| Top of the Agenda World Depends on ‘Indispensable’ U.S. Leadership, Japanese PM Tells U.S. CongressJapanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio stressed the global importance (Nikkei) of U.S. leadership and Japan’s increased commitment to helping bear the burden of upholding a rules-based international order in an address to Congress yesterday. The United States is “indispensable,” Kishida said, adding that Japan is fully committed to upholding the same values and thus has transformed from a “reticent ally” to a “strong, committed” one in recent years. Kishida’s address to Congress was the first (Bloomberg) by a Japanese leader since 2015 and occurred during a visit where the two nations also held a first-of-its-kind trilateral summit with the Philippines. A joint statement issued after the summit called (Nikkei) the three countries “equal partners and trusted friends,” and pledged to advance a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region with more such meetings “for decades to come.” |
Thẻ: CFR Daily News Brief
CFR: Daily News Brief August 8, 2023
 |
| Top of the Agenda Amazon Nations Gather in Brazil to Talk Shared Rain Forest Protection Policy The eight nations of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization are discussing joint goals for rain forest protection (AP) during a two-day summit that begins today in the Brazilian city of Belém. While several member countries have announced domestic rain forest protection goals, the forty-five-year-old bloc has only held three summits to date, the most recent being in 2009. Brazilian officials said they hope revived political coordination can improve conservation results, while some twenty thousand Indigenous people have held parallel events outside the summit to push for a bigger voice in forest governance. The summit declaration is expected to include announcements on fighting cross-border organized crime and protest what Amazon countries see as unfair trade barriers in the name of environmental protection, Folha de S.Paulo reported. Tomorrow, Amazon countries will meet with (Reuters) envoys from Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo—three other major rain forest nations—and are expected to announce a joint declaration on global forest protection. |
CFR: Daily News Brief August 3, 2023
|
| Top of the Agenda Nigeria Cuts Power Supply to Niger as Neighbors Debate Coup Response Nigeria cut off its electricity supply to Niger as part of sanctions imposed in response to the military’s decision to overthrow the country’s government last week, AFP reported, while the World Bank announced that it was suspending development aid (AFP) other than private-sector partnerships. A bloc of West African nations led by Nigeria is meeting for a second day of talks today on how to respond to the coup, while U.S. President Joe Biden called today for the release (VOA) of Niger’s ousted president and ordered a partial evacuation of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Niamey. While the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reacted strongly to the coup with sanctions and threats of military action, Niger’s military has leaned on other military regimes nearby. Yesterday, a Nigerien coup leader met with Mali’s military government (NYT), which has close ties with the Russian private military company Wagner Group. |
CFR: Daily News BriefJuly 28, 2023
| Daily News BriefJuly 28, 2023 |
| Top of the Agenda Guterres: Hottest Month on Record Means ‘Global Boiling’ Has Arrived July is “virtually certain” to be the hottest month (WMO) in human history by a significant margin, scientists from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in an announcement yesterday. The month has already seen the hottest three days and highest ocean temperatures ever recorded. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned an era of “global boiling” rather than global warming has arrived (UN News) and said the year of burning heat must translate into accelerated action by states to curb emissions of heat-trapping gasses, as well as more vigorous efforts to bolster climate adaptation. Catastrophic heat waves and wildfires across North America, Asia, and Europe in recent weeks have underscored the changing temperature’s costs for human health. U.S. President Joe Biden said yesterday that extreme heat is costing the United States $100 billion (Bloomberg) per year and threatening lives and business, as he issued a hazard alert to ramp up heat-related protections for workers. |
CFR Daily News Brief June 30, 2022
| Top of the Agenda China’s Xi Visits Hong Kong, Praises Its ‘Rise From Ashes’Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Hong Kong for ceremonies marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the city’s handover from British rule. He said Hong Kong has “risen from the ashes” (SCMP) since his last visit in 2017. Since then, Beijing has cracked down on dissent and independent media in the city. While Xi’s 2017 visit was followed by a pro-democracy march (Bloomberg), Hong Kong’s streets have been empty of demonstrations this week because of the sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020 and warnings from police. It is Xi’s first trip outside mainland China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The anniversary also marks the halfway point of a promise Beijing made to maintain liberal institutions in Hong Kong for fifty years. The United States and United Kingdom have accused Beijing of breaking the promise. |
CVD 