Flagship

Biden calls Japan, India ‘xenophobic’

US President Joe Biden labeled Japan and India, two key American allies, “xenophobic.” His remarks came during a campaign fundraiser in which he linked US economic strength to immigration, before going on to lump the two countries with China and Russia as struggling economically “because they’re xenophobic.” The remarks point to the centrality of immigration in this year’s presidential election. They could, however, also cause a diplomatic issue: Biden has hosted state dinners with the leaders of both Japan and India — the former just last month — in efforts to strengthen Washington’s alliances against China. Still, experts said the comments were unlikely to derail those efforts, with one South Asia analyst telling the BBC they were a “tempest in a teacup.”

US politics’ impact on Israel

The effect of US domestic politics on the country’s response to the Israel-Hamas war was increasingly on display in Congress. A group of 34 conservative senators called on President Joe Biden to suspend reported plans to allow refugees from Gaza into the US, while Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Semafor that discussion of a Washington-Riyadh security deal which does not explicitly include provisions for normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia “ain’t going to work.” There were some signs of bipartisan cooperation on Israel, however, with the Senate’s Democratic leadership appearing likely to join with the House of Representatives’ top Republican to invite the country’s prime minister to deliver a rare joint address to Congress, according to The Hill.

US’ rivals deepen ties

The cadence of talks between adversaries of the US is increasing, demonstrating their growing ties and deepening joint opposition to Washington. In one week in April alone, officials from Belarus, China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia held 10 high-level, public bilateral meetings, the Institute for the Study of War noted. The talks point to the support they offer one another in combating the US and its allies, such as via materiel directed to Russia to advance its war in Ukraine, a conflict that has “accelerated their deepening economic, military, political, and technological ties,” two experts wrote in Foreign Affairs. The convergence is creating what they dubbed a new “Axis of Upheaval.”

Russian, US troops use same Niger base

Russian military personnel have moved into a military base currently being used by US forces in Niger. Moscow’s troops are in a separate hangar and not using the same part of the base as their American counterparts, but the move is laden with symbolism: Niger had been a key US partner in combating extremism in West Africa until a junta, which came to power in a coup last year, asked Washington to remove its forces. Niger is among several African countries whose governments have been felled by coups in recent years which subsequently asked Western nations to withdraw their troops, with the US leaving Chad and France having withdrawn from Burkina Faso and Mali. Russia wants to improve ties with those same countries.

Macron warns Europe is ‘mortal’

Europe faces a panoply of risks that could ultimately spell its doom, French President Emmanuel Macron warned. His remarks in an interview with The Economist, part of a weeks-long effort to set out his vision to refashion the European Union ahead of June’s regional elections, outlined a treble of challenges: the difficulty of standing up to Russia while acknowledging that the US may not always defend Europe; the possibility that Europe falls behind technologically and is overtaken in particular by a growing China; and concerns that the region’s leaders resign themselves to defeat at the hands of domestic nationalists. “Europe is mortal,” Macron argued, reiterating a comment he made in a recent speech. “It can die.”

China’s growing EV prowess

China’s largest auto show neared completion, showcasing the country’s growing dominance of the fast-growing electric vehicle market. EV sales now account for more than half of all car purchases in China, thanks in part to a brutal price war that has forced many automakers into collapse, and demand has remained buoyant despite a flagging overall economy. The intense competition has helped Chinese car companies quickly improve the quality of their offering, “threatening to leap further ahead of their global rivals,” The New York Times reported. “It’s not that China is beating the world on electric vehicles. The hybrid technology is first class as well,” Tu Le of Sino Auto Insights said. “Get used to it folks.”

Brazil, China vie for Boeing clients

Brazilian and Chinese aircraft makers want to snare business from the beleaguered giant Boeing. China’s COMAC C919 — designed to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320 narrowbody planes — this week passed several days of intense inspections, a key step in its broader deployment and sale. “The Chinese will offer a better price, and of course they will … capitalize on all the scandals that Boeing has run through in the last couple of years,” one expert told the South China Morning Post. Brazil’s Embraer is also considering developing a new model to compete with the 737 MAX, The Wall Street Journal reported, long-running discussions that have accelerated after a string of Boeing safety failings.

Deadly floods, dam collapse in Brazil

Heavy rains in southern Brazil triggered the collapse of a hydroelectric dam and killed at least 30 people, with a half-million more left without electricity or clean water. Officials blamed extreme weather, caused by a dangerous cocktail of strong winds, high levels of humidity, and higher-than-average temperatures. The incident spotlighted both Brazil’s dependence on hydroelectric power, which accounted for around two-thirds of all its electricity supply in 2020, and the sometimes worrying state of its dams: Prior collapses in 2015 and 2019 left hundreds dead and resulted in significant environmental damage. Last week, the mining giants BHP and Vale offered a $25 billion settlement over the 2015 disaster, though Brazilian prosecutors have said that figure is insufficient.

Instagram targets aggregators

Instagram will crack down on aggregator accounts that scrape other users’ content for traffic. When the Meta-owned social media site detects two or more identical pieces of content, it will only recommend the original, and if an account repeatedly posts content from other users, it will drop down the algorithm’s rankings for recommendations. Scraping is a problem across social media: Reddit users are constantly annoyed by karma-farming repost bots, and any good joke or meme on X-formerly-Twitter will live a thousand lives as it is repurposed by traffic-mining accounts. So if Instagram can lead the way in cracking down, it might make the internet a somewhat better place.

Scientists classify smells

Scientists using artificial intelligence tools have created a “map” of smells, splitting odors in the way light can be split using a prism or sounds described in tones. The attempt to classify smells goes back to the 18th century, when the naturalist Carl Linnaeus described seven basic types, including “aromatic” and “repulsive.” But early efforts were “the fruit of introspection rather than careful data collection,” a neuroscientist wrote in Aeon. More recently, with large data sets, a greater understanding of organic chemistry, and AI, a more systematic approach has been possible. The map places molecules in a hyperdimensional space, and accurately predicts their smells: It also can tell you that, for instance, “the smell of lily is closer to grape than it is to cabbage.”

• Brazil’s president is set to welcome Japan’s prime minister for an official visit in Brasilia.
• Over the weekend, the 15th Islamic Summit Conference will be held in Gambia’s capital Banjul.
• The three-day World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup begins in Paris.

Each week, we’ll tell you what a great independent bookstore suggests you read.

Catalog Books in Manchester, England, recommends Pedas by Rahel Stephanie. The collection of Indonesian cookery includes six recipes, as well as histories of Indonesian street food, the critical role sambal plays in the cuisine, and much else. Buy it from Catalog.

An English-language podcast that explores specific emotions which can best be described using words from other languages was on Esquire’s top podcasts list. Vemödalen — the crushing disappointment when you take a photo, think it’s great, then realize it’s not — is among the words Getting Emotional explores. Other shows that made it on the list include Where Are You Going?, an interview podcast about everyday lives, and Life Changing, where people talk about the extraordinary. “Cheery? Not really. Endlessly fascinating? Oh, boy, you betcha,” Esquire noted.

• A Huawei research evaluation reignites debates on US-China academic collaboration.
• Georgia’s ‘foreign influence’ bill could jeopardize its Western trajectory.
• Amazon researchers propose ways to get rid of bad AI data.