Syrian Prime Minister Begins Talks on Transfer of Power |
The prime minister of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government in Syria began talks yesterday on the transfer of power in the country, he said following a meeting with the leader of a rebel group based in Syria’s northwest. The composition of a transitional government remained unclear, though a man who led the rebel administration, Mohamed al-Bashir, said today in a televised statement that he would lead it. Rebels announced an amnesty to Syrian fighters who were conscripted, but rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani said senior officials in Assad’s government who were involved in torture would be punished.
In the thick of Syria’s uncertain transition, several countries including France, Germany, Greece, and the United Kingdom (UK) suspended applications for Syrian asylum seekers yesterday. In the capital of Damascus, banks and shops began to reopen following the rebel takeover. Farther afield, Israel continued its strikes on Syrian army bases, while the United States continued strikes against the self-declared Islamic State. (Reuters, NYT, BBC)
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“In the early going, there’s a tremendous amount of jubilation, and ideas, and optimism about what is possible,” CFR Senior Fellow Steven A. Cook says in a Media Briefing. “[But] there are now people who are going to want to settle scores...what happens with those remnants of supporters of the regime?”
“[Assad’s fall] is one of the most consequential setbacks for the Islamic Republic [of Iran] since the Iran-Iraq war (1980–1988),” CFR Senior Fellow Ray Takeyh writes in this Expert Brief. “The axis of resistance is in tatters but has not been destroyed entirely.”
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Taiwan Flags Unusual Large-Scale Chinese Naval Activity |
China deployed navy assets in an area running from the southern Japanese islands down into the South China Sea, the largest such activity in decades, Taiwan’s defense ministry said today. China’s military did not immediately comment and had not previously announced exercises. (Reuters) U.S./China: Chinese authorities announced an anti-monopoly probe into U.S. chip giant Nvidia. The move follows U.S. export controls targeting the chip sector. (Bloomberg)
Tobias Feakin explains for CFR’s Net Politics how U.S. policy redrew the global semiconductor map.
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Bangladesh, India Ministers Meet For First Time Since Hasina Ousted |
Ministers from both governments voiced concerns over issues that have strained bilateral ties since the removal of Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August, including treatment of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said New Delhi desires a “positive, constructive, and mutually beneficial relationship with Bangladesh.” (PTI)
India: The country’s central bank replaced its governor, Shaktikanta Das, with a former revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra. Some government officials had criticized Das over slowness to cut interest rates; Malhotra has not been public about his monetary policy views but has spoken in favor of banks adopting and focusing on technology in the Indian economy. (FT, Bloomberg)
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Middle East and North Africa |
Netanyahu Testifies in Corruption Trial |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the corruption allegations against him “absurd” today; he faces charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes and is the first sitting Israeli leader to take the stand as a criminal defendant. His testimony is scheduled to continue over several weeks. (AP, Bloomberg)
CFR experts assess a year of war in the Middle East since the October 7 attack on Israel.
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Zambian Court Rules Former President Lungu Cannot Run Again |
Edgar Lungu had announced a return to politics last year over some doubt over whether his first presidential term in 2015 and 2016 after his predecessor died in office counted as a full term. The Constitutional Court ruled that it did and he thus cannot run again. His party said it was “gravely concerned” by today’s ruling. (Reuters)
Kenya: Police unleashed tear gas on demonstrators against gender-based violence in Nairobi today, prompting criticism from activists. Kenya has been battling a gender-based violence epidemic with at least ninety-seven women killed since August, most by their partners. (AP)
For Think Global Health, CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo looks at extreme heat’s effect on gender-based violence and women’s health in Africa.
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China’s CATL to Build Battery Plant in Spain With Stellantis |
The $4.33 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant aims to start production by the end of 2026. The decision to award Spain with the plant comes after Madrid abstained on a European Union vote to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports to the bloc. Last year, CATL, formally known as Contemporary Amperex Technology, announced plans to partner with Ford on a plant in Michigan. (Reuters, WSJ)
CFR expert Brad W. Setser considers if China’s EV surge will lead it to take over the global auto industry.
UK: Renewable energy from wind, solar, and hydropower will make up more of the United Kingdom’s electricity supply than fossil fuels will in 2024, think tank Ember said. It is the first time renewables have reached this threshold. (FT) |
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Gang Members Kill Nearly Two Hundred People in Haiti |
Gang members over the weekend killed 184 people, the head of UN human rights said yesterday. A local Haitian rights group said most of the victims were elderly; local media reported a gang leader blamed some community members for practicing “witchcraft” linked to the death of his son. (BBC)
El Salvador: The country is close to a deal with the International Monetary Fund that would help it to return to international financial markets in exchange for dropping a requirement that businesses accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, two unnamed sources told the Financial Times. (FT)
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Google Announces Quantum Computing Breakthrough |
The tech giant Google’s newly unveiled computer took less than five minutes to solve a math calculation that one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers could not solve in ten septillion years, longer than the age of the universe, the company said. Tech companies are seeking to develop quantum computing in the hope that the technology will solve problems in medicine, batteries, and artificial intelligence. (NYT, Reuters)
In this Backgrounder, Noah Berman unpacks the world of quantum computing.
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