Briefly

MIDDLE EAST

Israel inks free trade agreement with UAE

Israel signed a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, its first with an Arab country, building on their normalization of relations in 2020. Israel's Ambassador to the UAE Amir Hayek tweeted mabruk, or congratulations in Arabic, alongside a photograph of Emirati and Israeli officials holding documents at a signing ceremony in Dubai.

SINGAPORE

Forum on Silk Road highlights connections

Organized by the China Cultural Centre in Singapore, a forum focusing on people-to-people exchanges in countries participating in the Maritime Silk Road was held in Singapore on Tuesday. About 40 experts and scholars from China, Singapore and other ASEAN countries shared their views on the history and reality of Maritime Silk Road culture and trade connections. They called for better complementing each other's industrial advantages between China and ASEAN countries and boosting economic cooperation to address geopolitical challenges.

UNITED STATES

New COVID-19 wave marks summer start

As the United States marks Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer, the seven-day averages for COVID-19 cases are more than six times what they were a year ago, according to a report from The Hill. The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard reported a seven-day average of 119,725 cases as of Saturday. That figure held at 17,887 cases on May 28 last year.

Agencies - China Daily