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While you were sleeping: Spain rescues 334 migrants from Mediterranean, Xi extolls free trade as G-7 ends in disarray

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Spain rescues 334 migrants from Mediterranean, finds 4 dead: Spain’s maritime rescue service has saved 334 migrants and recovered four bodies from boats it intercepted trying to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The rescue service says its patrol craft reached nine different boats carrying migrants that had left from African shores throughout Saturday and early Sunday. One boat found Sunday was carrying four dead bodies along with 49 migrants. The rescue service said the cause of death has yet to be determined. Driven by violent conflicts and extreme poverty, tens of thousands of migrants attempt to reach southern Europe each year by crossing the Mediterranean in smugglers’ boats. Most of the boats are unfit for open water, and thousands drown annually. The U.N. says at least 785 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean so far this year. Through the first five months of 2018, a total of 27,482 migrants reached European shores, with 7,614 of them arriving in Spain.

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Xi extolls free trade at Asia meet as G-7 ends in disarray: Chinese President Xi Jinping extolled free trade and criticized “selfish, short-sighted” policies Sunday during a closely orchestrated gathering of a Beijing-led bloc, standing in stark contrast with the G-7 summit that ended in disarray over trade tensions. “We should reject selfish, short-sighted, narrow and closed-off policies. We must maintain the rules of the World Trade Organization, support the multilateral trade system and build an open global economy,” Xi said. Though his remarks did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump, Beijing has sought to portray itself as a defender of free trade in response to the American leader’s support for import controls. This is despite China’s status as the most-closed major economy. Xi also hailed the entry of new members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, calling the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain “of great historic significance” in opening remarks at this weekend’s summit of in the northern Chinese port of Qingdao. Their two South Asian nations joined the bloc as full members last year. With tight security, closed roads and restricted press access, the summit’s choreographed show of unity was a striking contrast to the tumultuous Group of Seven summit of leading industrialized nations that concluded Saturday in Quebec and saw the U.S. and its allies divided by escalating trade tensions.

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Poll shows deep divisions between Israelis and American Jews: An opinion poll published Sunday shows deep divisions between Israelis and American Jews, particularly in relation to President Donald Trump, highlighting the growing rift between the world’s two largest Jewish communities. The survey of the American Jewish Committee showed 77 per cent of Israelis approved of the president’s handling of U.S.-Israel relations, while only 34 per cent of American Jews did. Fifty-seven per cent of U.S. Jews disapproved, while only 10 per cent of Israelis did. The polarizing Trump recently recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocated the American Embassy there, upending decades of U.S. foreign policy and an international consensus that the city’s fate should be decided through peace negotiations. The Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as their future capital, were outraged by the move and cut all contacts with the U.S. in response. Eighty-five per cent of Israelis supported the embassy move, while only 46 per cent of American Jews did. The AJC surveyed 1,000 Israelis and Americans and had a margin of error of 3.1 and 3.9 per cent, respectively.

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