Daily News Brief

April 25, 2024

Top of the Agenda

U.S. President Joe Biden signed (FT) a $95 billion foreign aid package yesterday that included nearly $61 billion in military support for Ukraine. The move triggered the immediate delivery of weapons such as air-defense interceptors and artillery. Separately, unnamed Pentagon officials told reporters (WaPo) yesterday that Ukraine has already received and used U.S.-supplied long-range ballistic missiles for the first time, relying on them (AP) recently to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and another Russia-occupied city overnight. 

The aid package comes as Ukraine aims to claw back against Russian forces along an entrenched line of conflict. The $1 billion aid package also includes anti-ship missiles, Bradley fighting vehicles, and Humvees.

Analysis

“As shells arrive, so Russia will find it more dangerous to concentrate men and tanks for fresh assaults. Getting much-needed drone- and missile-interceptors into Ukraine will take longer, but eventually Russia will no longer control the skies, especially over the front lines,” the Economist writes.

“This aid should help fill critical ammunition shortfalls and allow the Ukrainians to hold the lines in the face of a looming Russian summer offensive,” CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot writes in this Expert Brief. “But the long-term outcome of the war remains very much in doubt. That will depend in part on the race to produce weapons and ammunition, pitting Russia and its allies (Iran and North Korea) against Ukraine and its allies (principally, the nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]).”

Pacific Rim

In Shanghai today, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington seeks (Reuters) “healthy economic competition” and “a level playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in China.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin asked in response that the United States “respect the principle of fair competition.” Blinken’s visit is covering a range of U.S. economic and political concerns; he is set to meet with China’s foreign minister tomorrow.

Taiwan: President-Elect Lai Ching-te named (AP) new foreign and defense ministers today who previously served in senior roles in the current presidential administration. Lai will assume Taiwan’s presidency on May 20.

South and Central Asia

Thailand said it was safe to return home (Nikkei) only three days after more than three thousand refugees fled a war-torn Myanmar town on the border. Many of the refugees have been hesitant about going back over concerns about ongoing violence.

Kazakhstan: The ongoing trial of a powerful former official for involvement in his wife’s death has prompted nationwide vocal opposition to domestic violence and the passage of a law to safeguard against it, the Associated Press reported. Former Economy Minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev’s trial is the first in Kazakhstan to be streamed online.

Middle East and North Africa

Germany’s announcement yesterday came (NYT) after an independent review earlier this week found that Israel did not provide evidence of a claim it made that led many countries to stop donating to the agency, known as UNRWA. Countries including Australia, Canada, and Sweden have resumed funding for the agency, while the U.S. State Department said this week it was reviewing the probe.

This In Brief by CFR’s Christina Bouri details the UN Palestinian aid agency controversy. 

Yemen: Yemeni Houthi rebels said they launched an attack in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, while U.S. Central Command said early today that a warship in the U.S. coalition shot down (AP) a missile. The launch comes after a relative lull in Houthi attacks on sea vessels in the region.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a new report that the killings on February 25 appear to be the worst in the country in nearly a decade, and are part of a broad military campaign against people accused of collaborating with armed militants. The watchdog called for an independent probe supported by the African Union and United Nations. Burkina Faso’s government did not immediately comment (The Guardian).

Zimbabwe: President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed Winston Chitando as the country’s mining minister, among other changes in yesterday’s small cabinet reshuffle effective immediately. The move restored (Bloomberg) Chitando to a position he held before Zimbabwe’s 2023 election.

Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron called for a revision (France 24, AFP, Reuters) of European defense and trade policies in a speech today, saying that the region is at a tipping point and “Europe can die” if Europeans make the wrong choices. He accused the United States and China of disrespecting global trade rules and said that it was no longer clear where Russia’s “limits” lie. 

At this CFR meeting, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde discusses the geopolitical risks for Europe’s future. 

Americas

The ceremony to instate a nine-member transition council today was moved from its original location at Haiti’s presidential palace due to disrepair and risks of violence, the Miami Herald reported. It is due to occur at a separate government property.

In this YouTube Short, Monique Clesca explains what Haitians want to see from a new government. 

Venezuela: In his first public remarks since becoming Venezuela’s opposition candidate for the July election, Edmundo González said yesterday that he would aim (Reuters) to guarantee freedom of political prisoners and the return of Venezuelans who left the country or were exiled. He said in a separate interview that if he wins, he would be open to negotiations with the government to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

United States

Dozens of people have been arrested (NYT) in recent days at university protests in different U.S. cities over the war in the Gaza Strip. Their demands include a cease-fire in the war and universities’ divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military campaign. College administrators in several cases called in security forces to break up the demonstrations. Some U.S. officials have weighed in on the demonstrations, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) saying yesterday that the safety of Jewish students was not being protected.

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