Daily News Brief

October 11, 2022

Top of the Agenda

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said his agency needs $700 million (Reuters) in new funding by the end of the year to avoid making “severe cuts” to services. The cost is in part due to the surge of Ukrainian refugees. Seven million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, and more than six million Ukrainians are internally displaced. More than one hundred million people are displaced worldwide.

Speaking at a high-level UN meeting on refugees, Grandi said Europe’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis has proven (UNHCR) that it can accommodate people fleeing persecution. He called leaders’ relative hesitancy to take in refugees from other parts of the world “racist,” adding that emergencies in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Syria require further attention. 

Analysis

“In the medium to long term, refugees represent tremendous opportunities. They can create new economic activity that more than offsets the immediate expenses. They bring new skills to economies often resulting in higher—not lower—wages for existing residents,” Brown University’s Dany Bahar writes for Foreign Affairs.

“The price of declining resettlement [in the United States] has been the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers and the crumbling of a global system of refugee protection established following World War II,” the Brookings Institution’s Reva Dhingra writes.

This CFR webinar discusses refugees and global migration.

Pacific Rim

Several neighborhoods in Shanghai have locked down (Bloomberg) after the city reported its highest number of new infections in almost three months. 

CFR’s Ian Johnson explains how Chinese President Xi Jinping will consolidate power at China’s party congress in Beijing.

Thailand: Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered law enforcement agencies to restrict access to firearms (The Diplomat) following a mass killing at a daycare center last week. He will discuss (Bangkok Post) drug abuse and gun violence with top officials tomorrow.

South and Central Asia

After Russian forces pummeled Ukraine with missiles yesterday, spokespeople for the Chinese and Indian foreign ministries voiced support (NYT) for efforts to end the war. The countries have avoided criticizing Russia for the war.

This Backgrounder unpacks China-Russia relations.

India: An employee of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told The Wire that the company will remove any Instagram posts if the head of the ruling party’s IT department requests it, with no questions asked. A Meta spokesperson tweeted that The Wire story’s “underlying documentation” appeared to be fabricated.

Middle East and North Africa

Officials from Israel and Lebanon said they reached an agreement (Haaretz) on a long-standing dispute over the countries’ three-mile sea border. The U.S.-mediated deal is still pending approval by both governments.

Russia/UAE: The crown prince of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohamed bin Zayed, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today. Citing three people briefed on the visit, the Financial Times reported that it is “in the spirit of mediation” on the war in Ukraine.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The seven-month-old Revolution for Prosperity party won Lesotho’s general elections (AP) but fell short of an outright congressional majority, meaning it will need to form a coalition to govern.

Chad/Zambia: International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said she aims for Chad and Zambia to complete debt restructuring (Reuters) by the end of the year. Both are participating in a framework that Group of Twenty (G20) creditors designed after the pandemic began. 

Europe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will request further military aid (Politico) from the leaders of Group of Seven (G7) countries today. The G7 leaders will also address efforts to contain global energy prices.

United Kingdom: The nation’s top court is beginning hearings today (BBC) on whether Scotland can hold an independence referendum without the approval of the British government.

Americas

The cabinet reshuffle brings new ministers (Bloomberg) for labor, social development, and gender amid the country’s economic crisis. 

This Backgrounder looks at Argentina’s struggle for stability.

Mexico: The government filed a lawsuit (Reuters) accusing five gun dealers in the U.S. state of Arizona of fueling cross-border weapons trafficking. A U.S. federal judge dismissed a previous lawsuit from Mexico City last month.

United States

The attacks brought down the websites (NPR) of airports in Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles yesterday, though flights appeared to be unaffected.

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