The Daily News Brief: A Daily Roundup of News Stories from Sources Around the Globe
June 16, 2009
<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-QCoiYaD/aIaMo%404343789-GAOQYfgeupTJc">View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website.</a>
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Iran orders vote recount; opposition candidates calling for entire election to be annulled.
- Obama expresses cautious optimism about Netanyahu two-state solution speech.
- China makes loans to Russia, some Central Asian states at SCO meetings.
- Zardari and Singh meet in Russia; plan further talks on India-Pakistan security.
- Italy agrees to take on three Guantanamo detainees.
TOP OF THE AGENDA: IRAN ORDERS RECOUNT
A day after mass protests in which hundreds of thousands of people marched on Tehran--and several demonstrators <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-hzr1O7GSsTsKc%404343790-QNuStbxCaRrcU">were killed (FT)</a><a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-9SIYEfF8JWCjk%404343790-dKdGXxa.2mabM"></a>--Iran's Guardian Council says it is ready to recount the votes in Friday's disputed presidential election. The country's government initially said the vote was won by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but now says it is <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-h8AEX3CTdXuEY%404343791-7VV0lM8U9HOrY">willing to recount votes (NYT)</a> in areas contested by the opposition candidates. The BBC reports, however, that the Iranian government has <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-5BokO1TwGL2ck%404343792-1ffWnVtc4h0mM">refused to void the election</a>, as moderate candidates have demanded, and says these candidates may therefore reject the recount offer.<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-vATgYrijHTT
o2%404343792-gTUFvawbMCvBc"></a>
U.S. President Barack Obama said he was "<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-9LMJYBfk88uno%404343793-yTGZJaENSnxZQ">deeply troubled</a>" by the violence in Iran but said he intends to respect Iran's sovereignty and wants "to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran," saying sometimes the United States "can be a handy political football." In a move that may reflect the urgency of the current situation, however, Obama moved his administration's point man on Iran, Dennis Ross, to the White House, granting him what the Washington Post says appears to be an <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-m6tSYpGqBfrUs%404343794-WAIHuXaY3ara6">expanded diplomatic portfolio</a>. Obama has <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-27JyLAh.SBUIQ%404343795-gaJ.0DkGeAteA">faced criticisms (Washington Independent)</a> from House Republicans for not chastising Iran more directly.<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-pJGmwZJr3pDeo%404343795-ZqJYo2Ya5ADOQ"></a>
Analysis:
The New York Times says in a <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-/dAZ3EgZnGLPo%404343796-Yh6trNnACJWV2">news analysis</a> that fissures may be emerging in the authority of Iran's Supreme Leader, though few think his hold on power is at risk in the short run.
In an <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-rkfMgjQuLrQPo%404343797-kr0OjGraxLeb%2e">interview with CFR</a>, Iran expert Gary Sick says Washington should continue to try to engage Tehran, but adds that this could become more difficult in the aftermath of the vote.
Foreign Policy <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-1DSrB2tuioUEk%404343798-v5kILNQkNGGlc">has a new blog</a> dedicated to its coverage of the vote and Washington's response.<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-FY2CLauQ2hEX6%404343798-dnrJNba4BUPf2"></a>
An <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-DCDT0iV7w4H4c%404343799-aTdPZ8Mkk0eX%2e">op-ed by two pollsters</a> in the Washington Post says that counter to what most of the Western press has been saying, Iran's reported results may in fact closely approximate the opinion of the Iranian voting public.
A <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-28.I4k/r2X79Y%404343800-9J46ZHpVuz8w6">new analysis</a> from the Economist disputes this point, saying the scale of Ahmadinejad's reported triumph is unconvincing.<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-6A.oOUpIxEGko%404343800-W8PwarYHpys52"></a>
Background:
An <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-sGCL5ZMlYRGNM%404343801-0I7ZC72lzxGEE">interactive timeline</a> of U.S.-Iranian relations.
A <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-RPe8A5GpfNcZA%404343802-Dri2lsXwb9y1o">Backgrounder</a> explaining the power of Iran's presidency and the limitations of the post.
MIDDLE EAST: OBAMA ON NETANYAHU SPEECH
President Obama cautiously welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech Sunday on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu for the first time supported a two-state solution but also presented a list of weighty conditions that prompted a sharp response from Arab negotiators. Obama said he viewed the speech as a <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-6tYL9BpLetZYc%404343803-y7edZzkG7HvAw">"positive movement" (BBC)</a> and downplayed the criticism it has drawn.
In a <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-aYdOQ96ile.f2%404343804-wkG2iHvVcqcbw">new CFR interview</a>, Aaron David Miller, a former senior U.S. negotiator in the Mideast, says Netanyahu's speech "was less about pursuing Arab-Israeli peace and much more about pursuing the U.S.-Israeli relationship."
In a <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-aUMSTu1tgprqo%404343805-V90MyY1f6Muqw">new interview with CBS</a>, Netanyahu said Israel wouldn't consider freezing Israeli settlement expansion until a final agreement is reached with Palestinians.
IRAQ-FRANCE: France <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-xRyP.q3kcaSAc%404343806-tJ8r7egqZpkIk">expressed willingness (Aswat al-Iraq)</a> to open a permanent consulate in Basra, Iraq.<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-XZI8sVZALt3x2%404343806-H6KliQI.bXPVE"></a>
PACIFIC RIM: CHINA-SCO LOAN
China Daily reports Beijing <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-NxHTGkHRbPcy6%404343807-FWKkfm.dS.jgA">extended a $10 billion loan</a> to Russia and four Central Asian states at yesterday's Shanghai Cooperation Organization regional summit. The loan is intended to help those states ride out domestic financial turmoil.
Reuters reports Chinese President Hu Jintao announced <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-fReYpgTR5CDHY%404343808-Tsmb/chQm0pGY">very few details</a> about the credit offer, but says Hu did give a relatively positive outlook on Chinese domestic economic prospects.
S.KOREA: Ahead of meetings with President Obama today, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called for Washington to quickly <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-2Ci/8008G5K5Q%404343809-BhQjPgiInYVbc">ratify a free trade agreement (Korea Times)</a> it signed with Seoul in 2007.
Analysis:
In an <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-9Yl7dR9iNDLWI%404343810-sekvElMQ93vp2">op-ed in the Baltimore Sun</a>, Jack Pritchard and John Tilelli, co-chairs of a CFR Independent Task Force report on U.S. policy toward the Korean peninsula, and Scott Snyder, CFR's adjunct senior fellow for Korea studies, outline what the two presidents should focus on in their meetings. The presidents must effectively address three main areas, they write: "policy coordination to address North Korea's nuclear threat, the development of a global security agenda that extends beyond the peninsula, and collaboration to address the global financial crisis as South Korea takes a lead on the G-20 process."
SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA: INDIA-PAKISTAN
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met yesterday in Russia, on the sidelines of a summit of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China), marking the first meetings between Singh and Zardari since last year's terror attacks in Mumbai. Dawn reports the two men <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-YlHrJBw5T76Kc%404343811-NaijIlPXxR2s6">agreed to schedule further talks</a>, on the foreign secretary level, to discuss joint efforts at improving security.
AFGHANISTAN: Afghanistan's intelligence agency has reportedly <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-VqGSA7yUWnoi2%404343812-XB7aoHzbo4jpU">arrested two al-Jazeera journalists (Quqnoos)</a>.
AFRICA: SOMALIA FOOD AID INQUIRY
The United Nations is launching an investigation into allegations that food aid delivered to Somalia is being <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-8fe.KWtNq3UJ6%404343813-nJW5ZTCPcobkk">sold on the open market (BBC)</a>, rather than distributed as intended.
DRC: The International Criminal Court <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-AcObIVdvXhL1.%404343814-JYpKPyVK3Y.3c">has indicted (AllAfrica)</a> the former vice president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on war crimes charges.
AMERICAS: FINANCIAL REGULATION
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration's proposed revamp of financial regulation, which it is due to unveil tomorrow, has in many cases <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-jxJ2Ab3l/zxxM%404343815-8USMhZOktN/D%2e">written Congress out of the policymaking loop</a>--a risky strategy, the Journal says, which could leave much of the praise or blame for the success of the legislation on Obama himself.
HAITI: The United Nations' special envoy to Haiti, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-kQx.L.I4wqkzw%404343816-pHZVlKrcU0vrM">outlined his priorities (Miami Herald)</a> for establishing security and prosperity on the economically and politically bedeviled island.<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-PikOEZ3xDTq2E%404343816-XOVHOUCQbG.v%2e"></a>
EUROPE: ITALY GITMO AGREEMENT
Following talks with U.S. President Obama in Washington, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi agreed to take <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-volN/ecQY5oz.%404343817-SH6Cjh9EW.s1k">three Guantanamo detainees (Deutsche Welle)</a>.<a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-7kAcFYnY/D4a2%404343817-bFycq.Yav9zgE"></a>
ABKHAZIA: Russia <a href="http://m1e.net/c?101077382-mdw2IcJxchBQQ%404343818-881Rb/vyz31Bw">vetoed the extension (AFP)</a> of the United Nations' mission in Abkhazia, the breakaway territory that was once part of Georgia.
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