Democratic.net: [RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily News Brief, June 11, 2009

Thursday, June 11, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily News Brief, June 11, 2009

To view this newsletter as a web page, click here.
http://m1e.net/c?101077382-wGgsncEyg7QNY%404328729-3GZPSaozUvoyg

----------------------------------------------------------

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

- Campaigning in Iran's presidential election concludes; Revolutionary Guard chief warns against revolution.

- China responds sharply to U.S. plans for Chinese Gitmo detainees.

- Fresh fighting in parts of Pakistan as military intensifies campaign.

- North Korea sets demands for reopening Kaesong complex.

TOP OF THE AGENDA: IRAN ELECTIONS

Iranians go to the polls tomorrow to vote for a new president. With a reformist candidate, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, gaining more support ahead of the polls than many analysts had initially expected, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned that any attempt at a revolution would be <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-JiLBbTUkS/kms%404328730-n3.toRrUljrwU">"nipped in the bud" (al-Jazeera)</a>. The BBC says campaigning in the election ended on an <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-zWNAfQyJLuINE%404328731-/SjGn8DfanukM">acrimonious note</a> after three weeks of heated debate in which several news sources have seen Mousavi and another reformist candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, making gains after criticizing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his management of the economy, among other issues.

The Associated Press reports U.S. officials will be <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-X6BXDJpmhgyhY%404328732-b5cA660aJ0Dl6">cautiously watching</a> the poll. The article says Washington is hoping the poll results will indicate the extent to which Tehran is willing to engage with the United States politically, but also reports that even a Mousavi victory would likely result in only incremental shifts. Washington <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-x.jvCCVCe6qgY%404328733-fKc.SDV0e5nFM">declined to speculate officially (AFP)</a> on the results.

The New York Times reports Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a two-term former president and one of Iran's richest men, <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-5FGaNTVeahjzA%404328734-o3hKzhxxJk4ho">has worked behind the scenes</a> to bolster the political fortunes of Ahmadinejad's rivals.

Background:

A <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-oeraySP8MtN..%404328735-D2JrbZp43V9Ns">new Backgrounder</a> explains the role of the Iranian presidency, which remains subservient to the country's Supreme Leader.

The BBC <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-.6frEvjoKaDHU%404328736-2S6EDff.D3/zU">has a page</a> devoted to coverage of the elections.

PACIFIC RIM: CHINA ON GITMO RELEASE

China <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-0p4p4kojJyIhY%404328737-DOpXdS3hIXSbw">objected (BBC)</a> to U.S. plans to send seventeen Chinese Uighur inmates from the Guantanamo Bay detention center to Palau, a country that recognizes Taiwan's sovereignty. Beijing demanded the inmates be returned to China.

N.KOREA-S.KOREA: North Korea demanded steep <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-LhNQXQAdLA8ww%404328738-IUTYRTMTxkE5I">wage and rent hikes (Yonhap)</a> in exchange for its willingness to restart operations at the Kaesong industrial park it runs jointly with South Korea. Last month, North Korea threatened to scrap all contracts on running the complex and said it would write new rules of operation.

SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA: FRESH FIGHTING

The Pakistani military continued to launch heavy attacks on militants in South Waziristan and Bannu, <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-J.n.wU53tSmxk%404328739-nzNVM55gLUe66">killing one hundred militants</a>, Dawn reports. The article also notes that militant attacks on an army checkpoint left three Pakistani soldiers dead.

SRI LANKA: The United Nations <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-t4P5JSgJONuAw%404328740-uH4PvwKnLIEGk">expressed concern (BBC)</a> about the humanitarian conditions in Sri Lankan camps for persons displaced in heavy recent fighting in the country's north.

AFRICA: SOMALI PIRATES

AllAfrica reports Somali pirates have <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-UWCkrlUr2heLg%404328741-41Fc/yYl9s6M%2e">expanded their zone of operation</a>, moving out from near the Somali coast, beyond the Seychelles in the east, and to the Red Sea in the north.

This <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-zscHr6fo.1rtU%404328742-VwJCPKFFP.OoQ">Backgrounder</a> explains international efforts to counter maritime piracy.

ZIMBABWE: Speaking yesterday at CFR, Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pressed for <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-wpuTWKqybC9Eo%404328743-rNiKICch8TrLg">more foreign aid (WSJ)</a> to help end Harare's political chaos.

Here is the <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-pwNlHKbEMv5lc%404328744-gRDpgSYnNVKFk">video of his address</a>.

AMERICAS: PERU POLITICS

The AP reports Peru's congress yesterday <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-Is8ILBQwAxSqI%404328745-qj4n1iVj0bcOk">suspended two legislative decrees</a> that had prompted massive protests among the country's indigenous population, leading to a bloody crackdown by the government.

VENEZUELA: The New York Times reports Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is seeking to <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-I5MFutObU59.I%404328746-pnFmdnEvW8mII ">tighten his grip</a> on his country's military.

EUROPE: BOSNIA AIRS 'MLADIC PICTURES'

Bosnian television <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-gJKqhXO3e/Fxs%404328747-6Sy7jtsSUHN4g">aired pictures (BBC)</a> reportedly of Ratko Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb army chief and one of the highest-profile fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on war crimes charges in connection with the Bosnian civil war.

LATVIA: With many analysts saying Latvia is approaching economic collapse, economist Nouriel Roubini writes in the FT that a currency crisis in the country <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-doCdqCikn4ULA%404328748-f4Yh9A2zrgu5M">would have effects</a> comparable to those felt in Argentina in 2000-01.

----------------------------------------------------------

--
To subscribe to the Daily Brief or other newsletters offered by the
Council on Foreign Relations: http://m1e.net/c?101077382-satZaYZrK9XBo%404328749-NROSzG9J/06uM

To pause your subscription, to switch between HTML and text-only
versions of the newsletter, to change your the email address, or to
unsubscribe: http://www.mailermailer.com/x?u=101077382y-6e02f00d.

Privacy Policy: The Council on Foreign Relations does not share email
addresses with third parties.

Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street
New York, NY 10065
Tel. +1 212.434.9400
Fax: +1 212.434.9800

Email list management powered by http://MailerMailer.com

__._,_.___

Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic

Red Democratica 10 years "On line" (1998-2008)!
Http://reddemocratica.blogspot.com
Http://www.caretas.com.pe/2000/1631/articulos/protesta.phtml
Http://www.caretas.com.pe/2000/1612/articulos/debate.phtml

Celebrando 10 anos "On Line"..2008

Keep the candle burning

I have a dream
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/about_king/interactiveFrame.htm

FORUM TPSIPOL: RED DEMOCRATICA .
Informacion : Http://tpsipol.home-page.org

Http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eleccion

Para enviar un message , enviar a: eleccion@yahoogroups.com
Para suscribirse al Forum , enviar un mensaje a : eleccion-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Para salir del Forum, enviar un mensaje en blanco : eleccion-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com