Italy is preparing to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to the Financial Times, potentially handing Xi Jinping a major victory at a time when his signature foreign policy vision is under attack.
Why it matters: Italy is an unusual candidate for China’s BRI, economically and politically, since its membership in the EU means that it already has access to competitive financing for infrastructure projects without the strings and risks that come with borrowing from Beijing. As a member of the G7, Italy would be the largest economy yet to endorse the BRI.
59% of Americans sympathize with Israelis over the Palestinians, the lowest level since 2009, according to Gallup's annual World Affairs survey.
Why it matters: The poll, conducted weeks prior to Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) controversial remarks questioning U.S. support for Israel and the influence of pro-Israel lobbying, indicates that positive American attitudes toward Israel could slowly be changing. However, Americans' preference for Israel is still much more widespread. Even though the percentage of Americans who favored the Palestinians over Israelis was at a record high since 2001, it still lagged far behind at 21%.
A mere 2 days after the Hanoi summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, satellite images indicated that North Korea has been rebuilding the long-range rocket site at Sohae Satellite Launching Station, an operational launch facility it previously pledged to dismantle, NBC News reports.
Details: Beyond Parallel, a project by the defense think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the images captured on March 2 are "evident at the vertical engine test stand and the launch pad's rail-mounted rocket transfer structure," per NBC News. Victor Cha, one of the authors of Beyond Parallel’s report, said the "imagery thus far does not show a missile being moved to the launch pad." NBC News reported that White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders responded, saying: "We don't comment on intelligence."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel two weeks from now, as the campaign for the country's April 9 election enters its final stages. Pompeo's visit will be part of a regional trip that will include Lebanon and Kuwait.
Why it matters: A visit by the secretary of state in a country during an election campaign is a bit unusual. Pompeo is expected to be in Jerusalem for a summit between Israel, Greece and Cyprus to be held on March 20 — three weeks before the election. The visit is unusual also because Prime Minister Netanyahu will visit Washington four days later and meet President Trump at the White House.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson has ordered longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone to explain how exactly he is complying with a court-issued gag order that prevents him from speaking publicly about his case, after Stone re-released a book — "The Myth of Russian Collusion: The Inside Story of How Donald Trump REALLY Won" — that criticizes the Mueller investigation.
Why it matters: Stone is on thin ice and could have his bail revoked if Jackson determines that he violated his gag order. He is also being asked to explain a now-deleted Instagram story in which he suggested he was framed. He has been given until March 11 to respond.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday criticized "the extent" of House reprimands against fellow freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has been accused of using anti-Semitic stereotypes in her criticisms of Israel.
"It’s not my position to tell people how to feel, or that their hurt is invalid. But incidents like these do beg the question: where are the resolutions against homophobic statements? For anti-blackness? For xenophobia? ... If House leadership is creating a standard & committing to calling a resolution for every incident - whether it’s the Congressional Black Caucus, CHC, etc, then thats a clear way to address the issue & we can all understand. But if they’re not, I think it’s valid to ask why not."
Seventy-five nations have agreed to participate in World Trade Organization talks, beginning in March, on cross-border e-commerce, one of the fastest-growing and thorniest areas of global trade.
The big picture: Consumer-facing e-commerce has become a $3.5 trillion global market, and some $700 billion of those purchases occur across borders, but there are almost no existing international rules in place for it.
Alibaba, which seemed contained to China for the first two decades of its existence, is steadily buddying up with U.S. companies and making inroads into the American market.
Driving the news: In just the past 12 months, Alibaba has teamed up with Kroger and Tiffany & Co, among other American companies, and has brought its payment system, Alipay, to thousands of U.S. stores. The latest partnership is with Office Depot — and the millions of small businesses which buy their office supplies there.
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