Daily News Brief

February 6, 2024

Top of the Agenda

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with ( NYT) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh yesterday to discuss a potential deal that would pause fighting and release hostages in the Gaza Strip. Blinken is on his fifth trip to the region since Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October attack on Israel, and will travel on to Egypt, Israel, Qatar, and the West Bank as diplomacy over the deal continues and as the United States seeks to contain further escalation with Iran-aligned forces in the region. Yesterday, an Iran-backed militia in Iraq took responsibility (CBS) for an attack on a Syrian base that killed six U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters. 

Despite the recent attacks between U.S. and Iranian-backed forces, the United States “will not escalate the conflict,” an unnamed senior State Department official told ( WaPo) reporters traveling with Blinken. Washington also aims for any potential deal to allow increased humanitarian aid to reach civilians in Gaza, the State Department said. 

Analysis

“The formation of [Iran’s axis of resistance] presents a direct challenge to the regional order that the West has created and defended in the Middle East for decades. It also—as Iranian and Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea demonstrate—presents a threat to global trade and energy supplies,” John Hopkins University’s Narges Bajoghli and Vali Nasr write for Foreign Affairs.  

“If a cessation of hostilities is achieved and Hamas can be removed from power—a big if—Blinken will need Washington’s Arab allies to help put in place a new governance structure [in Gaza],” the Washington Post’s John Hudson writes.

Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.

Pacific Rim

Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will begin construction (Reuters) on the $7 billion plant this year, which is due to start operating by the end of 2027. The project brings Taiwan’s total investment in its Japan venture to more than $20 billion. Japan has tried to rebuild its position as a leading chipmaker amid a decline in its sector and growing U.S.-China trade tensions.

This episode of the Why It Matters podcast explores the importance of the chipmaking world.

Singapore: The legislature amended (Straits Times) its legal code yesterday such that people judged as dangerous offenders could risk being jailed indefinitely. The new code also expands police powers to conduct searches without a warrant.

South and Central Asia

A Bangladeshi official confirmed the entry (AP) of more than one hundred members of Myanmar’s border police. It is the first known incident where Myanmar forces fled their post into Bangladesh since Myanmar rebel fighters launched an offensive against the government last year. A rebel group claimed to have captured a Myanmar post along the Bangladesh border yesterday; Myanmar’s military junta did not immediately comment.

Pakistan: Police in the second-largest province of Punjab raided the offices and homes of leaders of the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in recent days, Dawn reported. Authorities have been widely cracking down (FT) on the party ahead of the country’s general election on Thursday, creating turmoil across the country.  

This In Brief by CFR’s Noah Berman and Clara Fong explains why Pakistan is on edge ahead of this week’s vote. 

Middle East and North Africa

Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will lead (VOA) the probe, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres said would assess whether the UN agency for Palestinian refugees is doing “everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches.” Israel accused some agency staffers of involvement in Hamas’s October 7 attack, and the agency is set to lose ( NYT) $65 million by the end of February due to a series of subsequent donor withdrawals. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

Lawmakers approved ( NYT) the change yesterday, days after President Macky Sall announced that the vote would be delayed from its original date of February 25. Critics have called Sall’s move an “institutional coup” that allows him to stay in power past his term’s scheduled end. 

Sudan: Paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces shut down internet connections yesterday from two major providers while it demanded the restoration of internet connectivity in the western Darfur region, the state news agency reported and two unnamed sources told Reuters. Neither the providers nor the paramilitary force, which is battling Sudan’s military, commented on the matter. 

This In Brief by CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo and Diana Roy looks at the humanitarian impact of Sudan’s civil war.

Europe

The European Union (EU) is set to roll out ( WaPo) targets today for cutting emissions by 90 percent by 2040, a plan which will require a dramatic reduction in fossil fuel use across many sectors. The announcement comes after EU officials relaxed (FT) their targets for cutting agricultural emissions following farmers’ recent protests over the bloc’s green policies. 

Russia: The parent firm of tech company Yandex, also known as “Russia’s Google,” will sell (NYT) its assets in Russia for roughly $5 billion. It will be one of the biggest corporate exits from the country since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. 

Americas

Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) will extend a cease-fire (AP, AFP, Reuters, VOA) that had been in place since last August, both groups announced today at peace talks in Havana, Cuba. Under the agreement, the ELN will suspend kidnappings for ransom.

Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced (Bloomberg) yesterday that he is sending a series of constitutional reforms to Congress that include banning fracking, modifying Mexico’s pension system, and reforming the electoral system. Analysts say many of the bills are long shots that appear designed to energize López Obrador’s base ahead of elections in June.

United States

Individuals who use commercial spyware to target people, including activists, journalists, and perceived dissidents, could face (AP) visa restrictions under the new U.S. policy, Blinken announced yesterday. 

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