WORLD ROUNDUPCounterfeit Titanium Got into Boeing and Airbus Jets | What Africa Can Learn from China’s Rise | World Order is in a Downward Spiral, and more
· F.A.A. Investigating How Counterfeit Titanium Got into Boeing and Airbus Jets
The material, which was purchased from a little-known Chinese company, was sold with falsified documents and used in parts that went into jets from both manufacturers
· U.S. Imposes Sanctions on an Israeli Group that Has Blocked Aid Trucks Bound for Gaza
Members of the group have tried for months to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza
· Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress Could Cause Long-Term Damage
While Democrats are wary, Republicans see a short-term political win — but at what cost?
· What Africa Can Learn from China’s Rise
The continent’s human capital is its greatest resource
· World Order is in a Downward Spiral
The United States needs a grand strategy to deal with three interconnected threats to global stability.
F.A.A. Investigating How Counterfeit Titanium Got into Boeing and Airbus Jets (Mark Walker, New York Times)
Some recently manufactured Boeing and Airbus jets have components made from titanium that was sold using fake documentation verifying the material’s authenticity, according to a supplier for the plane makers, raising concerns about the structural integrity of those airliners.
The falsified documents are being investigated by Spirit AeroSystems, which supplies fuselages for Boeing and wings for Airbus, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration. The investigation comes after a parts supplier found small holes in the material from corrosion.
In a statement, the F.A.A. said it was investigating the scope of the problem and trying to determine the short- and long-term safety implications to planes that were made using the parts. It is unclear how many planes have parts made with the questionable material.
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on an Israeli Group that Has Blocked Aid Trucks Bound for Gaza (New York Times)
The State Department announced Friday that it was imposing sanctions on a right-wing Israeli group that has been trying to prevent aid from reaching people in the Gaza Strip by blocking trucks traveling from Jordan to the coastal enclave.
The department’s statement said the sanctioned organization, Tzav 9, was “a violent extremist Israeli group that has been blocking, harassing, and damaging convoys carrying lifesaving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
Members of the group have tried for months to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, the department said. They have blocked roads on which aid trucks travel between Jordan and Gaza, including in the West Bank, and in some instances have raided the trucks, damaged them and dumped packages of aid onto the road, the agency said.
Netanyahu’s Speech to Congress Could Cause Long-Term Damage (Josh Roin, Washinton Post)
by inviting him at this particular moment, congressional Republicans are not only helping Netanyahu undermine the Biden administration’s diplomatic strategy but are also throwing him a political lifeline, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who also has not decided whether he will attend.
“Everything points to the fact that Netanyahu is focused on his own political survival at the expense of the interests of Israel and at the expense of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Van Hollen told me. “We shouldn’t be a part of advancing his agenda.” (Cont.)