Losers and haters
Israel, Palestine, Syria, France, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, the US, and the Pacific.
The five things you need to know today:
ISRAEL. PALESTINE. Trump wants to wrongfoot his Gaza critics.
SYRIA. FRANCE. Macron does a reverse-Putin in the Levant.
UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Trump seeks peace in our time.
JAPAN. UNITED STATES. The transpacific partnership enters the unknown.
THE PACIFIC. A strategic archipelago shifts to China.
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ISRAEL. PALESTINE. No dream is too bigly
Trump wants to wrongfoot his Gaza critics.
Donald Trump said Israel would hand Gaza to the US "at the conclusion of fighting" in a doubling-down of recent remarks Thursday. Marco Rubio would soon visit the region, the State Department said. Cairo and Amman issued warnings.
INTELLIGENCE. Jordan's king and Egypt's president are due to visit the White House next week. Both have condemned the plan. Rubio wants the region to “find a solution”. Trump seems minded to force them to make a better offer. Israel is goading Europe to do the same. Its defence minister called on Ireland and Spain, frequent critics of the war, to take in Gaza's 2 million residents. The White House has sanctioned on the International Criminal Court.
FOR BUSINESS. Anyone can be a critic, particularly if you’re a sanctimonious European. Israel’s call for Madrid and Dublin to accept Palestinian migrants seems absurd, but no more than Trump’s original idea for Gaza’s redevelopment. Pressure could be applied. Spain underspends in NATO. Ireland undercuts US tax rates. Their prime ministers have been outspoken critics of Trump. Between putting up and shutting up the latter course seems wise.
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SYRIA. FRANCE. Coucou les amis
Macron does a reverse-Putin in the Levant.
Emmanuel Macron invited Ahmed al-Sharaa to visit Paris in the first call by an EU leader. French logistics group CMA CGM received a new contract to run Latakia’s port. Macron will host an international conference on Syria next week.
INTELLIGENCE. France, a former colonial power, has deep roots in Syria, as in neighbouring Lebanon. CMA CGM