Daily News Brief

May 7, 2024

Top of the Agenda

Israeli forces have taken control (NYT) of the Gaza Strip side of the southern Rafah border crossing, sending in tanks and carrying out strikes in what it called a limited operation aimed at targeting Hamas fighters in the city. The operation killed around twenty militants, Israel’s military said. The move came as both Israel and the United States said they were reviewing Hamas’s response to a cease-fire and hostage release proposal. Israel and Hamas delegations were due to attend talks in Cairo today on a potential deal, as was U.S. CIA Director William Burns. 

Following Israel’s takeover of the Rafah crossing, the two main aid crossings into Gaza are effectively closed (AP), the UN humanitarian affairs office spokesperson Jens Laerke said today. Previously, the Rafah crossing was a critical source of fuel for aid trucks and generators, which have around a one-day buffer, Laerke said.

Analysis

“Even if Hamas has agreed to something close enough to the original Egyptian proposal, this is far from a done deal. It’s a framework and there will have to be more rounds of talks on details,” Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer posts.

“Israel believes that the Hamas military leadership and its remaining four battalions of organized troops are in or near Rafah and that the full defeat of Hamas requires attacking them there, even if the fighting and civilian casualties arouse harsh American and international criticism,” CFR expert Elliott Abrams writes for Foreign Affairs.  

For Think Global Health, CFR’s Christina Bouri looks at Gaza’s health toll in numbers. 

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

Pacific Rim

The countries will start (Reuters) official negotiations for a free trade agreement, officials announced during a visit today to Dubai by New Zealand’s trade minister. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is New Zealand’s largest trade partner in the Middle East, and Wellington is also in talks for a free trade agreement with the regional body known as the Gulf Cooperation Council.

China/France: French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting (The Guardian) Chinese President Xi Jinping for private meetings today before Xi travels to Serbia and then Hungary. Macron and Xi are expected to continue to discuss trade tensions after little progress was made (Le Monde) on the first day of Xi’s visit yesterday, though the two leaders did call for a worldwide “Olympic truce” in ongoing conflicts during this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris. 

This timeline looks back at the history of politics and protest at the Olympics. 

South and Central Asia

Pakistani intelligence agencies compiled the report, which was leaked to local media and confirmed as authentic by Nikkei. The smuggled amount accounts for around 14 percent of Pakistan’s annual consumption and resulted in around $820 million in losses to public revenue, the report said. Some observers say the news could bring a crackdown on the black market. 

Myanmar: Authorities resumed processing (Nikkei) overseas work permits for military-age men yesterday, reneging on a halt since the start of the month that appeared to be in an effort to block men from fleeing conscription.

For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR expert Joshua Kurlantzick looks at the Myanmar military’s struggles amid the country’s civil war. 

Middle East and North Africa

The migrants from various sub-Saharan African countries had been held captive (Reuters) in a town in southeastern Libya and were transferred to the control of migration authorities, a spokesperson for the Criminal Investigation Department in Benghazi said yesterday. In April, the UN special envoy for Libya urged authorities to ensure better treatment of migrants.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Regulators will issue rules (Bloomberg) delisting the naira from person-to-person trading in the coming days due to concerns that the trading is negatively affecting the currency’s exchange rate, the head of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday.

Malawi: A court dropped (Reuters) corruption charges against Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima, allowing him to run as a potential candidate in next year’s presidential election. Chilima had been jailed in 2022 over allegations that he helped companies win government contracts.

Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin took his oath of office (RFE/RL) in Moscow today at a ceremony skipped by representatives from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and most European Union members. He begins (AP) his fifth term with almost no domestic opposition after critics were jailed and banned.

U.S./Russia: A U.S. soldier was detained in Russia last week on criminal charges and is receiving consular assistance, a U.S. army spokesperson said yesterday. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reiterated a previous warning (CNN) against U.S. citizens traveling to Russia. 

Americas

The talks today, attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will discuss (VOA) joint efforts to manage migrant flows and refugee integration in the Americas, according to a framework agreed upon two years ago in Los Angeles. Ahead of the meeting, the United States issued visa restrictions (Reuters) against several Colombian transportation companies it said were smuggling migrants by sea.

Argentina/Bolivia/Brazil/Paraguay: Paraguay’s government is preparing a bid for a gas pipeline that would connect it with Argentina and Brazil in a plan that would rival a proposal being put forth by Bolivia, Reuters reported. Bolivia’s declining gas output has prompted Brazil to seek other suppliers.

United States

U.S. President Joe Biden will condemn (NYT) antisemitism on college campuses and across the country in a speech today marking remembrance of the Holocaust, a White House spokesperson said. The Education Department is also due today to release guidelines outlining examples of hate speech that could lead to investigations for violating the Civil Rights Act. Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, the department has opened more than one hundred probes into complaints of antisemitism and other forms of discrimination.

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