Good morning. We’re covering President Trump’s comments about Gaza’s future and a mass shooting in Sweden. Plus: The Sims turns 25.
Trump suggests a U.S. takeover of GazaPresident Trump proposed yesterday that the U.S. take over Gaza, and that all Palestinians there — about two million people — should leave, describing a permanent relocation to one or more sites funded by “countries of interest with humanitarian hearts.” Catch up on the news conference. His suggestion adds Gaza to the growing list of places that Trump wants to seize around the world, along with Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal. The president said it would be a “long-term ownership position” for the U.S. He did not answer a question about what legal authority would allow him to simply take over sovereign territory. “We will own it,” he said. Framing the matter as a humanitarian imperative, Trump said he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in the Palestinians. But neither state wants large numbers of Palestinians, nor is it clear that Gazans would willingly abandon the territory they have spent years defending. Hamas immediately rejected the suggestion, and the global reaction was sharply censorious. Trump suggested the U.S. could help Palestinians “find the right piece of land” and “build them some really nice places.” He said he envisioned it as a permanent relocation. “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” Trump said. “Gaza is not a place for people to be living.” Context: Trump is hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the White House to talk about the next stage of a cease-fire in the Gaza war. In the West Bank: Two Israeli soldiers were killed in a shooting attack as Israel pressed ahead with a military operation there. Nomenclature: Trump’s return has emboldened supporters of Israeli annexation of the West Bank who want to instead call the area “Judea and Samaria.” Opponents say that term reflects a political agenda.
Beijing was swift to retaliate after Trump’s tariffsChina struck back yesterday against President Trump’s 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese products with tariffs of its own on U.S. coal and gas, as well as restrictions on exports of some minerals. The measures will take effect on Monday, according to the Chinese government, meaning there is still time for negotiations. The White House press secretary said a call between Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, would happen soon. China’s tariffs would cover about $20 billion of U.S. exports, compared with Trump’s tariffs on more than $450 billion of Chinese goods, economists estimated. The Chinese authorities also started an antitrust investigation into Google. Catch up: The leaders of Canada and Mexico each negotiated a 30-day delay in U.S. tariffs. Our reporters looked at the different routes they took to arrive at the same outcome.
At least 10 were killed in a shooting in SwedenAt least 10 people were killed and a number of others were injured yesterday in a shooting at a center for adult education in Orebro, Sweden, the authorities said. The suspect, who was not immediately identified, was among the dead. “We have seen a brutal act of violence,” Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said in a televised address. “This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history.” Context: Shootings are rare in Swedish schools, but the country has been dealing with a steady surge in gun violence.
Two years after Sri Lankans cast out a strongman dynasty that had destroyed the economy, a leftist movement is seizing a rare opportunity to rally more women into politics. Making up more than half of registered voters, women are slowly and steadily reshaping a political culture that allows them equal space. Lives lived: The Aga Khan IV, leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, fused entrepreneurship and philanthropy to become one of the world’s wealthiest hereditary rulers. He died yesterday at 88.
Ukrainian musicians wonder if they’ll ever go homeRussia’s invasion turned the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra’s players into refugees. In Germany, where they are now trying to build new lives, support appears to be softening; at home in Ukraine, an unending war continues. Three years into the conflict, they continue to perform to highlight their homeland’s struggle. Always on their minds are faraway loved ones, fears about what might happen next and worries over how long they will be allowed to stay. “It’s a whole soup of anxiety,” one violinist said. “At some point, you start to wonder, ‘Will we ever go home?’” Read their story here. |
