In this occasional series, The Washington Post brings you up to speed on some of the biggest stories of the week. This week:
The biggest story: Kim-Xi meeting is new challenge for Trump
A secretive meeting between North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and China’s Xi Jinping this week showcased the enduring bonds between the two communist countries. The message to the United States: Any moves on North Korea must go through Xi.
Read the full story by Emily Rauhala and Anna Fifield.
The alliance between China and North Korea is rooted in the Korean War, and their close ties have persisted even as the regime in Pyongyang grew increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. An official statement by China, released Wednesday, indicated that both sides may seek to return to times when China did not see itself forced to agree to Western-led sanctions against North Korea.
Read the full, annotated statement.
Still, Kim's visit to Beijing took many observers by surprise. For his first foreign trip as North Korean leader, Kim followed a blueprint put together by his father, Kim Jong Il, when he chose to travel by train, as Adam Taylor observed.
Six other important stories
1. New jeans, new schools, new worries: North Korean family settles into South Korea
Anna Fifield, The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, first met the family on the banks of the Mekong River last August, just 12 days after they escaped from North Korea. Now, just a few weeks after emerging from the South Korean government’s resettlement program for North Korean refugees, they are settling into everyday life and preparing to send their children to school.
2. After U.S. expels 60 diplomats, Russia does what it’s best at: Trolling
About two dozen nations decided to expel more than 100 Russian spies and diplomats this week, a development that may pose practical challenges to the Kremlin’s ability to gather intelligence overseas. Russia, however, mostly appeared unfazed. The diplomatic sanctions prompted cheekiness, ridicule and trolling in response — all seemingly intended to reduce the gravity of the situation.
3. As diplomats are expelled, flowers are laid outside Russian embassies for fire victims
At least 64 people, most of them children, were killed in a fire at a mall in the Siberian city of Kemerovo on Sunday. In the same week that Western countries were punishing Russia with diplomatic expulsions, flowers and other expressions of tribute were being left outside Russian embassies around the world.
Read the full story by Adam Taylor.
4. Stop and search? This poor community in Rio says yes, please.
Brazilians want security, and they are backing heavy-handed tactics to get it. To the chagrin of critics — but cheers from much of the public — one of those tactics is deploying the military to fight crime. Rather than view the move as an invasion, violence-weary residents of the favelas, or shantytowns, hailed it as a liberation.
Read the full story by Anthony Faiola and Marina Lopes.
5. Egypt’s farcical election and the long Arab winter
However long it takes to tabulate the result of this week's presidential election in Egypt, the winner is not in doubt. President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi will secure a fresh mandate after his government detained, intimidated or otherwise sidelined any real challengers ahead of the vote.
Read the full analysis by Ishaan Tharoor.
6. Berlin had some of the world’s most restrictive rules for Airbnb rentals. Now it’s loosening up.
For cities looking to adopt a hard line on Airbnb and other short-term home rentals, Germany’s capital has been a model. In 2016, Berlin implemented some of the world’s strictest laws for vacation rentals. But two years later, Berlin is loosening those restrictions. As Berlin has learned, cracking down on private home rentals is a massive task — and the courts aren’t necessarily on your side, writes Luisa Beck.
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