Global Beat is your weekly stop for news from around the world. Join us every Friday morning for important stories you should know about.

This week, North Korea frees three U.S. citizens in its custody; President Trump pulls the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal; the Pentagon releases a report detailing failures that led to the deaths of four U.S. soldiers in Niger; and more.

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Americas

In NAFTA talks this week, Mexican officials for the first time said they may be willing to be flexible on the rules of origin level for automotive content. U.S. officials made clear their intention to penalize the Mexican auto industry unless it increases wages to $16 an hour. On Thursday, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said they will know within the next couple of days whether a new, short-term NAFTA deal will be possible.

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• Cuba in drive to attract foreign investment – Financial Times

Central & South Asia

Another series of attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan, this week killed at least 15 people. Gunmen and suicide bombers carried out three simultaneous attacks on Wednesday, just one day after the Taliban took control of two rural northern districts. ISIL claimed responsibility for two of the attacks, and the Taliban claimed responsibility for the third. Last week, a pair of suicide bombings in Kabul killed at least 25 people, leaving residents in the capital on edge as violence escalates.

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• Cheap renewable energy is killing India’s coal-based power plants – Quartz

China & East Asia

On Thursday, President Trump and Vice President Pence greeted three U.S. citizens released by North Korea to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s custody during his second trip to the country this week. The three men had been held prisoner for up to two years. The president also announced that his highly anticipated meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place on June 12 in Singapore.

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• Japan, China hail warming ties amid troubled history – Reuters

Europe & Russia

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved legislation allowing refugees with "subsidiary protection" to bring their direct relatives to Germany. The move will resettle an additional 1,000 migrants per month, starting August 1. Those with full refugee status were already allowed to bring their families. The move is expected to draw heavy opposition from both the left—which thinks it doesn’t go far enough—and the right—which wants to abolish reunification altogether.

Also check out:

• Can Europe keep doing business with Iran? – CNNMoney

Middle East & North Africa

President Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States will withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal. "This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made," he said. "It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will." The president also announced that the United States would reimpose sanctions on Iran. The move puts the United States at odds with its European allies, China, and Russia, who are all party to and committed to staying in the deal. Read what Pacific Council President and CEO Dr. Jerrold D. Green has written about the Iran deal.

Also check out:

• Israel strikes Iranian targets in Syria in response to rocket fire – BBC News

Southeast Asia & Oceania

Vietnam asked China to withdraw its missiles and other military equipment from the South China Sea this week. According to U.S. intelligence reports, China had installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its outposts in the region. Vietnamese foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said China’s move violates Vietnam’s sovereignty. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying denied that the construction was military related. 

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• Australia is rich, strong, and afraid of the world – The New York Times

Sub-Saharan Africa

The Pentagon released a report saying "individual, organization, and institutional failures" led to the deaths of four U.S. Special Forces soldiers in Niger in 2017. The soldiers were ambushed by ISIL-affiliated fighters in a remote village. More troops would have been lost in the ambush were it not for the assistance of French and Nigerian soldiers. Maj. Gen. J. Marcus Hicks, the general in charge of U.S. Special Operations forces in Africa, issued an order this week to U.S. troops to "plan missions to stay out of direct combat or do not go."

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• Democratic Republic of Congo confirms Ebola outbreak near border with Republic of Congo – Voice of America

Stay informed. We’ll see you here again next week.