Editor’s note: There will be no Daily Brief on Monday, June 19, in observance of Juneteenth. |
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Beijing Hosts U.S. Secretary of State in Visit Delayed By Tensions |
Antony Blinken is making his first trip to China (Bloomberg) as secretary of state over the weekend, where he is due to meet (NYT) with senior Chinese officials. The visit, originally planned for February, was delayed after U.S. forces shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. Blinken is expected to focus the talks on steadying ties and improving communications between the countries.
While Chinese and U.S. officials are still determining whether Blinken will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Xi held a rare meeting today with a U.S. business leader when he hosted philanthropist and former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates (FT). Xi called Gates an “old friend” and stressed the importance of person-to-person exchanges between the two countries.
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“The United States needs to solidify the floor that the Biden administration has tried to put under the freefall [in U.S.-China relations]. This is essential because the allies and partners Washington hopes to enlist to pressure China expect a good-faith effort to seek cooperation with it, where possible,” the Paulson Institute’s Henry M. Paulson, Jr. writes for Foreign Affairs.
“Even as Beijing tries to establish a separate world order that is not dominated by the United States, China still needs—and wants—American investment and trade,” the Washington Post’s Lily Kuo writes.
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African Leaders Begin Trip to Ukraine, Russia To Urge Peace |
Russia launched missile strikes on Kyiv (FT) around the time that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other African leaders arrived for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today to discuss peace and the war’s effects on global food and fertilizer costs. They are due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin as well. This episode of the Why It Matters podcast looks at the global fertilizer dilemma.
Eritrea/Ethiopia: A probe by officials in the Tigray region found that Ethiopian government officials and Eritrean soldiers were responsible for the theft of food aid (Reuters) that prompted UN and U.S. donors to freeze its distribution.
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North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles |
The launch toward the Sea of Japan came after North Korea’s defense ministry denounced the joint live-fire drills (Yonhap) between U.S. and South Korea forces that ended this week. It had been around two months since Pyongyang conducted a missile launch. |
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Indian Official’s Home Burned Amid Ethnic Violence |
Rajkumar Ranjan Singh was not at his home (Indian Express) when it was torched in the Manipur state capital, Imphal. More than one hundred people have died in clashes between two ethnic groups since May 3.
India: India reported five deaths (NYT) after Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall, in spite of mass evacuations before the storm came ashore.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Saudi Leader Meets With France’s Macron in Paris |
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to discuss the war in Ukraine (AFP/RFI) at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron today.
Lebanon: Protesters on the outskirts of Beirut vandalized several banks (Arab News) after being denied access to their money and criticized alleged corruption in the country’s financial system. The protests began less than a day after parliament failed to elect a president for the twelfth time.
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CFR’s Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins discuss Blinken’s rescheduled China trip, Modi’s state visit with Biden, Ukraine’s counteroffensive, and more. |
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Greece Searches for Bodies, Detains Suspected Smugglers After Migrant Boat Sinks |
Authorities have confirmed at least seventy-eight deaths (NYT) from the disaster on a ship thought to be carrying as many as five hundred people, but the full death toll is expected to be much higher. The authorities detained nine Egyptian nationals on criminal charges related to the episode, including provoking the ship’s capsize and the illegal transfer of migrants.
Brussels: The European Central Bank hiked interest rates (FT) to their highest level since 2001 in an effort to contain inflation.
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Top Venezuelan Election Official Resigns |
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Alleged Pentagon Leaker Indicted on Six Counts |
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The New York Times hands the pen to three young Iranian women who cast away their hijabs to protest the Islamic Republic’s rule as part of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. |
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