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Netanyahu U-turns over US meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will send a delegation to Washington, reversing a decision to skip a meeting in protest over the U.S. not vetoing a U.N. call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The canceled trip signaled worsening relations between Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden, who is stepping up pressure on Israel over a planned military incursion into the southern Gazan city of Rafah. But U.S. officials told Axios that it had been ”an unnecessary drama on Netanyahu’s part,” and an Israeli official agreed: “Bibi made a mistake.” The rescheduled meeting could be as soon as next week. Netanyahu’s U-turn suggests he is unwilling to break too openly with Washington, Israel’s most important ally.

France and Brazil forge closer ties

The presidents of France and Brazil launched a submarine made in the South American nation using French technology, part of a program that aims to build Brazil’s first nuclear-powered submarine by the end of the decade. The launch comes shortly after both leaders announced a $1.1 billion investment plan to protect the Amazon. The pair, however, will “confront some thorny subjects” during the visit, The Economist reported. A trade deal between the EU and Mercosur, South America’s biggest trading body — of which Brazil is a member — fell through largely because of French President Emmanuel Macron’s opposition. Meanwhile Macron will try to secure support for Ukraine from his counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has refused to condemn Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine focuses on fortifications

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the front lines to inspect progress on 1,200 miles of fortifications being built to slow Russian advances. A lack of robust defensive lines has allowed steady Russian gains in southern and eastern Ukraine since the unsuccessful 2023 counteroffensive. Kyiv bet heavily both on the counteroffensive and last year’s brutal 10-month defense of Bakhmut, which cost it precious ammunition and manpower, both in short supply as Western support dwindles. Ukrainian analysts have criticized the leadership for failing to prepare defensive lines for troops to fall back to. Now Kyiv’s strategy has moved from offense to “active defense,” the Financial Times reported, holding its line while probing for weak spots, and the military is rushing to dig fortifications.

China removes Australian wine tariffs

China lifted its tariffs on Australian wine exports, signaling a rapprochement between the two countries after years of fraying ties. Australian winemakers will be hoping that the move leads to a revival of the industry: The 218% tariff, imposed in response to then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s calls for a probe into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to a glut that “brought the wine industry to its knees,” Bloomberg reported. However Australian vintners will still face slowing demand in China: Total Chinese wine imports fell to $65 million last month, down from a peak of $371 million in January 2018.

Uganda’s tourism boom

Earnings from tourism to Uganda grew nearly 50% last year, surpassing $1 billion for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry now provides employment to more than 600,000 people in the country, and is one of the biggest drivers of its economy, The EastAfrican reported. Uganda’s growing reliance on tourism for economic growth is increasingly reflected across the continent: According to a 2022 report by the World Travel & Tourism Council, earnings from tourism in Africa are expected to grow by 6.8% annually through 2032, more than double the pace of the overall economy. “Africa is clearly bouncing back,” the head of the WTTC said.

The cost of US bridge disaster

The Baltimore bridge collapse could leave as many as 2,400 without work, the head of a union in the city said, as no firm plans for how to help them have been set. While the port of Baltimore is only the U.S.’ 17th largest, it’s a key infrastructure asset for the country: Baltimore’s port is the country’s top destination for car shipments and one of its biggest coal depots. Although some transportation experts have suggested the port could reopen by May, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it was “too soon to be certain,” adding that rebuilding the bridge “will not be quick, or easy, or cheap.”

Canada’s surging population

Canada’s population hit a record high of 41 million. The country added 1.27 million residents in 2023, the fastest growth rate in 66 years, most of it from temporary immigration. Ottawa is deliberately courting skilled migrants, offering anyone with a U.S. H-1B visa automatic permanent residency, among other incentives and routes, to boost its labor force. It’s working, but at a cost: Rent inflation was at an annualized 10% in January, as the country struggles to build the homes it needs. One analysis suggested that Canada needed to build 170,000 new dwellings every three months, but was struggling to manage 220,000 a year.

French PM backs teacher in hijab row

France’s prime minister said a teenager will be sued by the state for falsely accusing her headteacher of hitting her when he insisted she remove her headscarf. Islamic head-coverings have been banned in French schools since 2004, part of the country’s strict secularity requirements. The headteacher resigned last week after facing death threats following the February incident in Paris. Threats are taken seriously since a teacher was decapitated in 2020 after showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in class. A man was arrested over the death threats, and politicians expressed shock at the teacher’s resignation: The prime minister said the state “will always stand” with teachers faced with “breaches of secularism,” while left- and right-wing opposition blamed the government.

Accelerating Earth needs to skip a second

The Earth is spinning slightly faster, meaning timekeepers may have to skip a second around 2029 to keep clocks accurate. The 24-hour day is not fixed: When dinosaurs first emerged, it was more like 22 hours. The rate of spin has slowed as tidal forces steal energy from the Earth. “Leap seconds” have been added to maintain accuracy: 27 of them between 1972 and 2016. But the movement of the Earth’s liquid core has counteracted that recently, and — for the first time — a “negative leap second” may be required, skipping a moment rather than adding one. The melting of the ice caps, by shifting mass from the poles to the equator, has delayed the need by about three years, one scientist told the Associated Press

Making the British pint climate-resistant

Scientists are developing climate-resilient hop plants to future-proof the British pint. Hops, the flower of the plant Humulus lupulus, give beer much of its flavor: The bitter, floral, or citrus tastes of craft ales or draught bitters are from the hops. But yields have dropped as Britain’s climate has warmed. The U.K. government is funding programs to produce varieties which can withstand the change, as well as to provide more intense flavors. The scientists will isolate genes in drought-resistant plants which can be crossbred into plants used in beer production. ”Without it, the British pint is going to die off,” one brewery spokesperson told the BBC.

• The Polish and Ukrainian governments are expected to hold talks in Warsaw.
• Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi launches its SU7 electric car.
• Popstars and former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton support President Joe Biden’s reelection bid at a campaign event in New York.

The bonus offered by Booyoung, a South Korean construction company, for each baby its workers produce. The total fertility rate — the number of children each woman is expected to give birth to in her lifetime — fell to 0.72 in 2023, the world’s lowest by some distance, and is expected to fall again this year. Political leaders have offered financial incentives, but now private companies are following suit, the Financial Times reported. Booyoung’s chair told employees: “If Korea’s birth rate remains low, the country will face extinction.”

A new podcast series uncovers surprising and forgotten stories from India’s past. Long Story Short, the brainchild of Kolkata-based storytelling medium Paperclip, opens with an episode about an Indian girl kidnapped by Portuguese pirates in the 17th century and how she goes on to “leave an indelible mark on Mexican history.” It also explores the stories of Indian soldiers who fought in the Spanish Civil War, a family from Telangana who survived the sinking of the Titanic, and the connections between a French opera and a major Indian cosmetic brand.

• Trump’s tariff plan would cost families $1,500 a year, Democratic group finds.
• Binance executive flees Nigeria detention as it faces tax evasion charges.
• Trump Media is now a company. But is it a business?