| April 21, 2010 View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website.  |  | | | | | | Top of the Agenda: European Airports Resume Flights European airports resumed flights (BBC) nearly one week after the Icelandic volcano's ash cloud halted travel in the region. Air traffic agency Eurocontrol said roughly 75 percent of European flights would operate Wednesday, though the buildup of ninety-five thousand flight cancellations would cause delays. The international air transport group IATA said the disruption cost the airline industry $1.7 billion. The Royal Navy retrieved nearly three hundred British travelers stranded in northern Spain. Responding to criticism that the EU lagged in reopening airspace, the UN International Civil Aviation Organization said it would lead efforts to create a global safety standard for flying in the presence of air-borne ash. Other businesses were also hit by the delays, including Japanese and German carmakers; South Korean mobile phones; European clothing production in Bangladesh; and produce exporters in Zambia, Kenya, and Uganda. The U.S. Travel Association said the incident cost the U.S. economy $650 million and affected (WSJ) some six thousand U.S. jobs. Analysis: In the Financial Times, Christopher Meyer says policymakers' overly cautious approach to the ash cloud, focusing on minimizing only one type of risk, fails to consider systemic costs and the "substitute risk of action." The Peterson Institute's Jacob Kirkegaard says airlines at the brink of bankruptcy could collapse and Europe's GDP will suffer as a result of the ash-cloud disruption. | | | | | | | | | MIDDLE EAST: Odierno Says Third al-Qaeda Leader Killed The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, said Iraqi and U.S. forces killed (AFP) a regional al-Qaeda leader Tuesday, two days after Iraqi forced killed the top two commanders of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Iran: Iran's Revolutionary Guards are set to begin (RFE/RL) a three-day military drill in the Persian Gulf on April 22, during which Iranian-made missiles will be tested. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates's memo on Iran's nuclear policy is a reminder that the White House needs more effective policies to counter Iran's nuclear progress, says CFR President Richard Haass. | | | | | | | | | PACIFIC RIM: China Faces Growing Pressure on Yuan China will face growing international pressure to begin appreciating (FT) its currency, as G20 finance ministers and central bankers meet Thursday in Washington. In this roundup, six experts debate whether the Obama administration's approach to China's currency policy is the right one, and why. South Korea: The South Korean government says it uncovered (TimesofLondon) a plot to assassinate the most senior North Korean government official ever to have defected. Read CFR's Asia Unbound blog, featuring timely analysis from CFR's Asia experts. | | | | | |
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