Thursday Briefing: A fraught White House meeting
Good morning. We're covering the fractious meeting between President Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, as well as the latest from Gaza. Plus: London's best sausage rolls.
Trump lectured South Africa's presidentDuring a fraught White House meeting with a stunned President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, President Trump showed a video and waved around printouts of what he said was evidence of racial persecution of white South Africans, including killings. Trump flipped through his printouts, saying, "Death, death, death," and he largely dismissed Ramaphosa's attempt to describe the situation in his own country. While watching the video, Ramaphosa questioned the locations being shown, which he said he didn't recognize as being in South Africa. The meeting "was a stark example of a foreign leader essentially trying to give a reality check to Trump, who instead amplified fringe theories," said Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House reporter for The New York Times. There have been killings of white South Africans, but police statistics do not show that they are more vulnerable to violent crime than other people. Here's what else to know. On Politics: Trump accused South Africa's government of seizing land from white farmers, but during his first term, he pushed to take farmers' land for his border wall. Background: The U.S. is welcoming white South Africans while suspending refugee programs for everyone else. Several factors have fueled the administration's hostile approach to South Africa's government. Immigration: A judge said the Trump administration had violated a court order by quickly deporting migrants to South Sudan. Here is a breakdown of how the administration is targeting new groups for deportation.
Gazans are still waiting for foodThree days after Israel said it had eased its blockade of Gaza to let aid trucks in, very little — if any — of the urgently needed food, fuel and medicine appeared to have reached Palestinians. Dozens of trucks ferrying supplies have entered Gaza at the Israeli-controlled border crossing of Kerem Shalom, according to Israel. But the U.N. has so far been unable to move any trucks from the crossing to warehouses inside the enclave, U.N. officials said. Humanitarian crisis: A panel of U.N.-backed experts warned this month that Gazans were at "critical risk of famine," with tens of thousands of children facing acute malnutrition. Israel dismissed the report. Related:
Inside Russia's spy factory in BrazilRussia used Brazil for years as an assembly line for creating its most elite intelligence officers, known as illegals, a Times investigation found. The spies shed their Russian pasts, started businesses, made friends and had love affairs; over many years, these building blocks became entirely new identities. Once they were cloaked in credible back stories, they would set off for the U.S., Europe or the Middle East and begin working under deep cover. Read how the operation fell apart.
Business & Tech
Arts & Culture
The Chinese city of Chengdu used to be dismissed as a haven for slackers, lacking the hardworking culture of hubs like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Young people tended to leave the city to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Not any more. Over the past five years, Chengdu's population has surged 30 percent and its real estate is booming. Its appeal reflects young people's disillusionment with the economy. Then, of course, there are the pandas. Lives lived: Gerald Connolly, a Democrat who defeated Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York to become his party's top member on the powerful House Oversight Committee, died at 75.
The secrets of a manga horror masterThe Japanese artist Junji Ito, creator of popular manga series like "Tomie" and "Uzumaki," is one of the genre's biggest stars. One reason is his mastery of crescendo, especially in his short stories. Ito carefully builds suspense across pages of half-glimpsed monstrosities — which are always inventive and weird — until finally revealing some terrifying, indelible image. The big payoff lands with such force because of the careful way Ito nurtures his readers' discomfort. My colleagues from the Book Review walk you through some of Ito's most unsettling panels.
Cook: This stir-fried lettuce with crispy garlic and fried eggs is a simple meal with comforting flavors and textures. Read: The author Ashley Poston recommends 10 small-town romance novels. Watch: The Norwegian dramedy "Pernille" is about as lovely as shows get. Travel: Aix-en-Provence, where Cézanne spent most of his life, is celebrating the artist with a series of events. Wear: Our fashion critic has advice for making sense of the latest trends. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
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