Brazil’s Lula Arrives in Beijing to Talk Business, War in Ukraine |
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, is leading a delegation (AP) of businesspeople and local officials on a two-day state visit to China, during which Beijing and Brasília are expected to sign at least twenty bilateral trade and investment deals. Lula has said he will also urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to support the possibility of a peace deal in Ukraine. While China is Brazil’s biggest export market, relations between the countries became strained under the administration of Brazil’s last president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is beginning her own trip (Reuters) to China today, with the aim of asserting a common European Union policy toward the country. French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent comments on resisting automatic alignment with U.S. policy on China prompted criticism and signaled divisions in the bloc’s own approach.
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“While geopolitics plays some role, Lula’s big bet on China is mostly about domestic politics & economic considerations. Normalizing and strengthening ties to Beijing is a unique opportunity for Brazil’s leftist president to build a rapport with pro-Bolsonaro agribusiness CEOs,” the Getulio Vargas Foundation’s Oliver Stuenkel tweets.
“Brazilian policymakers have long insisted on the virtue of a multipolar world order, but that insistence will be tested by the inescapable competition between China and the United States, the world’s two greatest powers. Lula must chart a course between these two countries, which are both essential partners for Brazil,” Harvard University’s Hussein Kalout and the University of São Paulo’s Feliciano Guimarães write for Foreign Affairs.
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Ghana Becomes First Country to Approve ‘High Efficacy’ Malaria Vaccine |
The new vaccine developed by the University of Oxford is the first to exceed (The Guardian) a World Health Organization (WHO) target of 75 percent efficacy, though the WHO has yet to recommend the jab for widespread use. In Ghana, an estimated 12,500 people died from malaria in 2021.
Sudan: A paramilitary group has mobilized troops (Al Jazeera) at several locations around the country, the army said. Tensions between paramilitaries and the army have hampered a December 2022 agreement to work toward restoring a civilian-led government in the wake of Sudan’s 2021 coup.
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR’s Michelle Gavin explains how infighting among security forces is delaying Sudan’s political transition.
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North Korean Missile Launch Triggers Brief Evacuation Warning in Japan |
The Japanese government told residents of Hokkaido island to seek shelter (Kyodo) after North Korea’s test launch today. It withdrew the warning soon after, as the missile did not land in Japan’s territory. On this episode of The President’s Inbox podcast, Jenny Town discusses North Korea’s nuclear advances. |
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ASEAN Condemns Myanmar Army Air Strike That Hit Village |
Tuesday’s attack targeted a ceremony that Myanmar’s parallel government held for one of its militias, killing dozens of people. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made little progress (Al Jazeera) in its efforts to bring peace to Myanmar after the country’s 2021 coup.
India: Authorities launched a probe (Reuters) into alleged tax violations by the BBC. It comes two months after the broadcaster aired a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. |
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Middle East and North Africa |
Bahrain, Qatar Restore Diplomatic Ties |
Bahrain and three of its Arab allies launched a diplomatic blockade against Qatar in 2017, and Manama is the last of the governments to reestablish ties with Doha (AFP).
Saudi Arabia/Syria: The countries’ foreign ministers held talks (AFP) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, about ending the Syrian civil war and resolving tensions between Syria and other Arab nations, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said. A delegation from Iran, which recently restored ties with Saudi Arabia, was also visiting the city.
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Russia’s ‘Near Shoot-Down’ of British Jet More Serious Than Originally Reported |
Defense officials from the United Kingdom had reported a “potentially dangerous” incident involving Russian fire near a British surveillance jet in September, but recently leaked U.S. intelligence and interviews with U.S. officials confirmed that the attack nearly downed the aircraft and could have amounted to an act of war. U.S. defense officials told the New York Times that the Russian pilot mistakenly believed he had permission to fire.
Ukraine: Kyiv launched an investigation (AP) into a video circulating online that appears to show Russian-speaking men beheading a Ukrainian soldier. The video’s authenticity and circumstances are still unverified. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces would be held responsible for the killing.
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Western Hemisphere Rights Court Calls for El Salvador to Restore Due Process |
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called for the restoration of all rights (AP) suspended under the country’s emergency anti-gang decree, which has been used to detain more than sixty-seven thousand people without giving them access to lawyers. Human rights groups have denounced the policy, in place since March 2022, citing arbitrary detentions and prison overcrowding.
This In Brief unpacks El Salvador’s controversial approach to gang violence.
China/Uruguay: Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo announced that he will travel to China (MercoPress) in the coming days to seek a free trade deal. |
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Leaker of Secret Documents Is Reportedly a U.S. Military Base Employee |
The person who posted images of classified U.S. intelligence on social media in recent months is a “young, charismatic gun enthusiast” who worked on a U.S. military base, the Washington Post reported, citing the man’s friend. Discord, the social media server where the leaks first appeared, said it is cooperating (Reuters) with government efforts to identify the leaker.
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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