U.s., China Close In On Trade Deal

When Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah this week, seizing control of its vital border crossing with neighboring Egypt, they appeared to be edging dangerously close to President Joe Biden’s red line. For months, the American president voiced his opposition to an Israeli invasion of the densely-populated city absent a clear and credible plan to safeguard the more than 1 million people sheltering there.

DAKAR, Senegal — A Boeing 737 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “Our plane just caught fire,” wrote Malian musician Cheick Siriman Sissoko in a post on Facebook that showed passengers jumping down the emergency slides at night as flames engulfed one side of the aircraft.

As the E. U. moves toward parliamentary elections in June, Europe’s populist right is having a moment. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has defied predictions of a short tenure. In Spain, political attacks on Socialist Party Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife have created turmoil. The right has also made gains in the Netherlands and Portugal. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] But the biggest fear for those dreading a possible far-right surge across Europe has long been the arrival on France’s center stage of anti-immigrant icon Marine Le Pen and her National Rally (RN) party.

Malaysia’s domestic soccer league was meant to kick off on Friday with a match between its top two teams that serves both as the Malaysia Charity Shield and the league curtain-raiser. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] But after three players were targeted in the last week—one left hospitalized after an acid attack, another in stitches from a violent home robbery, and a third not physically harmed but traumatized after a couple motorcyclists smashed his car with a hammer while he was inside—one of the teams has pulled out, citing criminal incidents and threats. “Given the uncertainties surrounding the club at present, Selangor FC would like to emphasize that the safety of the team is of utmost importance and we take all forms of violence and threats seriously,” the club said in a statement on Wednesday.

Malaysia plans to gift orangutans to its major buyers of palm oil, a commodity long blamed for destroying habitats of the endangered apes. The world’s second-biggest palm grower is taking inspiration from China’s “Panda Diplomacy,” and is considering to gift the orange-haired mammals to some of its trading partners, including the European Union, as part of the country’s “strategic diplomatic move.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Read More: How Pandas Are Becoming a Tool of Chinese Diplomacy “This will be a manifestation of how Malaysia preserves wildlife and ensures sustainability of our forests, especially within the palm oil plantation landscape,” Johari Abdul Ghani, the Southeast Asian nation’s plantations and commodities minister, said in a post on X.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued his first apology over his wife receiving a luxury handbag under questionable circumstances, highlighting his efforts to set a new course for his government after a stinging defeat in parliamentary elections. In his first news conference in about two years, Yoon pledged Thursday to improve livelihoods and create a new ministry to boost the country’s birthrate, which is ranked lowest in the world and threatens long-term economic prospects. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] He also laid out priorities for his remaining time in office, which include taming inflation, boosting growth led by the private sector and raising the basic pension for senior citizens to 400,000 won ($292) a month.