Myanmar Opposition Wins Landslide Victory
Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy won a landslide victory (AP) in historic elections, ending decades of military rule. While the NLD took more than the two-thirds majority (BBC) it needs to select the president, a quarter of parliamentary seats will still automatically be held by the military. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama called to congratulate (Reuters) NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is constitutionally barred from becoming president, but who has said she would hold a role "above the president."
ANALYSIS
"The NLD will probably maintain the foreign policies of the Thein Sein government. Suu Kyi may get a warmer welcome in Washington, but Thein Sein already got a pretty warm welcome. Other leading democracies—most importantly, Japan—have already embraced Myanmar and its reforms. The NLD does not have a ton of experience in thinking about policy about important neighbors like China and Singapore, but it is beginning to do so,'" says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick in an interview with the Diplomat.
"Deep suspicions remain about the army's intentions. After the National League for Democracy won a landslide in the last open elections, in 1990, the military nullified the vote and jailed the opposition en masse. That could still happen, of course, but so far, the military has said the right things," writes Thomas Fuller for the New York Times.
"It will be a short honeymoon for Miss Suu Kyi. She will face international pressure to alleviate the suffering of the Rohingyas, a Muslim minority which the government has treated as stateless, depriving them of the vote. She has so far shied away from addressing their plight directly. After her victory—and the implicit rebuke it delivered to Buddhist nationalists, who tried to undermine Miss Suu Kyi's campaign by accusing her of coddling Muslims—many will rightly expect more," writes the Economist.
PACIFIC RIM
U.S. Bombers Fly in South China Sea
The Pentagon said that two U.S. strategic bombers flew near artificial islands (TIME) built by China in the South China Sea this week despite being contacted by Chinese air traffic control. The move comes after a U.S. warship sailed into waters claimed by China in a freedom-of-navigation operation last month.
A CFR InfoGuide looks at China's maritime tensions.
AUSTRALIA: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Thursday in a bid to mend relations (ABC). Australia withdrew its ambassador from Indonesia earlier this year after Indonesia executed two Australians accused of trafficking drugs.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA
India, UK Announce Trade Deals
India and the UK signed trade deals (IBT) worth $13.7 billion and wrapped up talks for a civil nuclear deal that will expand cooperation on civil and military technology and nuclear research. The announcement came on the first day of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK.
A rising India offers one of the biggest opportunities to advance U.S. interests over the next two decades, explains this new CFR Independent Task Force Report.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Kurdish Fighters Take Sinjar
Kurdish peshmerga forces entered the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar (Al Jazeera) after pushing self-proclaimed Islamic State fighters from the strategic town. Meanwhile, U.S. defense officials said they are almost certain a drone strike killed the UK militant (Independent), known as Jihadi John, who was seen in videos depicting the beheading of foreign journalists last year.
LEBANON: Prime Minister Tammam Salam held an emergency meeting of security and military chiefs after forty-four people were killed in a double suicide bombing in a predominantly Shiite suburb of Beirut. The self-proclaimed Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Washington Ends Liberia Sanctions
U.S. President Barack Obama ended the U.S. sanctions program on Liberia (WSJ), citing progress in the country's democratic systems. The sanctions were issued after the 2003 civil war that led to the rise of former President Charles Taylor, who is serving a fifty-year sentence handed down by an international court for war crimes.
BURUNDI: The United Nations adopted a resolution (AFP) that calls for urgent talks in Burundi and laid the groundwork for the deployment of peacekeepers. Violence erupted after President Pierre Nkurunziza pursued a third term in April.
CFR's John Campbell discusses the resolution in his new blog post.
EUROPE
EU Secures Funds for Turkish Help in Migrant Crisis
European leaders agreed to contribute more than $3 billion in aid to Turkey in exchange for the country's cooperation to stem the influx (FT) of migrants into Europe. The deal, which would direct funds toward refugee camps in Turkey, is also expected to include EU-wide visa for Turkish citizens and renewed talks over Turkey's application for EU membership.
A CFR Backgrounder delves into Europe's migrant crisis.
BULGARIA: A Serbian human rights organization issued a report accusing Bulgarian authorities of brutality toward migrants (BBC). The report, sponsored by the UK group Oxfam, was based on the testimony of migrants walking from Bulgaria into Serbia.
AMERICAS
Kerry Discusses Paris Climate Talks
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that December's climate change talks in Paris will not deliver a treaty (FT) that legally binds countries to carbon emissions cuts. The remark exposed international divisions over how to enforce a deal, which the European Union has long argued should be an international treaty with legally binding measures.
ARGENTINA: Argentina's newly elected congress will be sworn into office December 3, with the current coalition of President Cristina Fernandez taking a comfortable majority in the Senate. Argentina faces a November 22 runoff of its presidential candidates.
Original CFR post at http://www.cfr.org/?cid=nlc-dailybrief-daily_news_brief--link1-20151113&sp_mid=50008974&sp_rid=aW50ZWxAcGFsYWRpbi1hZy5jb20S1
