South Korea's Park Sentenced | New Gaza Protests | Turkey's Global Dragnet

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. April 6, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA South Korea's Park Sentenced to Twenty-Four Years Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye received a twenty-four year prison sentence and nearly $17 million fine (Yonhap) at the televised conclusion of her corruption trial. The Seoul Central District Court had found Park guilty of conspiring with a longtime associate to solicit bribes from large South Korean conglomerates (NYT), including Samsung, whose vice chairman was convicted of bribery but released from prison in February on appeal. Park, who did not attend the hearing, has boycotted court proceedings since October, saying that she is in poor health and the victim of a political conspiracy. Her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, was detained last month and also faces corruption charges (Korea Times). ANALYSIS "Ms. Park’s removal from office—she was replaced as president by the liberal politician Moon Jae-in—represented a huge setback for her once-dominant conservative party," Choe Sang-hun writes for the New York Times. "The scandal exposed what has long been widely suspected in South Korea: an entangled web of government and the chaebol—sprawling business conglomerates that dominate the economy," Benjamin Haass writes for the Guardian. "The 24-year prison term is a de facto life sentence, considering Park is 66 years old," Shin Yul said in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review. UNITED STATES Trump Threatens Largest Round Yet of China Tariffs President Donald J. Trump said he has instructed the U.S. trade representative to determine whether the United States should impose tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods (NYT). Beijing and Washington announced tit-for-tat levies, both concerning $50 billion in their respective imports, earlier this week. CFR's Elizabeth C. Economy writes that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are in a race to the bottom on trade. The Treasury Department announced sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, a dozen companies, and seventeen officials under a law designed to punish Moscow for its interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Secretary Steven Mnuchin cited Russia’s actions in Crimea, Ukraine, and Syria, as well as its attempts to "subvert Western democracies" (Bloomberg). PACIFIC RIM Indonesia Blames Deadly Oil Spill on Foreign Vessel Indonesia attributed an oil spill last Saturday to a Panama-flagged coal ship (Jakarta Post), saying it broke a pipeline when it dropped its anchor. The spill, covering fifty square miles, caused a fire killing five fishermen (Reuters). SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Afghanistan Accuses Pakistan of Air Strikes Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said that Pakistani aircraft dropped four bombs on the border province Kunar (RFE/RL) but did not mention casualties. Pakistan denied the accusation, which came a day ahead of a Friday visit by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (Tolo) to Kabul. INDIA: The central bank ordered financial institutions to cease dealing with cryptocurrencies (CNBC), warning of the risks they pose to consumers and for money laundering. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Forty Reported Injured in Gaza Border Protests Turnout appeared smaller (Ynet) on the second consecutive Friday of protests by Gazans along the border with Israel. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported forty people injured from Israeli gunfire (Haaretz) there, while clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces also erupted in West Bank cities. SYRIA: A U.S. defense official said "nothing actually has changed" with regard to the two thousand U.S. troops deployed to Syria (VOA), saying the Pentagon always planned to "adjust" troop levels there as the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State winds down. President Trump said this week that he wants to bring the troops home. U.S. withdrawal would be a strategic victory for Iran, Russia, and the Islamic State, argues CFR President Richard N. Haass in the Axios World newsletter. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Zuma’s Corruption Trial Adjourned Until June Ousted President Jacob Zuma appeared at a Durban courthouse (FT) to face 783 counts of corruption, money laundering, fraud, and bribery related to a weapons deal with French arms manufacturer Thales (Mail & Guardian) from the 1990s. The trial was adjourned after twenty minutes until June. ETHIOPIA: Eleven journalists, politicians, and bloggers were released from prison and will not face charges after they were accused of displaying a banned flag (AP) and assembling unlawfully. Most of the group had been previously been let out of prison in mass releases earlier this year. EUROPE Turkey Claims Global Dragnet of Coup Suspects Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told a TV network that Turkish intelligence agents have seized eighty of the country's nationals (WaPo) accused of ties to the 2016 coup attempt, for which Turkey blames the Gulen Movement, in eighteen countries. Bozdag did not say whether the operations were carried out with local authorities, nor if the actions referred to deportations or arrests. Nate Schenkkan discusses Turkey's global purge in Foreign Affairs. GERMANY: A court granted arrested Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont release on bail, saying that he cannot be extradited on charges of rebellion (DW), since the comparable German crime, treason, requires evidence of violence. AMERICAS Brazil's da Silva Faces Friday Jail Deadline A federal judge ordered former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to surrender to authorities to begin a twelve-year prison sentence for corruption (NYT), though he ordered that da Silva be kept separate from the general prison population in light of the "dignity of the office he held." Da Silva's Workers’ Party said that he still intends to run for the presidency this year. VENEZUELA: Panama recalled its ambassador to Venezuela (DW) after Venezuela announced that it would cut financial ties with forty-six Panamanian companies and some two dozen officials for alleged involvement in money laundering (Reuters) by Venezuelan nationals.         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: April 06, 2018 at 10:18PM