In this occasional series, The Washington Post brings you up to speed on some of the biggest stories of the week. This week:
The biggest story: Trump's “trade war” would be different
China responded to President Trump’s new tariffs by threatening tariffs of its own on 106 more U.S. products, including soybeans, cars and some airplanes. It is the latest escalation in what could become a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economies, writes Emily Rauhala in Beijing.
Both sides have shown little willingness to back down in recent weeks, and there likely will not be an easy way to end the standoff if history is any indication.
Six other important stories
1. Netanyahu scraps U.N. deal to resettle African asylum seekers
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrapped an agreement with the United Nations to resettle thousands of African asylum seekers in the West, giving in to pressure from immigration hard-liners in Israel who saw the deal as rewarding illegal migrants. Without the U.N. deal, thousands of Sudanese and Eritrean migrants will be left in legal limbo.
Read the full story by Adam Taylor.
2. Long-lost film that predicted the rise of anti-Semitism has an ominous message for today’s world
A long-lost film that predicted the rise of anti-Semitism, “The City Without Jews,” sparked furious reactions when it was first released in the mid-1920s. After a copy was found in a Paris flea market in 2015, the silent film was restored and is now back in cinemas. It has an ominous message for today’s world.
“We can clearly see the exploitation of people’s fears once again. Politicians focus them on target groups — be it immigrants or followers of religions,” said a film archive representative, referring to the rhetoric used across Europe and North America against refugees and immigrants.
3. Nazis destroyed this Berlin synagogue. A Muslim politician and a Jewish leader want to rebuild it.
Eighty years after the Nazis destroyed a major Berlin synagogue, a Palestinian-born German politician and the leader of Berlin’s Jewish community are outlining a plan to give the site new life. The aim, they said, is to send a message of comity and reassurance at a time when rising Islamophobia and fears of a new wave of anti-Semitism in Germany are deepening social mistrust.
Read the full story by Luisa Beck.
4. Worried by rise of far-right groups, Canada puts millions into anti-racism effort
The Liberal government in Ottawa has committed to providing 23 million Canadian dollars over two years for multicultural programs and cross-country consultations on racism, hoping to prevent the rise of far-right right groups in Canada. “The risk is it sort of feeds into [the far right’s] victim mentality now they're being targeted by the government,” said one critic. “It could have a backlash in terms of further entrenching their positions.”
Clothilde Goujard has the full story.
5. In lopsided election win, Egypt’s president Sissi tightens grip and stirs resentment
With his landslide reelection victory, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi has deepened his grip on the Arab world’s most populous country and become arguably the country’s most autocratic leader since it became a republic in 1953.
His outsized economic and political ambitions are breeding resentment within large segments of the population and, some analysts say, inside Egypt’s highly influential military.
Sudarsan Raghavan reports from Cairo.
6. This Cambodian city is turning into a Chinese enclave, and not everyone is happy
China is trying to spread its political and economic influence across Asia, particularly through its ambitious “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure-development initiative. Cambodia is trying to develop its economy without having to follow any of the human rights demands U.S. and European governments tend to insist upon.
Those two interests directly coincide in Sihanoukville, a port city on the Gulf of Thailand named after the late king who is still revered as the father of modern Cambodia.
Anna Fifield traveled to Sihanoukville.
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