The World Next Week: Syrian Massacre, Iran’s Nuclear Program, Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed the UN Human Rights Council’s special session on Syria; the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors meeting in Vienna; and the start of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit.

[audio: https://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/editorial/2012/20120531_T…]

The highlights:

For more on the topics we discussed in the podcast check out:

The UN Human Rights Council’s Special Session on Syria. Bloomberg tells how the Red Cross and Red Crescent found 5,000 refugees from Houla. Reuters says that the United States might bypass the UN on Syria if the international body does not act. The Guardian has live updates on the ongoing situation in Syria and across the Middle East. The New York Times reports that Susan Rice, the U.S. envoy to the UN, sees a grim outcome in Syria. The Washington Post says that Turkey and Japan have joined a number of Western nations in expelling Syrian diplomats in protest over the massacre.

The IAEA Board of Governors Meeting in Vienna. Al-Arabiya reports that IAEA inspectors have found traces of uranium enriched up to 27 percent in Iran, which is a higher level of enrichment than Tehran said it had achieved. The news agency also says that Russia is willing to work with Iran to build another nuclear power plant, as long as it is allowed to do so. Bloomberg’s editors argue that keeping Iran at the negotiating table will require skillful manipulation of the sanctions on oil currently imposed by the West. Fox Business reports that the IAEA has begun a two-week inspection of South Korea’s second-oldest nuclear reactor in the wake of concerns after the Fukushima disaster.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit. AFP notes that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend the summit while Reuters reports that China has attacked new sanctions against Iran. The China Daily writes that a senior Chinese diplomat has indicated that regional security issues will be addressed at the summit. The Eurasia Review predicts that the meeting will not be run of the mill.