Daily News Brief
June 24, 2020
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Top of the Agenda
Polish President Visits White House Amid Pandemic
Polish President Andrzej Duda will meet President Donald J. Trump at the White House today, the first official visit by a foreign leader (CNBC) since the coronavirus outbreak began.
 
U.S. and Polish officials said Duda, who is seeking reelection, hopes the meeting will boost his prospects in the tight race (WaPo) taking place Sunday. He is expected to discuss proposals for U.S.-funded nuclear power projects and also seeks U.S. troops to fortify Poland’s border with Russia (WSJ). Duda’s visit comes as coronavirus cases surge across the United States. European officials are reportedly mulling travel restrictions on the United States (NYT) due to its failure to contain the virus.
Analysis
“Under normal practice, U.S. officials observe a pre-election blackout period for high-level meetings of a month or more, fearful of being accused of electoral interference or used as a prop for electioneering. Not Trump,” writes the Brookings Institution’s Molly Montgomery.

“Although the full dimensions of the threat to Polish public health remain to be seen, the threat to Polish democracy is already obvious. The country’s ruling party—the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS)—is using the medical emergency to restrict civil rights and expand its own powers,” Marta Figlerowicz writes in Foreign Affairs.

Pacific Rim
Pyongyang Abruptly Drops Military Plans, Threats Against Seoul
North Korea suspended military plans, removed propaganda loudspeakers from the border, and scrubbed anti-Seoul articles in an abrupt end to weeks of increased hostility (Yonhap) toward South Korea. Pyongyang had been incensed by anti–North Korea leaflets sent across the border and destroyed the countries’ joint liaison office last week.

Japan: Defense Minister Kono Taro said that a submarine presumed to belong to China (Yomiuri Shimbun) sailed around a Japanese island amid rising tensions over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. Officials rarely disclose the nationality of a detected submarine.

CFR’s Global Conflict Tracker monitors tensions in the East China Sea.

South and Central Asia
India Expels Half of Pakistan’s Embassy Staff
India ordered Pakistan to recall half of its embassy staff (AP) in New Delhi within a week and said India would similarly reduce its staff in Islamabad. India accused Pakistani embassy officials of spying and said that two Indian officials recently arrested in Pakistan experienced “barbaric treatment.” Pakistan condemned the allegations as “baseless.”

Afghanistan: The government withdrew a controversial media law amendment that critics said could have led to restrictions on the press (TOLO). A government spokesperson said there would be additional debate on the proposed amendment.

Middle East and North Africa
UN Head Urges Israel to Drop West Bank Annexation Plans
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to abandon plans (AFP) to annex parts of the West Bank, calling the move a “most serious violation of international law” in a report to the UN Security Council. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the annexation could begin on July 1.

CFR’s Martin S. Indyk discusses Israel’s annexation plans on this episode of The President’s Inbox podcast.

Saudi Arabia/Yemen: Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have carried out drone and ballistic missile strikes in Riyadh (WaPo). The attack would be one of the rebels’ biggest on Saudi soil in their conflict with the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Sub-Saharan Africa
Opposition Leader Arrested in Tanzania
A Tanzanian opposition party accused the government of repression (Reuters) ahead of the presidential election in October after its leader, Zitto Kabwe, and eight other members were arrested for allegedly holding an illegal assembly. The government also revoked the license of an opposition-leaning newspaper, citing a breach of journalistic ethics and laws against spreading false information.

South Africa: The country will begin the first coronavirus vaccine trial in Africa (Business Day) today.

Europe
Russians Set to Vote on Extension to Putin’s Rule
Russian citizens will begin voting Thursday on a set of constitutional amendments that would reset presidential term limits, allowing President Vladimir Putin to run for two more terms and potentially remain in office until 2036 (WSJ). The amendments are expected to pass.

Americas
U.S. Mulls Tariffs on Canadian Aluminum
The Trump administration is considering reimposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum (NYT), a move that could lead to retaliation from Ottawa. The United States lifted the tariffs after the negotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is set to take effect July 1. 

This CFR Backgrounder explains the truth about tariffs.

Mexico: A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck southern Mexico (AP), killing at least five people. 

United States
Fauci Warns of Coronavirus Surge
Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, told Congress there was a “disturbing surge” of the coronavirus (NYT) in the United States and that the virus would not disappear.

Global
ICC Members Back Court After U.S. Threat
More than half the members of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including U.S. allies, announced their “unwavering support” for the ICC (AP) after the United States threatened sanctions against its investigators for looking into possible war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
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