Xi's Announcement | Pakistan's Polio Drive | Strikes in France

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. April 10, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Xi Denounces 'Zero-Sum Mentality' in Pro-market Speech Asian markets reacted positively to an announcement by President Xi Jinping (Bloomberg) that China would further open its economy. The liberalization measures will include lowering import tariffs on vehicles and relaxing foreign ownership rules in the automobile sector, Xi said. Xi's highly anticipated speech at the Boao Forum in southern China came amid fears of a possible trade war (Nikkei) following new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. The Chinese leader did not mention U.S. President Donald J. Trump by name but denounced what he called a Cold War mentality (WSJ) as "out of place." ANALYSIS "By emphasizing that China will seek cooperation with other countries to achieve a win-win solution, Xi is projecting himself as the gentleman here," Ben Kwong said in an interview with Bloomberg. "At the heart of complaints by the Trump administration, as well as among some officials in Europe, are policies they say are at odds with Beijing's earlier era of market liberalization," Lingling Wei writes for the Wall Street Journal. "This [trade] war is bad news for all but a tiny handful of politically influential Americans: Most Americans—consumers and producers alike—will be used as pawns in Mr. Trump's effort to protect markets for the tiny fraction of American producers who have his attention," Veronique de Rugy writes for the National Review. Independent Task Force Report The Work Ahead: Machines, Skills, and U.S. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century looks at how technology and globalization continue to reshape the workforce in unexpected ways.   PACIFIC RIM Australia Vows Probe Over Animal Cruelty The agriculture minister ordered a probe into his department (SMH) after reports of a die-off of more than two thousand sheep (Guardian) on a commercial ship bound for the Middle East due to overcrowding, heat, and unsanitary conditions. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Pakistan Launches New Polio Drive The government aims to vaccinate 38.7 million children (AP) under the age of five across the country, one of the few where the disease is still endemic. BANGLADESH: The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor asked the court to rule if it has jurisdiction to probe possible crimes (Al Jazeera) against members of the Rohingya ethnic minority forced out of Myanmar. CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick discusses the risks Rohingya refugees face in Bangladesh. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Saudi Arabia Signs Cultural Accords With France Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while on a three-day visit to France, signed agreements for the European nation to offer training to Saudi filmmakers and to help Saudi Arabia create a national orchestra (AP). IRAN: The country said it will enforce an exchange rate of 42,000 rials to the U.S. dollar after its currency fell to an all-time low against the dollar (Al Jazeera) at 60,000 rials on Monday. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Nigeria's Buhari to Seek Reelection President Muhammadu Buhari said he will seek a second term in a 2019 election (Vanguard) despite concerns over the seventy-five-year-old leader's extended trips abroad for medical treatment (FT). SOMALILAND: Lawmakers in Somaliland, a self-governing region of Somalia, approved a bill that would criminalize rape (Reuters), forced marriage, and sex trafficking. The region's president is expected to sign the bill in the coming weeks. This CFR Backgrounder looks at the Horn of Africa's breakaway state. EUROPE Daughter of Russian Ex-spy Discharged From Hospital Yulia Skripal, the daughter of a former Russian spy who was found poisoned along with her father in a UK city last month, was released on Monday (BBC). Her father remains hospitalized from the poison attack, which Britain says was carried out by Russia. CFR's Lori Esposito Murray discusses the history of the suspected nerve agent used in the attack. FRANCE: One-fourth of Air France flights were canceled on Tuesday as workers across the transportation sector continue strikes (Local) calling for higher pay and protests against proposed labor reforms. AMERICAS Brazilian Party to Still Register Lula as Candidate The Workers' Party said former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will still be its candidate (DW) in a presidential election this year even though Lula began a prison sentence for corruption over the weekend. The party called the former leader a political prisoner. COLOMBIA: A leader of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was arrested on U.S. drug charges (Colombia Reports). The FARC, now a political party, denounced his arrest as a major obstacle in the peace process (CNN), which shields former rebels from extradition for drug offenses committed before a December 2016 peace deal. UNITED STATES Arizona Sends Troops to Southern Border Arizona deployed more than two hundred National Guard troops (VOA) to its border with Mexico on Monday and said more are on their way. Texas sent 250 guard members on Friday, two days after President Trump ordered border states to post troops there (WaPo) to boost security. U.S. envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the UN Security Council that the United States will respond to a suspected chemical weapons attack (Al Jazeera) by the Syrian government regardless of whether the council decides to act.         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 10, 2018 at 10:16PM