U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the Middle East as the region reacts to attacks in Iran, Lebanon, and the Red Sea; the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas previews new products and services equipped with artificial intelligence (AI); the U.S. Congress returns from its holiday recess with divisions over migration and defense aid; and the stabbing of South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung stirs fears ahead of elections.
 
Recommended Listening
 
“The Year of AI and Elections,” Why It Matters
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at:  https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/mideast-tensions-grow-consumer-electronics-show-spotlights-ai-divided-us-congress-returns

Mideast Tensions Grow, Consumer Electronics Show Spotlights AI, Divided U.S. Congress Returns, and More

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In this special episode to mark World Press Freedom Day, Jeffrey Gedmin, cofounder and editor-in-chief of American Purpose and former president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, joins Robert McMahon and Carla Anne Robbins to discuss the global state of press freedom. They cover the challenges that a growing number of journalists face in exile or imprisonment, the U.S. role in upholding freedom of the press, and more. 
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
“Exile Journalists Map—Fleeing to Europe and North America,” Reporters Without Borders
 
“Media Freedom,” Freedom House
 
2023 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders
 
Journalists: 
 
Parnaz Azima
 
Jamal Khashoggi
 
Alsu Kurmasheva
 
Monica Lovinescu
 
Georgi Markov
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at:  https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/world-press-freedom-day-2024-mounting-threats-renewed-purpose

World Press Freedom Day 2024: Mounting Threats, Renewed Purpose

Secretary of State Antony Blinken wraps his second visit to China as tensions mount over Beijing’s military support of Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing threats in the South China Sea; International Workers’ Day on May 1 comes at a time of revived labor activism over wages and inequality; and U.S. President Joe Biden approves a $61 billion foreign aid package providing critical military assistance to Ukraine, potentially improving the situation on the ground in the war with Russia.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
“2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State
 
“Global Military Spending Surges Amid War, Rising Tensions and Insecurities,” Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
 
Max Boot, “Weapons of War: The Race Between Russia and Ukraine,” CFR.org
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/blinken-visits-china-may-day-stirs-workers-rights-concerns-us-resumes-ukraine-aid-and-more

Blinken Visits China, May Day Stirs Workers’ Rights Concerns, the U.S. Resumes Ukraine Aid, and More

Concerns grow over the widening Middle East conflict after Iran launches three hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel; European Union (EU) leaders discuss how to bolster aid to Ukraine amid an uptick in Russian attacks and the situation unfolding in the Middle East; India kicks off the world’s largest democratic election—spanning more than forty-four days—where the incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win again; and warming water temperatures cause a mass bleaching of coral reefs.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Steven A. Cook, “Iran Attack Means an Even Tougher Balancing Act for the U.S. in the Middle East,” CFR.org
 
“How India’s Imports of Russian Oil Have Lubricated Global Markets,” Economist
 
Andy Bounds, Laura Dubois, Christopher Miller, “Germany Urges Dozens of Allies to Send Air Defense Systems to Ukraine,” Financial Times
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/aftermath-irans-attack-israel-eu-talks-ukraine-indias-massive-election-and-more

Aftermath of Iran’s Attack on Israel, EU Talks Ukraine, India’s Massive Election, and More

Congress returns from recess and grapples with contentious agenda items, including reauthorization of a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and a Ukraine aid package; Sudan enters a second year of civil war with more than half of the country’s population in need of aid and millions more displaced; and Ecuadorian police breach international law by raiding the Mexican embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Regina Garcia Cano and Gabriela Molina, “Mexico Severs Diplomatic Ties with Ecuador After Police Storm Its Embassy to Arrest Politician,” Associated Press
 
“Sudan Crisis Sends Shockwaves Around the Region as Displacement, Hunger, and Malnutrition Soar,” World Food Program
 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/congresss-urgent-agenda-sudans-year-war-ecuador-mexico-embassy-fray-and-more

Congress’s Urgent Agenda, Sudan’s Year of War, Ecuador-Mexico Embassy Fray, and More

Rwanda marks thirty years since its genocide against the Tutsis; U.S. President Joe Biden hosts the first trilateral leaders’ summit with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.; music fans celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Swedish pop group ABBA’s Eurovision win; and Ekrem İmamoğlu is elected mayor of Istanbul, in a rebuke to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.
 
Mentioned on the Podcast
 
Eurovision Winners, Eurovision World
 
Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda, PBS
 
Mariel Ferragamo, “Thirty Years After Rwanda’s Genocide: Where the Country Stands Today,” CFR.org 
 
“Rwanda: Freedom in the World 2024,” Freedom House
 
“Three Decades After Rwanda’s Genocide, the Past is Ever-Present,” The Economist
 
When Abba Came to Britain, BBC 
For an episode transcript and show notes, visit The World Next Week at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/rwanda-30-years-after-genocide-us-japan-philippines-summit-abbas-eurovision-legacy-and

Mideast Tensions Grow, Consumer Electronics Show Spotlights AI, Divided U.S. Congress Returns, and More

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