The World Next Week: September 29, 2011

A preview of world events in the coming week from CFR.org: the UN Human Rights Council debates Syria; Afghanistan marks a decade since the U.S.-led invasion; the 30th anniversary of Egyptian President Sadat's assassination is marked.

 

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor

Show Notes

CFR's Director of Studies James Lindsay and CFR.org Editor Robert McMahon preview major world events in the week ahead.

In this week's podcast: the UN Human Rights Council debates Syria; Afghanistan marks a decade since the U.S.-led invasion; the 30th anniversary of Egyptian President Sadat's assassination is marked.

Theme music by Miguel Herrero under Creative Commons License

China

Secretary of State Antony Blinken wraps his second visit to China as tensions mount over Beijing’s military support of Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing threats in the South China Sea; International Workers’ Day on May 1 comes at a time of revived labor activism over wages and inequality; and U.S. President Joe Biden approves a $61 billion foreign aid package providing critical military assistance to Ukraine, potentially improving the situation on the ground in the war with Russia.

India

Concerns grow over the widening Middle East conflict after Iran launches three hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel; European Union (EU) leaders discuss how to bolster aid to Ukraine amid an uptick in Russian attacks and the situation unfolding in the Middle East; India kicks off the world’s largest democratic election—spanning more than forty-four days—where the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win again; and warming water temperatures cause a mass bleaching of coral reefs.

Sudan

Congress returns from recess and grapples with contentious agenda items, including reauthorization of a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and a Ukraine aid package; Sudan enters a second year of civil war with more than half of the country’s population in need of aid and millions more displaced; and Ecuadorian police breach international law by raiding the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas. 

Top Stories on CFR

Ukraine

The new U.S. aid package will reestablish a critical flow of weapons to Ukraine’s military, but the war will hinge greatly on which side can ramp up and sustain its firepower and troop numbers in the months ahead.  

RealEcon

The World Bank and IMF have concluded their spring meetings, but questions remain on China, lending capacity, and balancing the interests of rich and poor countries.

Mexico

Organized crime’s hold on local governments fuels record election violence; Europe’s cocaine pipeline shifting to the Southern Cone.