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.
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin on August 1, with rates ranging from 25% to 40% on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks