Syria casts pall on G20 Summit; Bank of Japan says economy on track to recovery; Cambodia criticised for not paying its share of costs for Khmer Rouge tribunal; Pakistan gets $6.7 million IMF loan; US car sales rebound; and more

Top of the Agenda: Syria Strikes Loom Over G20 Summit

Leaders from the Group of 20 leading world economies are meeting St. Petersburg for an annual summit that is expected to be overtaken this year by sharp divisions over a looming U.S.-led strike to punish the Syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons (AP). While many observers will search for clues in the interactions between Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, the G20 is also expected to sign an agreement that fights tax evasion by multinational corporations (BBC), and will discuss concerns from emerging markets about the Federal Reserve's plan to taper its quantitative easing program (CSMonitor).

Analysis

"As the only multilateral forum that unites, and is limited to, the most important advanced and emerging countries, the G20 must be allowed to address the other critical challenges confronting the world, including matters of peace and security. This is the emerging lesson of the St. Petersburg summit, where the question of what to do about Syria will dominate conversation, even if it is not on the formal agenda," writes CFR Senior Fellow Stewart M. Patrick.

"With U.S. missiles poised to strike at a key Russian ally, keeping the focus on the G-20's economic agenda may be a lost cause – about as likely as making Putin and Obama see eye to eye at the summit. And although the weather is forecast to be clear this week in St. Petersburg, the mood inside the Konstantin Palace will likely be as cold as a Russian winter," writes Simon Shuster for TIME.

"The U.S. is now debating a military campaign that marries the highest, most abstract idealism to the harshest, most unsettling pragmatism: Obama wants to punish Assad for violating the abstract norms of war even as he leaves Assad capable of continuing his massacre by more conventional means. This is why there is no enthusiasm for intervening in Syria," writes Ezra Klein for Bloomberg.

 

PACIFIC RIM

Bank of Japan Says Economy on Track for Recovery

The Bank of Japan said the economy is on a recovery track, a move that could see the implementation of a sales tax increase and a temporary pullback on monetary easing (WSJ). Consumer prices rose 0.7 percent in July, the fastest increase in four years.

CAMBODIA: The UN and Human Rights Watch criticized Cambodia for failing to pay its share of the cost for the Khmer Rouge tribunal (AP).

ELSEWHERE:

Pakistan gets $6.7 million IMF loan

US car sales rebound

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.