UNGA Leaders’ Debate Opens In a Scene of Multiple Conflicts |
World leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden will weigh in on the state of world politics at the UN General Assembly in New York, with a backdrop of multiple wars underscoring today’s challenges to peaceful coexistence. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel continued to strike each other today after yesterday’s Israeli bombardment killed nearly five hundred people in Lebanon, adding to the country’s worst violence in decades. Leaders are expected to discuss the conflicts not only in the Middle East but also in Sudan and Ukraine, as well as the state of global efforts to stem catastrophic climate change.
Today’s session comes on the heels of UN countries’ approval of a “Pact for the Future,” in which they committed to steps including transforming the UN Security Council to address its “historical injustice” and underrepresentation of Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that Washington’s top priorities during the Assembly were cooperation on peace and stability, improving global humanitarian responses, and revamping the Security Council. “The list of crises and conflicts that demand attention and action only seems to grow and grow,” she told reporters. (NYT, FT, AP)
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“Conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan have exposed the limitations of the United Nations and the imperatives for reform, not least its most important decision-making body, the Security Council,” CFR’s Paul B. Stares and Natalia Caloca write in this Expert Brief. “Prospects for conflict resolution in situations where the major powers’ interests directly clash...will likely have to be found outside the UNSC system for the near term, but there are other parts of the world where the Security Council can make a positive impact: in October 2023, the UNSC passed a resolution authorizing and providing support for a security mission to Haiti.”
“Russia was left badly isolated at a high-profile UN summit in New York when it made a surprise move to derail an ambitious pact designed to revive the UN—and failed,” The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour wrote. “The controversy underlined the extent to which ideological divisions have damaged multilateral cooperation at the UN, the very issue that the pact was seeking to address.”
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China’s Central Bank Takes Big Swings to Boost Economy |
The bank rolled out measures today that reduce short-term interest rates and rates on existing mortgages, cut minimum down payments on homes, and permit state-owned commercial banks to lend a larger fraction of their assets. An analyst at British firm Capital Economics called the measures the bank’s most significant stimulus since the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic. (NYT, Nikkei)
U.S./China/Russia: The Biden administration released a proposal to ban Chinese-developed software from internet-connected cars in the United States on security grounds; officials said the measure would likely be made a permanent rule before Biden’s term ends in January. Imports of such cars are rare in the U.S. market. The ban also covers Russian technologies, though Russia produces little of this type of software. (NYT)
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Bangladesh Army Leader Pledges Backing for Interim Government |
The army’s decision to step aside over widespread protests in August led to the departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from the country. General Waker-uz-Zaman told Reuters that he would endorse the new interim government led by Mohamed Yunus “come what may.” (Reuters)
Sri Lanka: Sunday’s presidential election winner Anura Kumara Dissanayake chose academic and lawmaker Harini Amarasuriya as his prime minister. Her swearing-in today marks the country’s first female prime minister since 2000. (The Hindu, PTI)
In this interactive index, CFR’s Linda Robinson and Noël James map out where women wield the most power around the world.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Biden Designates UAE Major Defense Partner |
Until now, only India held this status with the United States, which facilitates military purchases and cooperation. Biden extended the partnership during a bilateral visit by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leader yesterday, the first ever by an Emirati leader to the White House. (Anadolu)
Iran: Speaking to reporters in New York, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran is prepared to deescalate tensions with Israel if he sees the same level of commitment on the other side. He added that Iran wants peace but will stand up in the face of injustice against his allies, and that he was willing to sit down with the U.S. and European leaders for nuclear negotiations. (Bloomberg, AP)
This Expert Brief by CFR Fellow Steven A. Cook explains where tensions stand between Israel and Iran amid mounting Hezbollah strikes.
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Egypt Delivers Second Arms Shipment In a Month to Somalia |
Egypt has drawn closer to Somalia over Somalia’s tensions with its neighbor Ethiopia over a controversial port access deal. Ethiopia’s foreign minister voiced concerns yesterday that the weapons could land in the hands of militants. (BBC)
South Sudan: A group of lawyers filed a case at the country’s top court challenging a postponement of the country’s would-be first-ever elections announced earlier this month, calling it unconstitutional. Originally scheduled for this December, the government said the vote would be kicked to 2026. (Sudan Tribune)
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Telegram Says It Will Start to Provide Data to Authorities In Valid Legal Requests |
Yesterday’s announcement is a shift from the platform’s lax stance on moderation and regulation and comes after the firm’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested last month in France over a probe into his alleged complicity of crimes committed on the platform. The new terms aim to deter criminals from using the app, Durov said. (Bloomberg)
Kosovo/Serbia: Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he would resist Western pressure to compromise with Serbia as Kosovo takes measures to assert its control over Serbian-related activities. These include a ban on the use of Serbian currency and identification and the disbanding of some local Serb councils. (FT)
Tune into a discussion held at CFR with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani on Thursday, September 26, at 3:00 p.m. (EDT). |
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Report: U.S., Canada to Start Talks on Boundary of Arctic Seabed |
The two governments are due to unveil a task force today to negotiate the boundary of the Beaufort Sea, an unnamed source told Bloomberg. The seabed is thought to contain significant oil reserves and is of growing strategic importance as China and Russia increase their presence in the Arctic north. (Bloomberg)
Ecuador: The government announced nationwide power outages of twelve hours per day that will last through Sunday. The country relies heavily on hydropower and is experiencing its worst drought in sixty-one years, President Daniel Noboa Azín said. The dry period also started earlier than usual, adding to how climate change is getting more unmanageable, he cited. (Reuters)
Listen to yesterday’s conversation at CFR with International Energy Agency leader Fatih Birol on energy security and the clean energy transition. |
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Foreign Actors Are Increasing Election Influence Activities, Intelligence Officials Say |
In a new public statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said that actors such as China, Iran, and Russia are stepping up efforts to influence the U.S. vote and are using artificial intelligence (AI) to boost those efforts. Russia has stirred up the most AI content related to the vote and aims to boost former President Donald Trump and denigrate Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party, the ODNI report said. The office added that Iran is targeting voters across the political spectrum with content on issues such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, while China is focusing on issues that shape views of Beijing and amplifying divisive U.S. political topics. (ODNI, WaPo)
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