Hezbollah Vows Retaliation After Pager Explosions Across Lebanon |
At least twelve people were killed and nearly three thousand wounded after electronic pagers that had been distributed to Hezbollah operatives exploded across Lebanon yesterday. Hezbollah blamed Israel and promised a “difficult reckoning” for the group’s “criminal enemy” in response. Israel did not comment on the attack. The unprecedented incident has more seriously heightened fears of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group.
The attack overwhelmed Lebanese hospitals, with the country’s health minister saying that more than four hundred surgeries were performed after the attack, and a young boy and girl were among those killed. The European Union’s foreign policy leader Josep Borrell said that though the attacks “seem to have been targeted, they had heavy, indiscriminate collateral damages.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Egypt for cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, said Washington did not know about and was not involved in the attacks, stressing the “importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we’re trying to resolve in Gaza.” (WaPo, AP, NYT)
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“[The pager attack] shows a high level of sophistication,” CFR expert Adam Segal says in a TikTok. “This is a very potent tool of psychological warfare. If you’re a Hezbollah operative, you can’t really trust your communication systems any longer and you can’t really trust who gave you those devices.”
“Even before hundreds of pagers exploded in the pockets and hands of Hezbollah fighters on Tuesday, a major escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Shiite army in Lebanon was looking increasingly likely,” the Times of Israel’s Lazar Berman writes. “[An escalation] will make it far less likely that Israel will achieve its other three war aims—toppling Hamas, freeing the hostage[s] and ensuring that Israel is not threatened from Gaza in the future—in the south.”
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Reports: U.S. Government Extends Deadline on Nippon Steel Decision |
A U.S. national security panel has granted Japan’s Nippon Steel the chance to refile its application to buy U.S. Steel, effectively restarting the clock and kicking a decision further down the line on whether the highly contested takeover will be permitted, unnamed sources told multiple media outlets. It’ll likely not be until after the U.S. election in November. (Bloomberg)
This memo by the Council of Councils outlines why the U.S. ballot matters to the Indo-Pacific.
Thailand/UK: The two countries declared an enhanced trade partnership earlier today, committing them to efforts to boost trade and investment and setting the stage for a potential future trade deal. It’s the first deal of its kind for the United Kingdom (UK) in Southeast Asia; Thailand is the region’s second-largest economy. (Nikkei, UK Government)
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India’s Jammu and Kashmir Holds First Local Election Since Losing Special Status
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Voters headed to the polls today for the first time since the Indian government stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status in 2019. Parties vying for support in the elections include groups that want to restore that status, against India’s governing and main opposition party. Voting will roll out in phases with the final count due on October 8. (Reuters, NDTV)
For the Women Around the World blog, CFR expert Linda Robinson looks at the future of democracy in India.
Myanmar: At least 5,350 civilians have been killed since the country’s 2021 coup, primarily due to military violence, a UN human rights body said in a new report released yesterday. Of those deaths, 2,414 occurred between April 2023 and June 2024, reflecting an emerging uptick in the pace of civilian casualties. The UN human rights commissioner called for the situation to be referred to the International Criminal Court. (OHCHR, Reuters)
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Middle East and North Africa |
Senior Russian Security Official Visits Iran |
Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu met with Iran’s president yesterday in an unannounced visit, Russian state media reported. On his way to Iran, Shoigu also made stops to speak with the leaders of North Korea and Syria. (Bloomberg) |
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Gavi Vaccine Alliance Buys 500,000 Doses of Mpox Shot |
The public-private alliance, which played a role in purchasing COVID-19 jabs for developing countries, is now honing in on mpox, buying Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine for the first time. The doses will be focused on African countries, which have so far only received vaccines via donations from countries outside the region. (Reuters)
For Think Global Health, CFR’s Allison Krugman and Chloe Searchinger track mpox vaccines’ arrival to the continent.
Ghana: As it carries out an economic reform package, Ghana’s economy grew 6.9 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, officials said. The rate far outpaced analyst expectations, showing promise ahead of a presidential vote in December. (Bloomberg)
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Dissident Formerly Jailed by Russia Visits U.S. Congress |
Vladimir Kara-Murza previously partnered with the U.S. Congress to support the passing of the Magnitsky Act that introduced a slate of sanctions on human rights violators in Russia. Kara-Murza, who was released last month in a prison swap, told Congress that there were multitudes more political prisoners than the 1,300 Russia has disclosed; U.S. officials and Kara-Murza pledged to continue working for their freedom. (RFE/RL)
Sweden: As the newest North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member, Sweden plans to nudge its defense spending from 2.2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) this year to 2.4 percent in 2025 and 2.6 percent in 2028, its defense minister said. (Reuters)
This article by Caroline Kapp and CFR expert Liana Fix probes whether NATO’s 2 percent GDP goal is enough.
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Cuban Government Clamps Down on Nascent Private Sector
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The new laws implemented today end incentives for business creation, increase requirements for starting a company, and sharpen oversight. Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades and the private sector had been a rare bright spot. Many private businesses were only legalized in 2021 after a decades-long ban in the country. (Reuters)
Chile: Google said it will start a new planning process “from scratch” on a $200 million data center in Chile after a court partially reversed its permission over water use concerns. Concerns focused around how the center could affect the aquifer in the capital, Santiago. (AP) |
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California Approves Three New Laws Against Election-Related Deepfakes |
California became the latest state to adopt laws regulating social media platforms’ publication of so-called deepfake images and videos produced with artificial intelligence. One law takes effect immediately and effectively prohibits anyone from intently sharing certain election-related deepfakes; the others require labels on such content and for some platforms to remove it following a complaint. There is no federal law yet on the matter. (NYT)
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