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Ryland Barton
In Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. China has begun its most extensive military drills around the island of Taiwan. They're larger and, as NPR's Emily Feng reports, closer to Taiwan than previous drills.
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Emily Feng
The Chinese military, the pla, is encircling Taiwan. A map of its drills show their exercises are budding right up to Taiwan's territorial waters. Analyst William Yang with the nonprofit advisory organization the International Crisis Group, says the drills show China has made big strides since 2022.
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William Yang
It demonstrates that the POA's capability of deploying military assets to key strategic wartime positions has really improved over the last few years.
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Emily Feng
Beijing says the drill send a warning to Taiwanese leaders it claims are separatists and to telegraph displeasure at the U.S. s recent approval of an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan. Emily Fang, NPR News.
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Ryland Barton
The UN Security Council held an emergency session on Israel's decision last week to recognize Somaliland as an independent nation. As NPR's Jackie Northam reports, Israel is the first country to recognize the autonomous region in northwestern Somalia, which declared independence more than three decades ago.
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Jackie Northam
Most Security Council members reaffirm support for Somalia's internationally recognized government, saying Israel's decision to recognize Somaliland could destabilize the Horn of Africa and beyond and reverse counterterrorism gains in the region. There's concern Israel wants to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in Somaliland, but Israel says the move is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords. Abukar Tahir Osman, Somalia's UN Representative, disagreed, saying recognizing Somaliland as an independent and state is unlawful.
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Abukar Tahir Osman
Somalia is one country, one people, one religion.
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Jackie Northam
The US Told the Security Council it had no announcement to make with regards to Somaliland. Jackie Northam, NPR News.
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Ryland Barton
The U.S. state Department has announced it will contribute $2 billion to the United nations for humanitarian aid work. As NPR's Gabriela Emanuel reports, this is a fraction of what the US Contributed in past years.
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Gabriela Emanuel
The State Department says the aid will provide life saving support to tens of million millions of people facing hunger and disease. However, it said the money requires the UN to make some structural changes to address what the administration calls ideological creep within UN Agencies. This year, the US has dramatically cut the amount of money it spends on foreign aid, and it has now shifted its emphasis to distributing aid directly to countries rather than working through institutions like the U.N. gabriela Emanuel, NPR News.
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Ryland Barton
Stocks slipped on Wall street today. The S&P 500 fell 3.10 of a percent, though it's up more than 17% for the year. This is NPR. Iran's state television says that Russia has sent three Iranian communications satellites into orbit. The report said that a rocket sent the satellites yesterday from a launch pad in eastern Russia. The launch highlights the strong ties between the two countries. The the US Says Iran's satellite launches defy a UN Resolution. In his first year back in the White House, President Trump has been shaking up Washington. But as NPR's Atamara Keith reports, it's not just policy, it's also aesthetics.
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Tamara Keith
Trump has been on a remodeling spree, from tearing down the East Wing of the White House to make room for his now $400 million ballroom and gilding the Oval Office to paving the Rose Garden to resemble the patio at his Mar A Lago club in Florida. During a recent speech, Trump mus that he actually has two jobs.
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Donald Trump
I said somebody to somebody the other day, am I a better politician or construction real estate person? And they didn't know how to answer that question. I'm not sure how to answer it either, if you want to know the truth.
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Tamara Keith
Trump admitted paying attention to the fine details of so many renovation projects does take time, but said it is relaxing. Tamara Keith, NPR News.
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Ryland Barton
The New York City transit system is retiring the MetroCard after more than 30 years. The gold and blue swipeable card was introduced in 1994 to replace the subway token, which had been used for half a century. Existing cards will still work for some time into 2026. The city is fully transitioning to a contactless payment system rolled out in 2019. I'm Ryland Barton. You're listening to NPR.
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