👋 Talofa!*
Welcome to Thursday, where a suspect is in custody after a shooting in Washington, D.C., killed two Israeli embassy staff, a White House meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump goes awry, and today’s quiz question asks what piece of advice the Netherlands has against cyber crime. Meanwhile, as the trial for the 2016 Paris robbery of Kim Kardashian unfolds, Le Figaro focuses on a forgotten victim: The concierge at the Paris hotel where the crime took place.
[*Samoan]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Durban-based Daily News dedicates its front page to a confrontational meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday. While Ramaphosa hoped the visit would improve economic and diplomatic relations between the two countries, Trump unexpectedly showed him documents and a video, evoking the harassment and murder of white farmers, land confiscations and even asked him for explanations about an alledged white “genocide” in South Africa. Ramaphosa stayed calm, saying South Africa remained committed to racial reconciliation although acknowledging that “there is criminality in our country.” This comes a week after the U.S. granted asylum to nearly 60 Afrikaners.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Two Israeli embassy staff shot dead outside Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. A couple who worked for the Israeli Embassy have been shot dead outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. Police say the victims, who have been named as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were killed by a man who shouted “free, free Palestine.” The suspect is in custody.
• UN says 90 aid trucks have entered Gaza after delays. The UN has confirmed that it had collected and begun dispatching around 90 truckloads of aid into Gaza, marking the first aid arrival in the besieged Palestinian territory since early March. This comes three days after Israel announced it would allow in limited aid. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages. But otherwise he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the Middle East here.
• Trump says Putin not ready for peace talks. U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ready to end his war on Ukraine because he believes he is winning, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Trump made the acknowledgement during a call with European leaders following his phone call with Putin on Monday.
• Oman confirms new round of U.S.-Iran talks. The fifth round of talks will be held in Rome on Friday, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi has said, despite the growing gap between the two countries over uranium enrichment. Read more: Beware, Mr. Trump: Iran’s Nuclear Game Has Entered Another Loop of Strategic Deception.
• North Korea’s second naval destroyer damaged at ceremony. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reprimanded officials over a “serious accident and criminal act” that resulted in damage to a newly built warship. The 5,000-ton destroyer suffered damage when a transport cradle detached prematurely during a launch ceremony in the northeastern city of Chongjin.
• Chagos deal paused by last-minute legal action. A British court blocked the UK from transferring sovereignty over the contested Chagos Islands to Mauritius hours before the agreement was due to be signed on Thursday. The agreement would see the UK hand the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, but allow the UK and U.S. to continue using a military base there for an initial period of 99 years. Finalizing the deal was delayed by last-minute negotiations over costs.
• News Quiz! Citing the rise of cyber threats, what has the Dutch government advised its citizens to do?
A. Cover webcams with tape
B. Keep some cash handy
C. Sell any cryptocurrency they may have
D. Switch back to paper maps
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
3 years, 10 months, 28 days
Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, 46, announced Wednesday he will come out of retirement to compete in the WBC welterweight championship in July in Las Vegas, where he will face Mexican-American champion Mario Barrio for the title fight. “Let’s make history,” Pacquiao wrote on Instagram after almost 4 years out of the ring. A Filipino senator from 2016 to 2022, Pacquiao had retired from boxing in 2021 while he also ran for president in 2022.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇩🇪🇮🇱 As Berlin and Tel Aviv mark a diplomatic milestone, the relationship born out of pragmatism, guilt and survival faces its toughest questions yet — especially amid war, protest and growing calls for criticism.
— DIE ZEIT
⚖️ As the trial for Kim Kardshan’s robbery unfolds in Paris, Le Figaro revisits how everything fell apart for Abderrahmane Ouatiki, an Algerian student working at the hotel front desk, who lost his passion for studying and was forced to return to his home country.
— LE FIGARO
🍽️ While weight-loss drugs like Ozempic work by boosting the hormone GLP-1, research shows certain foods and eating habits can naturally do the same.
— THE CONVERSATION
📣 VERBATIM
“ [It] severely damaged the dignity and pride of our nation in an instant.”
— North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has condemned a “serious accident” during the launch of a new warship on Thursday in the eastern port city of Chongjin, calling it a “criminal act.” Parts of the 5,000-ton destroyer’s bottom were crushed, tipping the vessel off balance, without causing casualties or injuries, state media reported. Kim has ordered the ship be restored before a key party meeting in June, and for those involved in designing the ship to be held responsible for the incident.
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright & Cecilia Laurent Monpetit
Quiz Answer: B. The Netherlands’ Central Bank (DNB) has advised citizens to keep enough cash on hand to last them three days in case of disaster or emergency, citing rising geopolitical tensions and cyber threats that could jeopardise the country’s payment system. Citizens should keep 70 euros per adult and 30 euros per child in cash as a precautionary measure, the bank warned this week.
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