Russia Retaliates for Diplomatic Expulsions

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. March 30, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Russia Retaliates for Diplomatic Expulsions Russia's foreign ministry summoned ambassadors from several countries that it says have "taken unfriendly actions" toward Moscow (TASS) in the wake of a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy on UK soil, which the British government attributed to Moscow. The move comes a day after Moscow said it would expel 150 Western diplomats, including sixty from the United States (FT), in response to mass expulsions of Russian foreign service officers by more than twenty-five countries (Guardian) earlier this week. Russia also ordered the U.S. consulate in Saint Petersburg to be closed. Russia has denied any role in the poison attack. ANALYSIS "Such expulsions are highly symbolic. Historically, it has been almost impossible to know exactly what impact, if any, these shake-ups have on Russia's intelligence capability," Yasmeen Serhan writes for the Atlantic. "What we're hearing is a far broader set of grievances toward Russia. The diplomatic message is: Russia has ceased to be a member of European polite society. It acts like an outlier and will be treated as such," said CFR's Stephen Sestanovich. "This sacrifice will be for naught if the solidarity presented by the West is tarnished by Trump's instinct to break ranks," Nina Jankowicz writes for the New Republic. PACIFIC RIM China, Vatican in Talks on Bishops One of two Vatican-appointed clergy at the center of a dispute between China and the Catholic Church over the appointment of bishops (WSJ) was allowed by Communist Party officials to perform a Maundy Thursday mass. China and the Vatican are reportedly nearing a deal on bishop appointments. This CFR Backgrounder looks at Christianity in China. VIETNAM: Some thirty-five thousand new high-end residential units have been put on the market in Ho Chi Minh City in the past three years as the real estate market has accelerated (FT) amid an economic boom. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Cruise Missile A military spokesperson said Thursday that Pakistan tested a submarine-launched cruise missile with a 280-mile range as a response to "provocative nuclear strategies" (VOA) being pursued by neighboring countries. AFGHANISTAN: Hundreds of women activists (RFE/RL) in Helmand Province's Lashkar Gah pitched tents and vowed to carry out a hunger strike as parts of larger protests calling for a cease-fire (NYT) in the area. CFR's Jamille Bigio, Rachel Vogelstein, and Anne Connell write that Afghan peace talks must include women negotiators. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA One Dead as Gaza Protests Begin A Gaza farmer was killed overnight when Israeli forces fired on two people they said "carried out suspicious activity" (Ynet) near the border fence. On Friday, thousands of Palestinians began protests in Gaza (Haaretz) that are set to run for six weeks. SYRIA: A spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition fighting in Syria said two of its personnel were killed (WaPo) and five were wounded by an improvised explosive device. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Ethiopia to Confirm New Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali is set to become prime minister on Saturday, some six weeks after the surprise resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn. He will be the first member of the Oromo ethnic group to lead the ruling coalition (DW), the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front. SOMALIA: The Red Cross said one of its staffers died in a car bombing (AP) outside its Mogadishu office that also injured two others. EUROPE France's Macron Offers Support to Syrian Kurds A Kurdish official said President Emmanuel Macron offered to send French troops (Reuters) to the city of Manbij in the country's north to support local forces fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State and counter Turkish advances on the area. In the Atlantic, CFR's Steven A. Cook discusses why Turkey is attacking Syria's Afrin. GERMANY: The deputy interior minister said he will soon present plans for so-called migrant anchor centers in Germany (DW), which could hold asylum seekers for up to eighteen months while their applications are reviewed. AMERICAS Associates of Brazil's Temer Arrested Brazilian federal agents arrested several people as part of a probe into whether President Michel Temer took bribes (AP) in exchange for contracts at the country's largest port, according to local media reports. Those arrested include a former aide to Temer and a former police colonel. This CFR Backgrounder looks at Brazil's corruption fallout. COLOMBIA: More than half of the rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who entered demobilization camps (Al Jazeera) after signing a landmark peace accord with the government in 2016 have left them, according to the United Nations. UNITED STATES Judge Rules on U.S. Asylum Process In a class action lawsuit brought by immigrant rights groups, a Seattle district judge found that the Department of Homeland Security routinely does not inform asylum seekers of application deadlines (VOA) to remain the United States and ordered the government to make changes to its review process for asylum seekers.         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: March 30, 2018 at 10:08PM