CFR Daily News Brief

TOP OF THE AGENDA Opposition Candidate Elected President in Argentina Conservative opposition candidate Mauricio Macri won http://links.cfr.mkt5175.com/ctt?kn=33ms=NTAwODM0OTcS1r=NTg5Mzg0MTEzNDAS1b=0j=ODAzMTI1NDQ2S0mt=1rt=0 on Sunday after campaigning for reforms to spur investment in the country's lagging economy. Macri, the mayor of Buenos Aires, defeated Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires province and the leftist ruling-party candidate, in the runoff vote (NYT). Macri will become only the third non-Peronist leader since the end of military rule in 1983, marking a turn to the right (WSJ) in Argentina's government after twelve years of leftist power.

ANALYSIS "Macri, 56, has pledged to lift unpopular controls on the purchase of U.S. dollars and thus eliminate a booming black market for currency exchange. Doing that would likely lead to a sharp devaluation of the Argentine peso. With foreign reserves around $26 billion, low for such a large economy, the government would desperately need an immediate infusion of dollars,'" writes Peter Prengaman for the Associated Press. "The return to growth that his backers, and foreign investors, are anticipating won't be immediate. If anything, analysts are warning that things could get worse initially as the new president implements the kind of tough measures—cuts to the budget, a devaluation of the peso—that figure to further choke off consumer demand. Oxford Economics says gross domestic product will likely contract the next two years before rebounding to post growth of more than 5 percent by 2019," write Katia Porzecanski and Carolina Millan for Bloomberg. "Perhaps the biggest area where Mr Macri needs to effect change, though, is in Argentina's investment climate. Financial investors have cheered Mr Macri's rise and Argentine stocks and bonds have rallied on the prospect of change. But http://links.cfr.mkt5175.com/ctt?kn=34ms=NTAwODM0OTcS1r=NTg5Mzg0MTEzNDAS1b=0j=ODAzMTI1NDQ2S0mt=1rt=0. Mr Macri's job is to convert Argentina into a destination for real money and foreign direct investment rather than a hedge fund speculation," writes John Paul Rathbone for the Financial Times.

PACIFIC RIM China Pledges Funds to ASEAN China pledged $10 billion in infrastructure loans and $560 million in aid to southeast Asian states at the East Asia Summit (SCMP) in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend. Although many leaders raised concerns surrounding the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Beijing maintained that its reclamation projects would continue. This CFR Infoguide delves into the complex territorial claims of China's maritime disputes. JAPAN: An explosion at Japan's controversial Yasukuni Shrine Monday morning caused partial damage to the grounds (JapanTimes). The shrine, which honors war criminals among the 2.4 million killed in war, is regarded abroad as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Three Killed in Nepal Protests At least twenty-eight were hurt and three died in clashes (NYT) between protesters and police in southern Nepal over the weekend. Authorities had opened fire on demonstrators, who were blocking the country's main highway in protest over the nation's new constitution. BANGLADESH: Two senior Bangladeshi opposition leaders were hanged (NewsNext)for war crimes committed during the country's 1971 independence war with Pakistan after their pleas for clemency were rejected.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Kerry to Meet Saudi, UAE Officials U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is slated to hold talks on Syria (Reuters) with senior officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The discussions will focus on how to unify Syrian opposition groups ahead of a conference that will be hosted by Saudi Arabia next month. SYRIA: Two monitoring groups reported that Russian air strikes in Syria have http://links.cfr.mkt5175.com/ctt?kn=32ms=NTAwODM0OTcS1r=NTg5Mzg0MTEzNDAS1b=0j=ODAzMTI1NDQ2S0mt=1rt=0, including ninety-seven children, since September this year. CFR's Global Conflict Tracker sheds light on the Syrian civil war.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Second Group Claims Responsibility for Mali Attacks A second jihadist group from central Mali, the Macina Liberation Front, also claimed responsibility (France24) for the attack on a Bamako hotel that left nineteen people dead last week. The al Qaeda-linked group Al Murabitoun had first claimed responsibility as the country prepared for three days of national mourning. CAMEROON: At least nine people were killed in northern Cameroon in a suicide bombing (AP) by suspected Boko Haram militants over the weekend. The country is supporting a regional force to fight the militant group, whose six-year insurgency has killed an estimated twenty thousand people.

EUROPE Brussels Remains on Lockdown as Police Conducts Raids Belgian officials said they arrested at least sixteen suspects in nineteen raids (Guardian) on Sunday night in a bid to close down a terrorist network that authorities believed was plotting an attack. Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam remains at large as Brussels faces its third day of lockdown. FRANCE: French President Francois Hollande will urge U.S. President Barack Obama to intensify the military campaign (FT) against the self-proclaimed Islamic State during his visit to the White House on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the UK plans to boost its defense budget by seven percent for the next ten years (WSJ). Empowering the Sunnis of Iraq and deescalating the conflict in Syria are essential to curbing the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, writes CFR's Philip Gordon in this op-ed.

AMERICAS Colombia Pardons FARC Guerillas The Colombian government announced it will pardon thirty guerrillas (BBC) of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia currently serving prison sentences. The government said the move was a confidence-building measure in its peace talks with the rebel group that have been taking place in Cuba for the past three years. This CFR Backgrounder looks at http://links.cfr.mkt5175.com/ctt?kn=22ms=NTAwODM0OTcS1r=NTg5Mzg0MTEzNDAS1b=0j=ODAzMTI1NDQ2S0mt=1rt=0.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Kerry to Meet Saudi, UAE Officials U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is slated to hold talks on Syria (Reuters) with senior officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The discussions will focus on how to unify Syrian opposition groups ahead of a conference that will be hosted by Saudi Arabia next month. SYRIA: Two monitoring groups reported that Russian air strikes in Syria have http://links.cfr.mkt5175.com/ctt?kn=32ms=NTAwODM0OTcS1r=NTg5Mzg0MTEzNDAS1b=0j=ODAzMTI1NDQ2S0mt=1rt=0, including ninety-seven children, since September this year. CFR's Global Conflict Tracker sheds light on the Syrian civil war.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Second Group Claims Responsibility for Mali Attacks A second jihadist group from central Mali, the Macina Liberation Front, also claimed responsibility (France24) for the attack on a Bamako hotel that left nineteen people dead last week. The al Qaeda-linked group Al Murabitoun had first claimed responsibility as the country prepared for three days of national mourning. CAMEROON: At least nine people were killed in northern Cameroon in a suicide bombing (AP) by suspected Boko Haram militants over the weekend. The country is supporting a regional force to fight the militant group, whose six-year insurgency has killed an estimated twenty thousand people.

EUROPE Brussels Remains on Lockdown as Police Conducts Raids Belgian officials said they arrested at least sixteen suspects in nineteen raids (Guardian) on Sunday night in a bid to close down a terrorist network that authorities believed was plotting an attack. Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam remains at large as Brussels faces its third day of lockdown. FRANCE: French President Francois Hollande will urge U.S. President Barack Obama to intensify the military campaign (FT) against the self-proclaimed Islamic State during his visit to the White House on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the UK plans to boost its defense budget by seven percent for the next ten years (WSJ). Empowering the Sunnis of Iraq and deescalating the conflict in Syria are essential to curbing the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, writes CFR's Philip Gordon in this op-ed.

AMERICAS Colombia Pardons FARC Guerillas The Colombian government announced it will pardon thirty guerrillas (BBC) of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia currently serving prison sentences. The government said the move was a confidence-building measure in its peace talks with the rebel group that have been taking place in Cuba for the past three years. This CFR Backgrounder looks at http://links.cfr.mkt5175.com/ctt?kn=22ms=NTAwODM0OTcS1r=NTg5Mzg0MTEzNDAS1b=0j=ODAzMTI1NDQ2S0mt=1rt=0.