NATO Foreign Ministers Weigh Plan for Long-Term Military Fund for Ukraine |
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers are in Brussels today discussing plans (Reuters) for a potential multiyear fund designed to make Western military support to Ukraine more reliable and predictable, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. Diplomats briefed on the plans cited (FT) the possibility of a five-year fund worth some $100 billion, though the source of that financing was not immediately clear. Stoltenberg told press (NATO) today that U.S. delays in approving military aid to Kyiv had led to battlefield struggles, and said support “should be less dependent on short-term, voluntary offers.”
In effect, the proposal being weighed today could transfer (AP) some responsibility for channeling military aid from a group led by U.S. European Command to NATO. Stoltenberg also told reporters that the matter of Ukraine’s potential NATO membership is a question of “when, not if.”
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“Expanding NATO’s role would institutionalize the alliance’s support of Ukraine, ensuring continuity at a time when the United States’ commitment to Ukraine is in question. Second, NATO must work with Ukraine to articulate a long-term vision for the country’s military,” the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Ivo Daalder and Harvard University’s Karen Donfried write for Foreign Affairs.
“If allies back Stoltenberg’s proposal, a move by NATO to take a more active role in aid for Ukraine would mark a paradigm shift for the military alliance, which has previously distanced itself from those efforts to avoid being potentially drawn into a wider war with Russia,” Bloomberg’s Natalia Drozdiak and Peter Martin write.
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Biden, Xi Talk Bilateral Relations |
The nearly two-hour phone conversation between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday covered topics (CNN) including U.S. curbs on Chinese semiconductor technology, fentanyl, U.S. support for Taiwan, and North Korea’s nuclear posture. It was the leaders’ first time speaking since November and is part of ongoing attempts to defuse tensions. In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit China later this week.
Taiwan: At least nine people were killed (WaPo) and several hundred were injured today in Taiwan’s largest earthquake since 1999. The 7.4-magnitude seismic rift triggered tsunami warnings as far away as Japan and the Philippines, and prompted chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to evacuate several factories.
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Russia Weighs Removal of Terrorist Designation for Taliban |
A Kremlin spokesperson said yesterday that Moscow had important matters to discuss with the Taliban and was moving (Reuters) to remove the group from a list of banned terrorist organizations. He did not specify which issues Russia intends to discuss, but U.S. intelligence agencies have said the Afghan branch of the Islamic State was behind the terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow last month.
This In Brief by CFR expert Bruce Hoffman explains how the Moscow attack shows the troubling reach of the Islamic State.
India: The state oil company is in early talks (Bloomberg) with India’s Nuclear Power Corporation to build small nuclear power units in its refineries and allow private firms to manage and operate the reactors, a company official said. The talks come as several larger-scale nuclear projects face delays. Today, only China and Russia have such small nuclear units in operation.
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Middle East and North Africa |
More Aid Groups Suspend Gaza Food Distribution After Deadly Attack |
Aid groups Anera and Project Hope followed (The Guardian) charity World Central Kitchen in suspending deliveries to the Gaza Strip following the death of seven of its team members in an Israeli air attack on Monday. Israel’s military yesterday called (WaPo) the strikes a “grave mistake” and Israel’s defense minister pledged to open a “joint situation room” with international groups to better coordinate aid deliveries.
For Think Global Health, Ted Alcorn and Paul Spiegel discuss the situation inside Gaza’s relief efforts.
Egypt: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in (Reuters) for his third presidential term yesterday in a new capital building that is among the megaprojects he has championed. His six-year term comes after constitutional amendments extended the length of presidential tenure and allowed him to run for a third term.
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Senegal’s President Inaugurated, Names Prominent Opposition Figure as PM |
Bassirou Diomaye Faye rose from Senegal’s opposition coalition to the presidency after being detained as a political prisoner only weeks before the election. He pledged “systemic change” in the country during yesterday’s inauguration, after which he named (NYT) opposition figure Ousmane Sonko as prime minister in a post on social media site X.
Sudan: The government banned Saudi state-owned broadcasters (Reuters) Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, and the United Arab Emirates’ Sky News Arabia, Sudan’s state news agency reported. A national journalists’ organization condemned the move as a violation of freedom of the press.
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Ukraine Lowers Military Conscription Age to Twenty-Five |
Today’s drop from the previous age of twenty-seven is part of Ukraine’s efforts to increase the number of troops able to fight in the war against Russia. Ukraine’s parliament passed the law last year, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy only signed it into law (AP) yesterday. He did not immediately comment on the decision. |
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Mayoral Candidate Murdered in Mexico |
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador yesterday mourned the Monday death of mayoral candidate Bertha Gaytán, the latest victim in a string of at least fifteen candidates who have been killed since the start of this year. López Obrador did not announce (AP) new protections for candidates, though Gaytán requested an increased security detail just hours before she was killed.
Colombia/Panama: Both countries are failing (AP) to protect migrants who travel through their shared jungle border region known as the Darién Gap, Human Rights Watch said today in a new report. It called on the countries to appoint senior officials to coordinate humanitarian assistance for migrants.
This article by CFR’s Sabine Baumgartner and Diana Roy explores the dangers migrants face crossing the Darién Gap.
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Second Channel Opens for Ships to Transit Baltimore Port Following Disaster |
The temporary fourteen-foot channel that opened yesterday south of the disaster site follows (CBS) an eleven-foot channel that opened on Monday for some commercial shipping to move through Baltimore as response efforts continue following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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