Syria to top G8 conference agenda; North Korea proposes nuclear talks with Washington; Chinese newspaper says deporting Edward Snowden to the US would be a "face-losing outcome"; Czech premier resigns amid scandal; five Turkish unions to join in anti-government protests; and more
Top of the Agenda: Syria to Top G8 Conference Agenda
World leaders are in Northern Ireland on Monday for the G8 summit (BBC) set to be dominated by the ongoing conflict in Syria, for which UK prime minister David Cameron said he hoped summit members would find "common ground." U.S. president Barack Obama will meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin (Reuters) on Monday after Putin clashed with Western leaders over plans to arm Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow, Syria's key ally, has staunchly opposed U.S. plans to arm the rebels. The two-day summit is also expected to focus on global economic issues (Bloomberg), including the launch of talks for an EU-U.S. free-trade deal.
Analysis
"David Cameron's call for today's Ulster meeting to agree action against tax havens is original, sensible, and needs international concord to push it through. Success would be a real triumph for him. A treaty will take time, but it is good to start now. So why spoil it with Syria?" writes Simon Jenkins for The Guardian.
"The differences between Russia's position on Syria and that of the West [were] thrown into stark relief by the Downing Street meeting between President Putin and the prime minister. They are so deep that they look set to overshadow this G8 summit in Northern Ireland unless, as Mr. Cameron hopes, the discussion can focus on bolstering chances for some kind of renewed peace talks in Geneva," writes Jonathan Marcus for the BBC.
"Today, corporation tax is levied on a company's profits, not its revenues or where its customers are located. But if the rules being suggested for US companies – essentially that they should pay corporation tax where their sales are generated – were applied to European multinationals (of which there are many), it would mean more money for the U.S. Treasury and less for domestic exchequers," writes Eric Schmidt for the Financial Times.
PACIFIC RIM
North Korea Proposes Nuclear Talks
North Korea's top nuclear envoy will visit Beijing this week for talks with senior Chinese officials a day after Pyongyang proposed high-level discussions (Yonhap) with Washington aimed at easing tensions and denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
This CFR Backgrounder traces the history and development of the China-North Korea relationship.
CHINA: A state-backed Chinese newspaper said on Monday that extraditing ex-CIA employee Edward Snowden to the United States would be a "betrayal" of his trust and a "face-losing outcome" for Beijing (SCMP).
ELSEWHERE:
Czech premier resigns amid scandal
Five turkish unions to join in anti-government protests
This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.