The Daily Brief
The Fuzzy Math of Projecting the Coronavirus' Economic Impact — While comparisons to SARS have given economists a starting point, extrapolating the extent of the damage wrought by the current outbreak remains little more than an educated guess.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Resigns Amid Political Turmoil — Mahathir Mohamad's surprise move to call it quits has left Malaysia without a cohesive government at a time of mounting economic risks.
Signs of a Thwarted Russian Hit in Miami — Russian intelligence agencies have gotten away with killing the Kremlin's enemies abroad, which may have emboldened them to give assassination a try in the United States.
Given the aggression demonstrated by Russian intelligence agencies in these past cases, it is likely that U.S. authorities were on guard for attempts to target defectors living in the United States, and it is likely the person targeted in Miami was under government protection. This sensitivity, along with the shoddy tradecraft in this case, may have helped the Miami incident come to the notice of U.S. authorities and allowed them to catch Cabrera before he was able to leave the country. This case will also undoubtedly result in additional security being afforded to Russian defectors living in the United States — and elsewhere. If this was indeed some sort of assassination plot on U.S. soil, it underscores the brutal nature of Russian intelligence and their lack of concern for the blowback such an operation would bring. They've literally gotten away with murder and attempted murder in London, Berlin and other places while facing very little in the way of consequences. This may have emboldened them to extend those efforts to the United States.
'The Spy Who Couldn't Spell,' With Author Yudhijit Bhattacharjee — This episode of Stratfor's Pen and Sword Podcast features a conversation with Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, author of 'The Spy Who Couldn't Spell.'
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- Uganda: East African Court of Justice to Hear Case on Presidential Age Limits
- Ethiopia: Bomb Attack Targets Pro-Abiy Political Rally
- West Africa: Cooperation Between Al Qaeda and Islamic State Groups Compounds Regional Threat in the Sahel
- Syria: Turkey to Attend Idlib Summit With Russia, Germany and France
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