👋 Ćao!*
Welcome to Friday, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in the U.S. to sign a minerals deal, talks start in Egypt for the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza and our daily quiz question comes from a launchpad in Texas. Meanwhile, Spanish reporter Unai Aranzadi for La Marea goes to the small Ukrainian village of Kozacha Lopan, located only less than 2 kilometers from the Russian border.
[*Montenegrin]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
“Mexico hands over 29 drug lords,” headlined Mexican daily La Jornada today, with photos of Rafael Caro Quintero, a high-profile gang leader that has been wanted by the U.S. for the killing of an American agent 40 years ago. The extradition of the narco traffickers to the U.S. is one of the biggest in Mexico’s history, and is seen as a major step in relations between the two countries since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico over the flow of migrants across the shared border.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Trump and Zelensky to confirm minerals deal at White House meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet President Donald Trump and sign a deal for U.S. participation in Ukraine's mineral industry on Friday as Kyiv works to regain U.S. support to fight Russia's invasion while Trump opens talks with Moscow.
• Talks started in Egypt for the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza. Officials from Israel joined mediators from Qatar and the U.S. in Cairo for “intensive discussions,” Egypt’s state information service said. Talks over the second phase of the ceasefire are meant to negotiate a permanent end to the war, including the return of all remaining living captives in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the Middle East here.
• German parties to begin preliminary talks to form coalition government. The German conservative CDU/CSU bloc led by Friedrich Merz, which won last week's election, and the Social Democrats (SPD) of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which came in third, will begin initial talks today on forming a new coalition government. Merz has said he would like to have a government in place by April 20. Until a new government is formed, Scholz and his coalition with the Greens continues to govern.
• North Korea showcases “counterattack” abilities with new missile tests. North Korea said on Friday it had tested strategic cruise missiles to warn its enemies of its "counterattack" capabilities and readiness of its nuclear might. The test-launch came as neighboring South Korea prepares for its "Freedom Shield" military exercises with the U.S. next month.
• Pope reaches two-week mark at hospital. Doctors suggested he had overcome the most critical phase of pneumonia while holding out on declaring him out of danger entirely. The Vatican’s early Friday update also suggested a level of normalcy and routine as the 88-year-old pope continues recovering at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. To read more, Italian daily La Stampa asks whether the pontiff should resign
• Cyclone Garance slams French island of Réunion with 166 km/h winds. Tropical Cyclone Garance made landfall on France’s Indian Ocean territory of Réunion on Friday, bringing gusts of 166 km/h (103 mph). Equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane, Garance hit the island’s northern coast, making it the strongest storm there since Cyclone Firinga in 1989.
• News Quiz! Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, announced the crew for a 10-minute spaceflight this spring, which will include his fiancée Lauren Sanchez. What music icon will join her to see the blue planet from outer space?
A. Lady Gaga
B. Harry Styles
C. Bob Dylan
D. Katy Perry
[Answer below]
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
108,138
A record number of people claimed asylum in the UK in 2024, up 18% compared to 2023 and nearly double the amount of claims recorded in 2021. Among the reasons for the increase was a rise in arrivals by small boat (vessels crossing the English Channel), which peaked in 2022, but saw a second bump last year. The increase in applications comes as pressure to address backlogged asylum decisions is growing on the government.
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📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇺🇦 Places like Kozacha Lopan, a Ukrainian town on the Russian border, are perhaps the ones where it will be most difficult to heal the wounds of all that has been suffered to date.
— LA MAREA
🇩🇪 The German elections showed rising support for the far-right AfD, and increased dissatisfaction running rampant in German society. Polish columnist Bartosz T. Wielinski asks whether this runs the risk of history of the early 20th century repeating.
— GAZETA WYBORCZA
🎤 Colombian superstar Shakira performed in a rare concert in her hometown Barranquilla. The connection with locals comes not just from her stardom but the singer's humble way of enjoying the city like any local mom with her kids.
— EL ESPECTADOR
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📣 VERBATIM
“October 7 was a complete failure, the IDF failed in fulfilling its mission to protect Israeli civilians.”
— The Israeli army published an investigation that acknowledged failure in preventing the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that killed 1,139 in southern Israel. The attack sparked the war in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians. The report concluded that the Israel Defense Force underestimated the capacity of Hamas in Gaza, and opted to allocate intelligence and defense assets elsewhere, such as a focus on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Opposition leader Yair Lapid praised the investigation for its “courage and integrity,” and called on the Netanyahu government to launch an official commission to investigate the causes of the security lapse.
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Quiz Answer: D. Katy Perry is set to join the all-female crew of Blue Origin’s 11th human spaceflight, which will launch into space from West Texas. In addition to Sanchez and Perry, the crew also includes TV journalist Gayle King, movie producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and researcher Amanda Nguyen.