Daily News Brief

May 4, 2023

Top of the Agenda

Russian forces launched aerial attacks (NYT) on Kyiv and Odesa last night after two drones exploded over the Kremlin yesterday. Moscow initially called the blasts a foiled Ukrainian attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kyiv categorically denied the accusation. After Moscow today turned its blame toward the United States (Reuters), U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby denied U.S. involvement. No casualties were immediately reported from the strikes on Kyiv and Odesa.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in The Hague, the headquarters of the International Criminal Court, where he called for a special tribunal to prosecute Putin for war crimes. The court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March.

Analysis

“Good reasons to be wary [of Moscow’s claims]: Russia has reasons to play up attacks on Kremlin, [including] legitimating the war & appealing to China for weapons,” the Economist’s Shashank Joshi tweets.

“Leaked secret Pentagon documents show that while the American military is indeed providing battlefield targeting data to Ukraine, American officials have worked to dissuade Ukraine from potentially provocative strikes on Moscow,” the New York Times’ Anton Troianovski writes.

Pacific Rim

U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to attend the yet-unscheduled talks. Kerry told Reuters that he would visit China after Beijing clarifies its plans to reduce methane emissions and transition away from coal.

China: Ethnic Uyghurs found to possess any of fifty thousand specific media files, including a digital Quran, can be interrogated by police (Al Jazeera) for alleged extremism, a Human Rights Watch investigation found. 

This Backgrounder looks at China’s repression of Uyghur Muslims.

 South and Central Asia

The officials are meeting (AP) in the Indian state of Goa ahead of tomorrow’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on Asian security. Issues of concern to New Delhi include Chinese troop deployments near the disputed China-India border and Moscow’s growing dependence on Beijing.

India: Authorities patrolled the streets and suspended internet services (AP) in the northeastern state of Manipur after protests by predominantly Christian tribal groups turned violent. The demonstrators were objecting to demands for special status by the majority Hindu community.

Middle East and North Africa

Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker yesterday, the U.S. Navy said. Iran had seized a Marshall Islands–flagged vessel six days ago. Two unnamed sources told the Wall Street Journal that the first seizure was in retaliation for U.S. efforts to redirect a ship delivering Iranian crude oil to China. 

Iran/Palestinian territories: During a visit to Damascus today, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with Khaled Abdul-Majid (AP) and other Syria-based Palestinian officials to express Iran’s “support to the resistance and the Palestinian cause,” Abdul-Majid said.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Heavy fighting was reported across Sudan’s capital (Reuters), Khartoum, despite both of Sudan’s warring parties agreeing to begin a seven-day truce today. More than five hundred people have been killed since the fighting broke out last month, Sudanese authorities said. 

Ethiopia: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) followed the United Nations in temporarily suspending food aid (Reuters) to Ethiopia’s Tigray region due to reports of food theft. 

Europe

For the first time, wealthy countries are due to meet their annual goal (Reuters) of donating a combined $100 billion in climate financing for lower-income countries, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at a Berlin meeting on climate change. Donor countries were meant to reach the funding goal every year since 2020. 

This Backgrounder discusses the successes and failures of global climate agreements.

Americas

Police killings of demonstrators who protested the removal of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Terrones in December could amount to a “massacre” (Al Jazeera), according to a new report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 

CFR’s Will Freeman looks at the mass protests that rocked Peru.

Mexico: Officials announced that the Mexican government and a local pharmaceutical company developed a COVID-19 vaccine (AP), though it is unclear whether it will be widely used in the country.

United States

Both houses of Congress passed a bill to reinstate tariffs (Bloomberg) as high as 254 percent on Chinese-made solar panels. U.S. President Joe Biden has opposed the tariffs, saying they would slow the country’s transition to green energy.

Council on Foreign Relations

58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065

1777 F Street, NW — Washington, DC 20006

Shop the CFR Store

Forward This Email

Manage Your Email Preferences