• Airstrikes, artillery bombardment and fire from armored vehicles continued in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum despite pledges from the warring parties to extend a truce by 72 hours. The Sudan Doctors Union said at least 387 people have been killed and 1,928 wounded and tens of thousands have fled, creating a massive humanitarian crisis. (Reuters)
• Prosecutors revealed that Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National guardsman charged with leaking classified documents on the internet, had a history of making violent and racially abusive threats that prevented him from obtaining a firearm license just two years before he was granted a top-secret security clearance. Experts familiar with the process of clearing intelligence said such facts would not routinely disqualify an individual from obtaining a top-secret clearance. (The Wall Street Journal)
• The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Taliban’s discrimination of women and girls in Afghanistan and called for swift policy reversals. The resolution is not likely to have an effect, but the fact that it was adopted unanimously and without consternation demonstrates how few allies Kabul has abroad. (The New York Times)
• Economic growth among countries that use the euro returned to growth in the first quarter but at an anemic 0.1%, which was significantly weaker than forecast. Largely responsible is stagnation in Germany, the bloc’s largest economy, as it offset growth elsewhere in the bloc. (Financial Times)

Happening today (all times Eastern):

• 4:45 p.m. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discusses U.S.-Canada relations and Canada’s role in global politics at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Pentagon Leak Causes Concern in South Korea, but Few Want Change in U.S. Relationship

Morning Consult

U.S. Sanctions Russian, Iranian Security Services Over Wrongful Detentions

Vivian Salama and Ann M. Simmons, The Wall Street Journal

New penalties come as Russia denies consular visit for WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich

Japan to invite emerging nations to G7 finance leaders’ meeting

Reuters 

Japan will invite some emerging nations to an outreach meeting at the Group of Seven advanced countries Japan chairs next month in the city of Niigata, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday.

Japan to resume preferential trade status on exports to South Korea

Nikkei Asia 

Tokyo to put Seoul back on its ‘Group A’ list after 2019 downgrade.

India tells China peace needed on border for better ties

Krishn Kaushik, Reuters 

India’s defence minister told his Chinese counterpart on Thursday that improved relations depend on “peace and tranquillity” returning to their frontier disturbed by military tensions, the Indian government said.

China flies 38 warplanes near Taiwan, 6 navy vessels in area

Huizhong Wu, The Associated Press

China’s military flew 38 fighter jets and other warplanes near Taiwan, the Taiwanese defense ministry said Friday, in the biggest such flight display since the large military exercise in which it simulated sealing off the island earlier in April.

China’s small steps on offshore use of yuan are starting to add up
Tom Westbrook, Reuters 

China’s yuan currency is slowly but surely being adopted for more international payments, which analysts say could lay foundations for a trade system running parallel to the dominant U.S. dollar.

China’s expanded espionage law has businesses walking on eggshells

Shunsuke Tabeta et al., Nikkei Asia 

Experts warn that political discussions, photography could trigger scrutiny.

Foreign companies in China face growing scrutiny, pressure

Joe McDonald, The Associated Press 

Foreign companies are under growing pressure in China from anti-corruption, security and other investigations as President Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over business, clashing with efforts to lure back investors after the pandemic.

Detained Japanese businessman was spy, Chinese envoy says

Ken Moriyasu, Nikkei Asia 

Wu Jianghao calls on Tokyo to formulate ‘autonomous’ China policy.

Hong Kong’s economy is recovering, but its freedoms are not 

Kanis Leung and Zen Soo, The Associated Press

Like most people in Hong Kong, taxi driver Leung Tat-chong says it feels like the city is recovering after years of protests, crackdowns and pandemic restrictions, while it also has changed forever.

Russia boosting combat readiness of its C. Asia bases to counter U.S. – defence minister

Reuters 

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday that Moscow was boosting the combat readiness of its military bases in Central Asia to counter what he said were U.S. efforts to grow its presence, the RIA news agency reported.

NATO: Ukraine allies sent 1,550 combat vehicles, 230 tanks

David Rising and Lorne Cook, The Associated Press

NATO allies and partner countries have delivered more than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine during Russia’s invasion and war, the military alliance’s chief said Thursday, giving Kyiv a bigger punch as it contemplates launching a counteroffensive.

Russia sacks deputy defense minister sanctioned by West over Mariupol – reports

Mark Trevelyan, Reuters 

Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who was sanctioned by the West and dubbed the “Butcher of Mariupol” for his role in the Ukraine war, has been removed as deputy defense minister, according to a military blogger and a leading news website.

Russia denies visit to American reporter in visa retaliation

The Associated Press

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday denied a U.S request for a consular visit to Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who is jailed on espionage charges.

China’s Xi Seeks to Regain Initiative in Europe Through Ukraine

Austin Ramzy and Keith Zhai, The Wall Street Journal

Dialogue with Ukrainian President Zelensky follows weeks of intense European diplomacy.

Europe’s Green-Energy Push Struggles to Match U.S. Momentum

Anna Hirtenstein, The Wall Street Journal

U.S. tax credits for renewable-energy projects draw investment from across the Atlantic.

German Economy Flatlined Unexpectedly in 1Q

Ed Frankl, The Wall Street Journal

The German economy stagnated in the first quarter, a weaker result than expected, as high inflation and rising central bank rates weighed on spending.

Russia’s trapped domestic investors push stock market to 12-month high

Daria Mosolova and George Steer, Financial Times 

Retail traders turn to dividend payers such as Sberbank and Lukoil.

UK government set to U-turn on plan to scrap or revise all EU law

George Parker and Peter Foster, Financial Times 

Fury among Eurosceptics over news that large sections of Brussels legislation will stay on statute books.

Giorgia Meloni endorses Rishi Sunak’s hard line on immigration

George Parker and Amy Kazmin, Financial Times 

Italy’s hard-right leader praises UK approach on visit to London despite ‘tug of war’ on wording of formal statement.

China migrants use social media on long trek to the U.S.

Echo Wang and Mica Rosenberg, Reuters 

The difficulty of obtaining U.S. visas and the economic after-shocks of China’s COVID lockdowns have led to a sharp increase in Chinese nationals presenting at the U.S.-Mexico border – and some of those arrivals, like Wu, learned about how to come online, migrants, immigration experts, attorneys, and current and former U.S. officials, told Reuters.

Hundreds stuck at Peru-Chile border in crackdown on migrants

The Associated Press

A migration crisis at the border between Chile and Peru intensified Thursday as hundreds of people remained stranded, unable to cross into Peru in an effort to return to their home country of Venezuela.

Coalition challenges Paraguay’s long-ruling Colorado Party

Débora Rey, The Associated Press

Voters will decide Sunday whether to stay with the party that has governed Paraguay for seven decades or back a broad opposition coalition that has mounted a strong challenge amid discontent over health, schools and corruption.

‘Public security is impossible’: Lula takes on Brazil’s gun owners

Bryan Harris et al., Financial Times 

Leftwing president hopes tighter laws will reduce surge in use of firearms, including attacks on schools.

‘Pitched battle to the death’: who has the edge in Sudan’s bloody conflict?

Andres Schipani  et al., Financial Times 

Power struggle pits well-armed conventional military against mobile paramilitary fighters.

Turkey’s Erdogan appears via video link after health scare

Suzan Fraser and Frank Jordans, The Associated Press

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated a nuclear power plant via video Thursday in his first public appearance since falling ill on live TV and canceling campaign stops, as he sought to dispel concerns about his health weeks before a crucial election.

Israeli Religious Right Demonstrates for Judicial Changes 

Isabel Kershner, The New York Times 

Government ministers addressed the crowd and promised not to give up on the judicial plan, even as talks continue with the opposition for a compromise.

US ramping up deportations and expanding legal pathways to deter border crossers

Ted Hesson and Matt Spetalnick, Reuters 

The United States will ramp up deportations while also expanding legal pathways for would-be migrants as it braces for a possible spike in illegal border crossings when COVID-19 restrictions are set to end next month, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

Sullivan Speech: White House Tamps Down on U.S.-China ‘Decoupling’ 

Christina Lu, Foreign Policy

The United States hopes to redefine its economic relationship with China to prevail in the biggest strategic showdown of the century.