G8 protests overshadow London summit; Korean talks cancelled over delegate disputes; Japan and Britain expected to forge defense intelligence-sharing agreement; reformist candidate drops out of Iran's presidential race; Sudan blocks flow of oil to South; and more

Top of the Agenda: G8 Protests Overshadow Summit

London riot police raided (Guardian) the headquarters of an anti-G8 protest group on Tuesday and arrested fifty-seven people as demonstrations took place against next week's G8 summit in Northern Ireland. Protestors also took to the streets Tuesday night as part of a four-day gathering against the summit, where the world's eight wealthiest countries will meet for a two-day conference. French resistance to a U.S.-EU trade deal has dominated the buildup to the talks, as have corporate transparency and corruption issues. Observers have voiced concerns about the security risk (Reuters) of hosting the conference near Enniskillen, the scene of a 1987 IRA bombing that killed eleven people at a commemoration of Britain's war dead.

Analysis

"If lasting achievement does elude [British prime minister David] Cameron it will be for three reasons: vested interests have proved too strong; the pressure exerted from civil society has proved too weak; and he left it too late to cajole and persuade his fellow leaders. Reports suggest the prime minister is fully engaged – but successful G8 summits need years, not weeks, of hard graft," writes Larry Elliott for the Guardian.

"The Labour opposition claims Mr Cameron has been selling Britain short, settling for an unambitious agenda and failing to invest the political energy required to turn the G8 from a talking shop into an engine for progress," write George Parker, Claire Jones, and Jim Pickard for the Financial Times.

"The G8 leaders should put the issue of large-scale corporate 'land grabs' in developing countries on the agenda, promoting action to help improve their governance, transparency and accountability," writes Jim Clarken for the Independent.

 

PACIFIC RIM

Korean Talks Suspended

North Korea failed to answer South Korea's calls on a newly reopened communication line on Wednesday, a day after high-level government talks were called off (Yonhap). The meeting, which could have eased tensions, had been cancelled due to disagreements over the selection of delegates by both sides.

CFR's Scott Snyder discusses the renewed Korean dialogue in this blog post.

JAPAN: Japan and Britain will likely forge a defense intelligence-sharing accord at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland next week (JapanTimes).

ELSEWHERE:

Reformist candidate drops out of Iran's presidential race

Sudan blocks flow of oil to the South

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