Friday's global agenda: Egyptian election pits Islamist against Mubarak official

By Julian Pecquet - 05/25/12 07:00 AM ET

Your morning global affairs speed-read:

The run-off in the Egyptian presidential elections will pit the two most controversial candidates — the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi and former Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq — against each other. The two men took the lead among a field of 13 candidates in Egypt's first free elections and will face off on June 16. [The New York Times]

There goes the neighborhood: The Egyptian elections are sure to come up when the State Department's third-ranking official, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, visits Tel Aviv today for consultations on bilateral and regional issues with senior officials, during which she will “reaffirm our unshakeable commitment to Israel's security.”

Regardless of whether the timing of Sherman's visit was coincidental — Sherman is the United States’s top negotiator in Iran nuclear talks held nearby in Baghdad — it comes at a time of great trepidation for Israel as its 33-year peace agreement with Egypt is in question like never before. Some 85 percent of Egyptians view Israel negatively, according to polls, while 97 percent see it as one of their country's biggest threats and 61 percent want to overturn the treaty. [Foreign Policy]

No deal: Two days of negotiations between Iran and the international community over the country's nuclear program were only salvaged after the parties agreed to meet again, in Moscow next month. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said “significant differences” remain to be resolved. [The Washington Post]

Pointing fingers: The United States and Russia have begun a blame game as former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's Russia-backed plan for peace in Syria unravels. [Bloomberg Businessweek]

Here we go again: Seoul said it expects North Korea to carry out its third nuclear test at any moment based on an analysis of recent commercial satellite images. [CNN]

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