CFR Daily News Brief

TOP OF THE AGENDA Top Suspect in Paris Attacks Confirmed Dead Paris prosecutors confirmed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian militant suspected of masterminding the Paris attacks, has been identified as one of those killed (AP) in a raid in St. Denis on Wednesday. France's parliament voted to extend the state of emergency by three months (FT) after Prime Minster Manuel Valls warned of potential chemical or biological terror attacks (BBC). Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama said it may take months (Reuters) for Iran, Russia, and the Syrian government to accept that there would be no resolution to the Syrian war while President Bashar al-Assad remained in power.

ANALYSIS "While the January terrorist attacks at the offices of Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish grocery story led to a paler version of this effort at national unity, symbolized by the massive march in Paris on Jan. 11, this time around — with an election pending in just weeks that could change the nature of the republic — a political timeout for an attack that claimed nearly 130 lives proved too much to ask. Today, the pallor of the union is such as to render it nearly invisible,'" writes Robert Zaretsky for Foreign Policy. "Remember that the West has two things to defend: the lives of its citizens, and the liberal values of tolerance and the rule of law that underpin its society. Where these are in conflict, it should choose policies that minimise the damage to values in order to make large gains in protection. Sadly, in the scramble for security, that principle often seems to be the first thing to go," writes the Economist. "The attacks of November 13, in other words, are not the mark of a growing Islamist threat on French soil. They reveal a systemic failure of counterterrorism institutions to protect Paris. The scale of the attack, the multiplicity of targets, and the high death toll signal the magnitude of that failure," writes Camille Pecastaing for Foreign Affairs.

EUROPE Belgium Steps up Security Brussels announced an extra $426 million for Belgium's security services and a host of measures aimed at stemming criticism of its handling of counterterrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks. On Thursday, Belgian police conducted a series of raids in Brussels (FT) in efforts to obtain information on one of the Paris suicide bombers. Belgium has more foreign fighters in Syria per capita than any other EU country, according to the Financial Times. CFR's resource page on the Paris attacks include in-depth analysis and insight.

PACIFIC RIM China Pushes for Emissions Limit China's representative for climate change said that Beijing wants to see a legally binding treaty limiting greenhouse gas emissions (SCMP) at the UN climate talks in Paris later this month, adding that that there were major disagreements between nations at the preparatory meeting. APEC: Leaders at the APEC forum issued a joint statement condemning terrorism (Guardian) as the meeting came to a close in Manila. Meanwhile, police Manila used water cannons against indigenous, student, and labor groups demonstrating against the conference.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Italian Missionary Killed in Bangladesh An Italian missionary working in northern Bangladesh was shot and wounded (NYT)in the third attack on foreigners there since late September. Western intelligence officials warned in September that terrorists were planning to attack foreigners in the country.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Islamic State Claims Two Hostages Killed The self-proclaimed Islamic State said it had executed two hostages (WSJ), one Chinese and the other Norwegian, releasing images of the two men. The militant group had demanded ransom, which the Norwegian government declined to pay. EGYPT: Egypt said on Wednesday that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed international cooperation (AlArabiya) in the fight against terrorism. The self-proclaimed Islamic State published a photo of what it claims was the bomb that brought down a Russian commercial jet in Egypt last month.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Bombs Strike Second Nigerian Market Two female suicide bombers killed eleven people in a market (BBC) in the northern Nigerian city of Kano just two days after thirty people died in a suicide bombing in northeastern Yola. No one has claimed responsibility, although militant group Boko Haram has previously targeted Kano. CFR's John Campbell discusses a new report that lists Boko Haram as the world's deadliest terror organization. SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's military dismissed forty-seven peacekeepers serving in the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo for violating curfew (Al Jazeera). Nearly 1,400 South African troops are deployed in the DRC.

AMERICAS Obama Threatens to Veto New Refugee Bill The White House threatened to veto a House bill that would impose a new layer of screening (WaPo) for Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The House is scheduled to vote Thursday on the legislation, which would require national security agencies to certify the refugees pose no risk. The While House called the additional http://links.cfr.mkt5175.com/ctt?kn=23ms=NTAwNTU2MzkS1r=NTg5Mzg0MTEzNDAS1b=0j=ODAyNjE2NjA2S0mt=1rt=0 CFR's Edward Alden discusses the resettlement of refugees in this new blog post. HONDURAS: Honduran authorities arrested five Syrian men carrying stolen Greek passports in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday (AFP). Honduras, which said the men intended to travel to the United States, said Monday it had reinforced security in its travel hubs following the French attacks.