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The World Next Week: The U.S. Debt Ceiling Suspension Expires, the African Union Meets, and East Timor Celebrates Its Independence

<p>The U.S. Capitol Building (Mary F. Calvert/Courtesy Reuters).</p>
The U.S. Capitol Building (Mary F. Calvert/Courtesy Reuters).

By experts and staff

Published
  • James M. LindsayCFR Expert
    Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed the expiration of the U.S. debt ceiling suspension, the African Union summit in Ethiopia, and the eleventh anniversary of East Timor’s independence.

[audio: https://www.cfr.org/content/publications/media/editorial/2013/20130516_T…]

The highlights:

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

U.S. debt ceiling: CFR.org has a backgrounder on the debt ceiling. CNBC reports on Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s announcement that the United States will not reach the debt ceiling until Labor Day. Reuters describes the “emergency cash measures” that will be used by the U.S. Treasury after this weekend. The New York Times explain the legislation that House Republicans passed last week prioritizing debt payments.

African Union summit: The BBC profiles the African Union. The African Union website marks the fiftieth anniversary of the OAU and explains why 2013 is the “Year of Pan Africanism and African Renaissance.” Global Post reports that John Kerry will attend the African Union summit and that the relationship between African “powerhouses” South Africa and Nigeria may be improving.

East Timor’s eleventh anniversary: The U.S. Department of State summarizes U.S. relations with East Timor. The Economist ranks East Timor as the sixth fastest growing economy in 2013. ABC News (Australia) reports on East Timor’s tenth anniversary celebration and summarizes East Timor’s recent history. Frank Brennan argues that the time has come to settle the territorial dispute between Australia and East Timor.