Blinken Talks Potential Cease-Fire, Hostage Deal With Arab Leaders in Riyadh |
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with (NYT) Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister and other top Arab officials today to encourage a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Israel’s war with Hamas. Blinken is due to travel to Israel and Jordan tomorrow. U.S. President Joe Biden discussed (CNN) the potential deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a call yesterday, while also reviewing plans for an increase in humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.
Saudi Arabia is hosting a three-day World Economic Forum gathering this week. Blinken spoke publicly at the event, saying that Hamas has an “extraordinarily generous” proposal in front of them for a cease-fire and that they are the only ones standing in the way of a deal. |
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“Blinken’s trip comes amid renewed concerns about the conflict spreading in the Middle East and with once-promising prospects for Israeli-Saudi rapprochement effectively on hold,” the Associated Press’s Matthew Lee writes.
“If a century of failure has made clear that the [Israelis and Palestinians] are unlikely to be reconciled in the foreseeable future, the war in Gaza has exposed the terrifying cataclysm that poor handling of the conflict can bring about,” Israeli historian Tom Segev writes in Foreign Affairs. “Rather than devoting energy and political capital to deeply unpopular—and unsustainable—peace plans, the United States and other leading powers must do more to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis can find a safer and more tolerable existence in a world without peace.”
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Tesla’s Musk Visits Beijing, Talks Local Partnership for Navigation System |
The electric vehicle firm’s CEO Elon Musk met with (FT) Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing yesterday. Tesla reached a partnership with Chinese search engine firm Baidu on mapping and navigation technology, a step toward Tesla rolling out its “full self-driving” system in the country.
Vietnam: The country’s legislative speaker resigned on Friday, the latest in a string of high-profile resignations amid an anticorruption crackdown. Five senior officials have stepped down in less than two years with no replacements named, Nikkei reported. |
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India’s Modi Says He Would Unify Marriage, Inheritance Laws in Civil Code |
Previous governments have avoided the prospect of a uniform civil code over warnings (Bloomberg) from religious freedom advocates that it does not respect the traditions of differing faiths. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Times of India that he supported unified laws on the matter.
Afghanistan/Pakistan: A crackdown on Afghan migrants in Pakistan have driven many to leave their jobs and rarely travel outside their neighborhoods, the Associated Press reports. Pakistan has stopped issuing paperwork for Afghan refugees and their children, and some six hundred thousand Afghans have returned home since the crackdown in Pakistan began last October.
This In Brief by Megan Fahrney explains why Pakistan is deporting Afghan migrants.
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Middle East and North Africa |
UAE, Ukraine Reach Trade Deal |
The comprehensive economic agreement reduces (The National) tariffs and removes trade barriers, Emirati state news agency WAM reported today. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign trade minister said that it would create new investment pathways in sectors like logistics, manufacturing, and information technology. |
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Togo Votes in Legislative Elections After Controversial Reform |
Today’s vote comes after opposition groups called for (AFP) voters to voice their dissatisfaction with an April 19 constitutional reform that gives parliament, rather than individual citizens, the power to choose the president. They are calling the move an “institutional coup.”
Burkina Faso: The country’s communications regulator on Saturday added (AFP) a swath of media organizations including DW, Le Monde, and The Guardian to a group of suspended outlets following their reporting on a Human Rights Watch statement accusing security forces of killing at least 223 people in February.
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Germany Trial Begins for Alleged Coup Plotters |
The arrests of alleged coup plotters in 2022 highlighted the threat posed by far-right extremists in the country. Twenty-seven people are due to be tried (FT) in three cases. They comprise some of the biggest national security legal proceedings in postwar Germany, the president of the court said.
Russia/Ukraine: Ukrainian forces retreated (NBC) from three villages on the front lines in the eastern region of Donetsk, Ukraine’s army commander said yesterday. Russia is trying to break through Ukrainian defensive lines before new assistance from the United States arrives. This Expert Brief by CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot explores the arms race between Russia and Ukraine. |
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Chile Declares National Period of Mourning After Security Officers Killed |
Three officers were killed (MercoPress) in an ambush in southern Chile’s Bío Bío region this weekend. Concerns over rising crime in the country have prompted some calls for more hardline policies, including reinstatement of the death penalty.
Guatemala: Poppy cultivation has plunged in Guatemala amid a fall in opium prices and increased demand for other drugs such as fentanyl, the New York Times reported. The loss of income for some poppy farmers has prompted them to migrate, while local and international authorities fear Guatemala could become a fentanyl trading hub.
This article by CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo and Diana Roy looks at why fentanyl is a major foreign policy problem. |
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More Than Two Hundred People Detained at Pro-Palestinian Campus Protests |
Around 275 people were detained on Saturday at schools including Indiana University at Bloomington, Arizona State University, and Washington University in St. Louis, the Associated Press reported. As demonstrations across the country have faced accusations (NPR) of antisemitism and disrupting university life, school administrators have been divided on how to respond.
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