UN Security Council Holds Meetings on Lebanon, Ukraine As World Leaders Gather |
The UN Security Council is turning its attention to war in the Middle East today after holding a special session on the war in Ukraine yesterday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the council in that meeting that the war “can’t be calmed by talks” and that Russia can only be “forced into peace.” Today, the council will weigh the escalating violence in Israel and northern Lebanon that has killed hundreds and prompted tens of thousands to flee their homes this week. Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut yesterday and said today that its forces shot down a Hezbollah missile fired at Tel Aviv for the first time in the current conflict.
World leaders are gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly, where Joe Biden gave his final address as U.S. president yesterday. Biden said that “we’re in another inflection point in world history,” celebrating Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion and mentioning both the promise and the risk of artificial intelligence (AI). Biden also announced new U.S. support to buy one million vaccines for mpox-hit countries in Africa and donate $500 million to help address the current outbreak. (AP, NYT)
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“The defining moment of [Biden’s] speech came when the president connected his years of experience in international affairs with a topic close to his heart: the defense of democracy,” CFR Senior Fellow Esther Brimmer writes in this Expert Brief. “The president who voluntarily gave up a run for a second term, looked to the assembled audience and said, ‘some things are more important than staying in power.’ To have the most powerful president on the planet make this point fundamental to the nature of democracy reminds us of the uses of such speeches.”
“Israeli policymakers may be tempted to believe that they can deal a once-in-a-generation blow to Hezbollah and rely on the United States for back up should Iran come to Hezbollah’s aid. Yet the Israeli government has not provided the IDF with specific, achievable military goals or articulated a realistic end state for Hezbollah—laying the groundwork for an extended offensive with ill-defined objectives prone to mission creep,” the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Dana Stroul writes for Foreign Affairs.
On Monday, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak spoke at CFR about the challenges the country is facing.
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China Test Launches Intercontinental Ballistic Missile |
China said it fired a missile carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean this morning; it’s thought to be the country’s first public test launch into international waters in decades. While Beijing called the event a “routine” part of annual training, several analysts suggest this is unusual and could be a signal or posturing to the United States. (BBC)
Indonesia: Jakarta formally requested membership in the twelve-nation trade pact, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, as part of efforts to “open up market access” for its goods, a top official said. (Reuters)
For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR expert Joshua Kurlantzick tees up what to expect when Indonesia’s new president is inaugurated next month.
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Sri Lanka’s New President Calls Snap General Election |
The party of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, elected president over the weekend, held only three seats in Sri Lanka’s outgoing parliament. Dissanayake dissolved the body and declared that new general elections will be held on November 14, almost a year ahead of schedule. (BBC)
India: The government is hosting a delegation of fifteen foreign diplomats from embassies in New Delhi to observe the ongoing elections in Jammu and Kashmir over the next couple of days. It’s the region’s first vote since New Delhi stripped the region of its semiautonomous status in 2019. (NDTV)
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Middle East and North Africa |
U.S. Navy Tanker in Middle East Damaged At Sea |
The Navy is investigating an emergency that damaged its oil tanker USNS Big Horn yesterday, it said without specifying further details. The ship was in the Middle East to resupply other U.S. vessels. Unnamed officials told the Washington Post it was being towed to a port for evaluation and repairs. It was too early to tell what caused the damage, they added, but they believe it was not a collision with another ship. (WaPo)
Israel: In a controversial milestone for AI, Israeli regulators approved a chatbot named Bridget that gives advice on buying and selling stocks. Regulators in other countries have warned that the widespread use of AI in financial markets could be destabilizing. (Bloomberg)
On this episode of The President’s Inbox podcast, CFR expert Kat Duffy walks through the governance of AI.
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Wagner’s Prigozhin Secretly Invoked Western Banks to Fund Activities |
Companies controlled by the sanctioned and now deceased Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin used Western banks JPMorgan and HSBC unwittingly to pay for military activities in West Africa, according to documents obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. Neither bank claimed knowing that the transactions were for Wagner Group fronts, and there was no evidence to indicate they were aware. HSBC said it was “deeply committed to combating financial crime.” (FT)
This Backgrounder by CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo covers Russia’s growing footprint in Africa.
Russia/West Africa: The junta-led trio Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, which defected from the regional economic body known as ECOWAS earlier this year, announced a deal with Russia to buy telecoms and satellites that Mali’s finance minister said would boost border surveillance and national security. (BBC)
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France, Germany Call for Europe-Wide Migration Deal Including UK |
Envoys from France and Germany said in a letter to the European Union (EU) home affairs commissioner that it should capitalize on the new United Kingdom (UK) government’s more “constructive” approach to EU-UK relations to reach an agreement on migration and asylum. (The Guardian) Tune in to a conversation at CFR with the European Commission’s Josep Borrell on navigating Europe’s challenges this Friday, September 27, at 12:00 p.m. (EDT).
Germany: The leaders of Germany’s Greens, one of three parties in the current coalition government, announced they are stepping aside to make way for new leadership after a string of poor election performances. (AP)
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Mexico Finalizes Plans to Seize Control of Port Owned By U.S. Firm |
Alabama-based Vulcan Materials vowed to fight back in arbitration after the Mexican government said it would take control of the port on its Caribbean coast amid a long-running dispute. Mexico declared a nature reserve in an area that includes port operations; Vulcan said the incident would produce a “chilling and long-term effect” on U.S.-Mexico trade and investment relations. (Bloomberg)
Argentina/Venezuela: The two countries are waging an arrest tit-for-tat after Argentina’s federal judicial body requested the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for human rights violations. Venezuela’s attorney general then said he requested that Interpol issue an arrest warrant for Argentine President Javier Milei. (Reuters)
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Trump Pledges ‘Made in America’ Tax Rate, 100 Percent Tariffs on Cars From Mexico |
In a Georgia speech, former President Donald Trump pledged to implement a 15 percent “Made in America” tax rate for companies, to establish new low-tax federal economic zones, and to slam all cars imported from Mexico with at least a 100 percent, possibly as high as 200 percent tariff. The current standard corporate tax rate is 21 percent. (Politico, NYT)
In Miami, a grand jury charged the man arrested after fleeing Trump’s golf course earlier this month, Ryan Routh, with attempted assassination of Trump. Routh was also charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime and assaulting a federal officer. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will “use every available tool” to hold Routh accountable. (NPR)
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