Help from China
The week's news at a glance.
Khartoum, Sudan
Chinese President Hu Jintao brought gifts to Sudan this week, despite its appalling human-rights record. Hu offered an interest-free loan of $13 million so President Omar Hassan al-Bashir could build a new palace. He also wrote off $170 million of Sudanese debt. U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. was disappointed in the “mixed signals” China was sending to Sudan, which still refuses to allow in international peacekeepers to stop the genocide in Darfur. “China obviously has its own reasons for doing that,” McCormack said. Sudan is China’s fourth-largest supplier of oil and an important trade partner.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Democrats: The 2028 race has begun
Feature Democratic primaries have already kicked off in South Carolina
-
The Pentagon's missing missiles
Feature The U.S. military is low on weapons. Can it restock before a major conflict breaks out?
-
Rescissions: Trump's push to control federal spending
Feature The GOP passed a bill to reduce funding for PBS, NPR and other public media stations