Subject: Morning Brief: France halts plans for fuel tax amid violent protests
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2018 07:34:58 -0600 (CST)

France Halts Plans for Fuel Tax Amid Violent Protests

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MORNING BRIEF

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12/04/2018

12/04/2018

TOP NEWS

France Halts Plans for Fuel Tax Amid Violent Protests

Top News: In an effort to pour cold water on France’s explosive “Yellow Vest” protests, which have intensified over the last three weeks, the French government has suspended the fuel tax hike that set off the demonstrations around the country. In his announcement of the decision, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe emphasized that “no tax warrants putting the unity of the nation in danger.” Three people have reportedly been killed on the edges of the protests, and more than 260 have been injured.

Venezuela: Venezuela’s embattled president, Nicolás Maduro, is heading to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Maduro said he expects the discussion between them to be “very intense and very important.”

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AFRICA

•  Eighteen people were killed in a clash between soldiers and rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu region.

•  In Zimbabwe, doctors went on strike to protest low pay, tough conditions, and frequent drug shortages.

•  Gabon’s president, Ali Bongo, made his first public appearance in six weeks, after taking an extended medical leave in Morocco.

AMERICAS

•  Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has established a truth commission that aims to end impunity for the killers of 43 students who disappeared in Mexico’s drug war.

•  U.S. President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort reportedly attempted to broker a deal with Ecuador in 2017 to have Julian Assange handed over to the United States.

•  Uruguay has rejected an asylum request from Peru’s former President, Alan García, who is facing a corruption scandal at home.

ASIA

•  In Indonesia, a military spokesperson said the army is looking for Papuan separatists suspected of killing upward of 24 construction workers who were building a bridge in the province.

•  Sri Lanka was downgraded by two international credit agencies on Tuesday. Standard and Poor's cited a “significant erosion” in the country’s political stability.

•  China is planning to launch a quota system that sets minimum targets for renewable energy consumption by the end of the year.

EUROPE

•  In Geneva on Tuesday, the United Nations announced that it is seeking $738 million to assist Venezuela’s neighbors in dealing with a regional refugee crisis. In 2019, the U.N. estimates that 3.4 million Venezuelans will be displaced and “in need of assistance and protection, with no prospects for return in the short to medium term.”

•  In Luxembourg, the advocate general of the European Court of Justice argued that the United Kingdom has the right to unilaterally revoke Article 50, its departure notice from the European Union.

•  At a U.N. climate conference in Poland, veteran broadcaster David Attenborough urged the leaders assembled to respond to climate change, which he labelled “our greatest threat in thousands of years.”

MIDDLE EAST

•  Qatar’s energy minister, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, announced that his country will withdraw from OPEC in January, and prioritize exporting natural gas.

•  Israel’s military is ramping up an effort to “expose and thwart” Hezbollah’s use of cross-border tunnels.

•  After Saudi Arabia was stripped of its hosting rights, an international chess tournament planned for December will now be held in Russia.

- By Jefcoate O'Donnell

(Chesnot/Getty Images)

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