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Wednesday's global agenda: All eyes on Syria
Your morning global-affairs speed-read
The world's attention remains focused on Syria today as United Nations Security Council members get briefed on special envoy Kofi Annan's U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). A number of council members see Friday's massacre in Houla as a turning point, and three of the five — the United States, France and the United Kingdom — expelled the top Syrian diplomats from their countries on Tuesday.
In the United States, the Obama administration is also coming under increased pressure to do more. Mitt Romney, the GOP's official presidential nominee as of Tuesday, thinks he has found a foreign-policy issue where criticism of Obama's “lack of leadership” can stick.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued the strongest comments to date by an Israeli official on the need for “more concrete action.” [The New York Times]
Justice delivered: The international war crimes court in The Hague sentenced Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, to 50 years in prison on Wednesday, saying he was responsible for "some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history." [Associated Press]
Asian competitiveness: Government officials and business leaders meet in Bangkok today for a World Economic Forum on East Asia summit dedicated to "Shaping the Region's Future through Connectivity.”
Tone-deaf: Russia warned America's ambassador to tone down his public remarks after Michael McFaul accused the country of putting “a big bribe on the table" to get Kyrgyzstan to order the United States out of a transit base being used to support operations in Afghanistan. [Wall Street Journal]
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US expels Syrian envoy after massacre
Udall: Iran 'can't play for time solely' in nuclear negotiations
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