Leaks

• U.S. investigators arrested a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking the classified intelligence documents that caused a few diplomatic ruffles over the past week.
• Pres. Biden said he wasn't worried about the revelations that were leaked, but some seemed fairly concerning: for example, one document showed that the U.S. intercepted communications indicating that China's top military board approved sending Russia military aid for use in Ukraine - which is probably what caused the U.S. to frantically lobby against the idea around that time.

• China's exports grew 14.8% during the year ending March 31, beating analysts' expectations for a 7% decline.
• Much of that growth came from rising shipments to Russia and other Asian countries; exports to the U.S. and Europe declined.
• Analysts think part of the growth was just clearing out a backlog of shipments and expect exports to normalize once that backlog is gone.
• Separately, Brazilian president Lula is meeting Pres. Xi today. Lula has already annoyed the U.S. on his trip to China by visiting a Huawei facility and calling for an alternative currency to the U.S. dollar led by BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

• Saudi and Houthi representatives failed to agree to a truce during this round of negotiations, but the talks were fruitful and both sides agreed to continue them.
• As a symbol of their commitment to talks, they began a prisoner swap that will see over 700 Houthis released in exchange for 180 Saudi coalition troops.

• A new report by two European human rights groups found that Iran executed 75% more people last year than in 2021, and attributed the increase to an effort to "spread fear" and stifle dissent (even though the vast majority of the executions were of people convicted of murder and drug offenses rather than protest-related "crimes.")

• Uzbekistan hosted the foreign ministers of China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Taliban Afghanistan for talks on Afghanistan: they want the Taliban to do more to improve security and reduce both refugee flows and dependence on humanitarian aid.
• The Taliban delegation declined to discuss new restrictions their government imposed on women in recent months.

• Mexico and the U.S. agreed to work together to fight fentanyl trafficking from Mexico to the U.S., although they don't agree entirely on which parts of that fight to prioritize.

• Despite the new presence of civilian EU truce monitors, Azerbaijani and Armenian troops fought their worst clashes in about seven months: three Azerbaijani and four Armenian soldiers died.

• Apple announced a plan to use 100% recycled materials - including cobalt, rare earths, tin, tungsten, and gold - in all of its products by 2025.
• Apple selectively shares its current recycling rates, which are around two-thirds for aluminum, three-quarters for rare earths, and 95% for tungsten.