The World Next Week CFR

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.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Steven A. Cook, “Iran Attack Means an Even Tougher Balancing Act for the U.S. in the Middle East,” CFR.org
 
“How India’s Imports of Russian Oil Have Lubricated Global Markets,” Economist
 
Andy Bounds, Laura Dubois, Christopher Miller, “Germany Urges Dozens of Allies to Send Air Defense Systems to Ukraine,” Financial Times
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/aftermath-irans-attack-israel-eu-talks-ukraine-indias-massive-election-and-more 

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.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Regina Garcia Cano and Gabriela Molina, “Mexico Severs Diplomatic Ties with Ecuador After Police Storm Its Embassy to Arrest Politician,” Associated Press
 
“Sudan Crisis Sends Shockwaves Around the Region as Displacement, Hunger, and Malnutrition Soar,” World Food Program
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/congresss-urgent-agenda-sudans-year-war-ecuador-mexico-embassy-fray-and-more 

Rwanda marks thirty years since its genocide against the Tutsis; U.S. President Joe Biden hosts the first trilateral leaders’ summit with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.; music fans celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Swedish pop group ABBA’s Eurovision win; and Ekrem İmamoğlu is elected mayor of Istanbul, in a rebuke to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Eurovision Winners, Eurovision World
 
Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda, PBS
 
Mariel Ferragamo, “Thirty Years After Rwanda’s Genocide: Where the Country Stands Today,” CFR.org 
 
“Rwanda: Freedom in the World 2024,” Freedom House
 
“Three Decades After Rwanda’s Genocide, the Past is Ever-Present,” The Economist
 
When Abba Came to Britain, BBC 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/rwanda-30-years-after-genocide-us-japan-philippines-summit-abbas-eurovision-legacy-and 

The fallout after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip ​​and release of all hostages further reveals a growing strain between the United States and Israel; Russia reels from the ISIS-K terrorist attack on concertgoers near Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin deliberating how to respond; the Cuban government cracks down on recent protests across the country over food shortages and power outages; and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is found to have stayed overnight at the Hungarian embassy in Brasília in February 2024.  
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Barak Ravid, “Netanyahu Cancels Meetings with Biden Officials Over UN Ceasefire Vote,” Axios
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/biden-and-netanyahu-odds-putin-responds-isis-k-attack-cuba-food-and-electricity-shortages 

Senegal holds its postponed presidential election amid fears of democratic backsliding; Slovakia chooses a new president in voting that could bolster Prime Minister Robert Fico’s illiberal tilt; Pakistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan exchange blows after a string of terrorist attacks on Pakistani territory; nuclear energy gets a boost at a first-ever summit in Brussels, Belgium; and the European Union provides Egypt with $8 billion worth of aid. 
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/senegal-and-slovakia-elections-pakistan-and-afghan-taliban-clash-nuclear-energy-gains 

Russia holds its presidential election with the Kremlin aiming to orchestrate a sweeping endorsement of President Vladimir Putin; the U.S. Congress continues its partisan battles over the 2024 budget as concerns of shutdown and aid to allies mount; the U.S. Library of Congress flexes its soft power by awarding Elton John and Bernie Taupin with the Gershwin Prize; and the crisis in Haiti worsens. 
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman, “UNRWA Funding Emerges as Sticking Point in FY 2024 Spending Talks,” Punchbowl
 
Liana Fix and Maria Snegovaya, “Leadership Change in Russia,” CFR.org
 
From the Catbird Seat, Library of Congress
 
Thomas Graham, “Why Russia’s Election Matters to Putin,” CFR.org
 
Michael Kimmage and Maria Lipman, “Forever Putinism: The Russian Autocrat’s Answer to the Problem of Succession,” Foreign Affairs
 
Putin's Approval Ratings, Levada-Center
 
Brett Zongker, “Elton John & Bernie Taupin = 2024 Gershwin Prize,” Library of Congress Blog
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/russias-gloomy-elections-us-budget-divisions-elton-john-bernie-taupin-awarded-and-more