Democratic.net: [RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, September 25, 2009

Friday, September 25, 2009

[RED DEMOCRATICA] CFR.org Daily Brief, September 25, 2009

September 25, 2009

View this newsletter as a web page on CFR's website.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

- G-20 summit kicks off in Pittsburgh.
- Iran admits to second uranium enrichment plant.
- Honduran political leaders hold crisis talks.
- UN Security Council passes nuclear safeguards resolution.

Top of the Agenda: G-20 Summit

The Group of 20 summit begins today (FT) in Pittsburgh, bringing together leaders of the world's twenty leading and emerging economies for the third time in less than a year.

U.S. President Barack Obama will announce (WashPost) that the G-20 will permanently replace the Group of 8 as the primary global economic policy forum. The G-20, unlike the G-8, includes developing countries including China, Brazil, South Africa, and India.

Leaders are expected to debate (VOA) new financial regulations, including whether to limit bonus payments for bankers, and whether to require banks to maintain larger reserves to handle bad loans.

Analysis

CFR's Roger M. Kubarych says the G-20 summit will find leaders relieved that the worst of the global economic crisis is over, but divided over substantive changes to the world's financial architecture.

The Christian Science Monitor says the concept of the G-20 as the world's leading economic body has sparked skepticism among experts who say the group is not up to the task.

Background

A CFR Backgrounder outlines the policy issues that will command the most attention at the summit for each of the G-20 members.

The Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics blog offers a "progress report" on the major pledges G-20 leaders made when they last met in April.

MIDEAST: Iran's Second Enrichment Plant

Iran admitted to operating (Times of London) a secret second uranium enrichment facility inside a mountain in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The admission preempted a planned announcement of the plant's existence by President Obama and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown today at the G-20 meeting. Iran reportedly discovered recently that the site has been under Western surveillance for years, spurring Brown and Obama to move to make the news public.

Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations: The Quartet of Mideast peace negotiators praised President Obama's efforts (AP) to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The Quartet, which includes the United States, the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia, said it agreed with Obama's statement earlier this week that expressing his impatience with the resolution of the region's conflict.

PACIFIC RIM: HIV Vaccine

An HIV vaccine trial involving more than sixteen thousand subjects in Thailand shows the vaccine to be safe (WSJ) and somewhat effective. The vaccine reduced the chance of contracting the virus by 31 percent.

Myanmar: Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said she welcomed the announcement (BBC) this week that the United States will engage in diplomacy with Myanmar's military junta. Suu Kyi also hoped the United States would engage with the country's political opposition, according to her lawyer.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA: Drone Strike

A suspected U.S. missile strike in northwest Pakistan killed ten suspected Taliban militants (Daily Times). The drone attack reportedly targeted a compound associated with the network of Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani.

The Washington Post looks at a "new wave" of anti-Americanism in Pakistan and its effect on U.S. military efforts in the region.

AFRICA: Food Aid in Africa's Horn

More than twenty million people in the Horn of Africa need food aid (BBC) as a result of two years of poor rainfall, according to the UN World Food Program. The program also said congestion in Djibouti's port is slowing the flow of relief supplies.

Libya: Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, speaking at CFR, said Libya "would not support an Iran weapons program." Video of Qaddafi's remarks is available here.

Gambia: Activists launched a campaign (allAfrica) to remove the headquarters of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights from Gambia's capital city of Banjul after Gambian President Yahya Jammeh reportedly threatened to kill human rights campaigners. "If you think that you can collaborate with so-called human rights defenders, and get away with it, you must be living in a dream world. I will kill you, and nothing will come out of it," Jammeh is reported to have said.

AMERICAS: Zelaya Negotiations

Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya held informal talks with an official from the country's interim government to end the country's political crisis. Zelaya told al-Jazeera he believed he had enough support in the Honduran military to return to power, but said he would not do so through violent means.

Mexico: Mexico's Senate approved Arturo Chavez (LAT) as its new attorney general to lead the country's war on drugs. Chavez faces criticism from human rights activists for failing as state prosecutor to properly investigate the murders of hundreds of women in the northern state of Chihuahua.

This CFR Backgrounder looks at Mexico's drug war.

EUROPE: Emissions Battle

The European Commission is considering challenging the decision (Times Online) of the European Court of First Instance to annul the Commission's measures to cut Polish and Estonian carbon emissions quotas. The court said EU states have the right to set their own quotas.

Russia: Russia's largest automaker, AvtoVAZ, announced it will cut some 27,600 jobs (St. Petersburg Times) in an effort to weather a global drop in demand. AvtoVAZ is part owned by French carmaker Renault.

TRANSNATIONAL: Security Council Resolution

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (VOA) and ensure that countries develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The New York Times says Iran's nuclear program was "the subtext of every conversation" in the Security Council meeting, despite President Obama's assertion that the nonproliferation efforts are "not about singling out an individual nation."

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