The 10 most important things in the world right now
Alessandro Bianchi/REUTERS
A masked reveller poses during the Venice Carnival in Venice.
Hello! Here’s what you need to know on Monday.
1. President Donald Trump’s lawyer hand-delivered a secret plan to lift sanctions on Russia to former national security adviser Michael Flynn before he was asked to resign, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The plan was drafted by Michael Cohen, a close confidante of President Trump who has served as his organization’s special counsel since 2007, and Felix Sater, a Russian-American real estate developer who has helped the Trump Organization scout deals in Russia.
2. Sweden’s foreign ministry has asked the US State Department to clarify comments President Donald Trump made at a weekend rally in Florida that suggested there had been a security incident in Sweden on Friday night. President Trump later tweeted that his statement “as to what’s happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.”
3. Kraft Heinz is killing its plans to merge with Unilever, the maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and Dove toiletries.”Unilever and Kraft Heinz hereby announce that Kraft Heinz has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies,” the companies said in a statement on Sunday.
4. Iraqi forces launched a ground offensive on western Mosul on Sunday. The western side of Mosul is still under control of Islamic State.
5. SpaceX successfully launched a rocket carrying a cargo ship for the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch was called off on Saturday because of a technical glitch.
6. Washington is preparing to bring North Koreans to the US for talks, according to the Washington Post. The talks would be the first such meeting in five years and come after North Korea’s testing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
7. China will suspend all coal imports from North Korea, an announcement that comes a day after Pyongyang’s test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile. The ban on North Korean coal imports complies with United Nations sanctions against the country.
8. Matteo Renzi, Italy’s former prime minister, resigned as Democratic Party leader. Renzi said he won’t submit to what he called the “blackmail” of a more left-leaning faction threatening a schism if he again seeks the top party post.
9. Sriram Krishnan, who has led Snap’s advertising efforts since February 2016, is stepping down from his role just weeks before the company’s IPO. Krishnan tweeted on Sunday that he was moving back to San Francisco to be closer to family and friends, but did not specify why he was leaving.
10. Amazon will create more than 5,000 jobs in Britain in 2017, a sign that the UK’s decision to leave the European Union has not hampered investment plans. The company is attracted by London’s concentration of tech expertise.
And finally…
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