States due to ongoing conflict in their home country.  CFR lays out how temporary protected status (TPS) works. UGANDA: The government plans to maintain a recently imposed social media tax (Quartz) despite widespread protests, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija announced, citing the need to curb harmful gossip on social sites and apps. EUROPE Spanish Court Strikes Catalan Leader’s Extradition Order A Spanish supreme court judge dropped international arrest warrants (Guardian) for former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who was being held in Germany. A German court had recently ruled that Puigdemont could be extradited to Spain, but not on charges of rebellion. AMERICAS Nicaragua’s Ortega Speaks Out on Protester Crackdown President Daniel Ortega told a crowd of supporters yesterday that the government’s response over the last three months to protests against his rule has been “a painful battle" (AP), referring to Nicaragua’s Catholic church as allies of “coup mongers.” Human rights groups have estimated more than 350 deaths since April. COLOMBIA: Nearly one-fourth of some 870,000 Venezuelan refugees tracked by Colombia’s migration agency have relocated to the capital of Bogota, according to a new report (Colombia Reports). Other major recipients include Medellin and Cali, as well as border cities. CFR’s Shannon K. O’Neil discussed Venezuela’s migration crisis.         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 20, 2018 at 10:09PM