Editor’s note: For the duration of the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties (COP27), the Daily News Brief will include a special section dedicated to developments at the climate conference.
Top of the Agenda
NATO Chief Says Explosion in Poland Was Likely Unintentional
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) envoys held emergency consultations (FT) after two people were killed yesterday by a blast in a Polish city near the Ukrainian border. Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a Ukrainian air defense missile most likely caused (NYT) the explosion after Ukraine’s air defenses were triggered by a fresh round of Russian attacks on the country’s civilian infrastructure.
Early reports of the explosion fueled fears of escalation between NATO and Russia, but Stoltenberg told reporters there was no evidence that Russia is planning an offensive against the alliance. While Moscow denied that it launched a strike on Poland, Stoltenberg said Russia “bears responsibility” for the blast as it was a direct result of the ongoing war.
Analysis
“Who fired what, when and at whom will probably become clearer as Poland, Ukraine and Russia conduct their investigations. But one thing is already stark: war between nuclear-armed Russia and NATO could only be one miscalculation away,” the Financial Times’ Henry Foy writes.
“[Former U.S. Secretary of State] Colin Powell always used to remind us that first reports are neither accurate nor complete…& as a result to hold off responding if at all possible. Yesterday’s incident of ‘Russian missile strike in Poland’ (which made no sense to begin with) a case in point,” CFR President Richard Haass tweets.
Pacific Rim
Chinese, South Korean Leaders Talk North Korea’s Nuclear Program
At the first China-South Korea summit since 2019, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol urged Chinese President Xi Jinping (Korea Herald) to take a stronger response to Pyongyang’s missile testing. The Chinese readout of the meeting stressed that Xi was most concerned with economic cooperation with South Korea.
Maldives: Police arrested fourteen people (AP) they said were working with the self-declared Islamic State to plan a bombing.
Middle East and North Africa
Iranian Police Seen Shooting at Protesters From Helicopters
Police carried out a fresh crackdown on protesters across Iran as anti-government demonstrations entered their third month, the New York Times reported.
Israel/Palestinian territories: A Palestinian man killed three Israelis (WaPo) in the West Bank before the Israeli military shot him dead.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Humanitarian Aid Reaches Ethiopia’s Tigray Following Truce
A convoy from the International Committee of the Red Cross delivered aid to the war-torn Tigray region (AP) for the first time since August. The Ethiopian government and Tigrayan rebels signed a truce over the weekend that commits them to facilitating aid access to Tigray.
South Africa: Johannesburg, an economic hub, is seeking private generators (Bloomberg) to supply it with electricity amid scheduled blackouts from state power utility Eskom.
Europe
FT: Lithuania to Offer Prime Minister as Candidate for Next NATO Chief
Unnamed officials told the Financial Times that Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė seeks to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of NATO, though formal talks on her candidacy aren’t expected until next year. Stoltenberg is due to step down in September 2023.
U.S. Judge Blocks Title 42 Rule Allowing Migrant Expulsions at Border
Implemented under President Donald Trump to limit the spread of COVID-19, Title 42 allowed the U.S. government to immediately expel migrants (CNN) arriving at the country’s southern border even if they sought to claim asylum. The Joe Biden administration has asked for a five-week stay on the ruling to adjust to its policies.
Cuba: After talks in Havana, Cuba agreed to accept deportation flights (AP) from the United States. Cubans were the second-most numerous nationality arriving at the southern U.S. border in October.
United States
Trump Announces 2024 Presidential Run
Trump officially registered (NPR) to run for president in 2024. The announcement came after Trump-backed Republican candidates saw a lackluster performance in last week’s midterm elections.
COP27
Report: Most Cities With Net-Zero Pledges Have No Way to Track Progress
More than half of cities that have pledged to reach net-zero emissions have no system (Reuters) for tracking progress, research group Net Zero Tracker said. It also found that only 10 percent of cities and 20 percent of companies with net-zero pledges currently have interim targets, as recommended by a UN expert group.
At the Group of Twenty (G20) summit, world leaders pledged to work to limit warming (FT) to 1.5°C (2.7°F). COP27 negotiators welcomed the pledge even as unidentified countries reportedly pushed to drop the target from the conference’s final communiqué.
