NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Syrian refugees: The number of Syrians who have fled their country after six years of civil war has surpassed the 5 million mark, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday. UNHCR announced the milestone a year after participating countries at a Geneva conference pledged to “resettle and facilitate pathways for 500,000 refugees” from Syria — but only half of those places have been allocated so far. In the six years of war, nearly 400,000 people have been killed, and half of the country’s population has been displaced.
2 New settlement: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet approved Israel’s first new settlement in two decades to compensate for the courtordered demolition of a settler outpost. Netanyahu said Thursday that the decision passed unanimously to replace Amona, honoring a promise he made after it was destroyed this year. He said it will be built close to the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the West Bank. For the past two decades, the international community has backed a two-state solution to the conflict where a Palestinian state would be established alongside Israel in territory it captured in the 1967 war.
3 Human rights conditions dropped: The Trump administration has told Congress it plans to approve a multibilliondollar sale of F-16 fighter jets to Bahrain without the human rights conditions imposed under former President Barack Obama. The approval would allow the gulf island to purchase 19 jets from Lockheed Martin Corp. Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, is a predominantly Shiite island ruled by a Sunni monarchy. Government forces, with help from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, crushed a 2011 uprising by Shiites and others who sought more political power.
4 Political standoff ends: Nine Malaysians who had been barred from leaving North Korea were allowed to depart on Thursday in a deal giving Pyongyang the remains of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korea’s leader, the Malaysian government said. The agreement ends a diplomatic standoff that followed the Feb. 13 killing of Kim with a banned chemical weapon at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Angered by Malaysia’s investigation of the killing, Pyongyang said the Malaysians would not be allowed to leave North Korea.
5 China-U.S. summit: Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with President Trump at Mar-a-lago, Fla., on April 6 and 7, Xinhua news agency reported Thursday. It will be the first summit meeting between the two leaders. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said earlier this month that the purpose of the meeting would be to “defuse tensions over North Korea and the recent deployment” of the first stages of the U.S. Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense antimissile system in South Korea. Trump entered office highlighting grievances with Beijing, including the U.S. trade deficit with China, charges of currency manipulation and concern over the country’s military expansion to back its territorial claims in disputed maritime areas. 6 Child marriages: Germany’s governing parties have agreed on new rules to ensure that most marriages involving people under 18 aren’t legally recognized in the country. The issue arose following the influx of refugees to Germany in 2015, and the main goal is to protect girls who were married abroad. The bill calls for all marriages involving those younger than 16 to be considered null and void.