Iraq’s New President, China’s Party Congress, Israel-Lebanon Maritime Agreement, and More

The Iraqi parliament meets to choose a new president; Xi Jinping is expected to consolidate power at the Twentieth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party; and Israel and Lebanon prepare to finalize a historic agreement on a disputed maritime border. 

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Hosts
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor
  • Steven A. Cook
    Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies and Director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars
Credits

Ester Fang - Associate Podcast Producer

Gabrielle Sierra - Senior Producer

Middle East and North Africa

Hostilities between Iran and Israel reach a new level after Israel’s ground invasion in southern Lebanon and the latest Iranian missile attack on Israel; U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump hold separate town halls to reach undecided Hispanic voters; U.S. President Joe Biden heads to Germany to shore up military support for Ukraine; and Norway considers building a fence on its border with Russia.

Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy intensifies efforts to galvanize greater political and financial support; Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will elect a new leader to become the next prime minister; the United States and Canada each impose a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs); and Sri Lanka’s new president, Marxist Anura Kumara Dissanayake, calls for national elections. 

Diplomacy and International Institutions

The UN General Assembly begins its seventy-ninth high-level debate amid questions about its limited role in resolving major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; fears of a wider regional war grow as Hezbollah vows retaliation against Israel after thousands of pagers exploded across Lebanon; U.S. President Joe Biden hosts the leaders of the Quad in Wilmington, Delaware, to strengthen coordination in the Indo-Pacific region; and Russia seeks to add 180,000 troops to its army.

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