Olympics Kick Off in Tokyo, Biden and Iraq’s Al-Kadhimi Meet, and More

The Tokyo Olympic Games kick off in COVID-19’s shadow, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visits U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, and South Africans deal with the fallout from days of deadly rioting.

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Hosts
  • James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor

Show Notes

The Tokyo Olympic Games kick off in COVID-19’s shadow, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visits U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, and South Africans deal with the fallout from days of deadly rioting.

Democracy

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China to discuss Brazil-China economic ties; millions of people around the world switch off their lights for 60 minutes to celebrate Earth Hour; and the United States, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Zambia co-host the second Summit for Democracy.

Iraq War

The UN Security Council decides whether to renew the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan; on its twentieth anniversary, Americans and Iraqis take stock of the U.S. invasion of Iraq; and the future of the Ukraine-Russia Black Sea Grain Initiative, a vital food export agreement, is decided.

United Kingdom

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss migration, trade, security, and other issues; the world enters the fourth year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic; and Academy Award-nominated films spotlight international issues.

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Russia

The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow helped both give the impression of a united front, but underlying tensions were also discernible.

Immigration and Migration

Edward Alden, the Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at CFR and Ross Dist Visiting Professor at Western Washington University, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the crisis at the U.S. southern border and the domestic debates over U.S. immigration policy.

Peru

The mass protests that have rocked Peru since December threaten to upend regional supply chains, intensify migration flows, and strain Lima’s bilateral relations.