UNITED STATES
Musk denies talking to Putin
Elon Musk denied a report that said he spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine. Ian Bremmer, president of political-risk consultancy Eurasia Group, on Monday wrote in a note to clients that Musk told him about recently speaking with Putin. Bremmer said that conversation came before Musk posted a series of tweets urging Ukraine to seek a negotiated solution to the invasion by Russia and to cede Crimea for good. Musk wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that he did not speak with Putin about the war, adding that such a call would be “pointless, as there is currently no overlap between Russian and Ukrainian demands — it’s not even close.” Bremmer responded on Twitter, saying that Musk told him he spoke with Putin. “I write honestly without fear or favor and this week’s update was no different,” Bremmer said. “I’ve long admired Musk as a unique and world-changing entrepreneur... He’s not a geopolitics expert.” Minutes later, Musk said: “Nobody should trust Bremmer.”
UNITED STATES
Race scandal at LA council
Three members of the Los Angeles City Council, including the former council president, are facing calls from President Joe Biden to resign after a recording surfaced of them participating in a closed-door meeting in which racist language was used to mock colleagues while they schemed to protect Latino political strength in council districts. Three current or former council members have been indicted or pleaded guilty to corruption charges, and it is possible resignations in coming days could create new vacancies. A meeting on Tuesday was nearly derailed when a raucous crowd of protesters packed the chamber, calling for the resignation of those involved in the meeting — former council president Nury Martinez, who is taking a leave of absence, and councilors Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo, all Democrats. The uproar was triggered by a leaked recording of comments from a nearly year-old meeting. Those at the meeting were all Latinos. Martinez said in the recorded conversation that white councilor Mike Bonin handled his young black son as if he were an “accessory,” and said of his son “parece changuito,” or “he’s like a monkey,” the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.
UNITED STATES
Angela Lansbury dies
Actress Angela Lansbury, who became a household name through her role as a writer-detective in Murder, She Wrote, died on Tuesday, her family said. She was 96. The British-born star, who found fame and fortune as one of television’s most memorable characters, was also a hugely successful and decorated stage and film actress. “The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles ... just five days shy of her 97th birthday,” a statement widely quoted in US media said. Tributes came on Tuesday from across the world, with former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull posting a picture of the pair, who were cousins. “Thank you Angela for the joy & love you have shared with all the world all your life,” Turnbull wrote on Twitter. Lansbury was nearly 60 years old when she netted the role that made her famous: the mystery writer and amateur sleuth in the smash television series Murder, She Wrote. In a career spanning more than seven decades, she appeared in about 60 films and starred in some of Broadway’s biggest musicals. She snapped up six Golden Globes, five Tony Awards and, in 2013, an honorary lifetime Oscar.
THE ‘MONSTER’: The Philippines on Saturday sent a vessel to confront a 12,000-tonne Chinese ship that had entered its exclusive economic zone The Philippines yesterday said it deployed a coast guard ship to challenge Chinese patrol boats attempting to “alter the existing status quo” of the disputed South China Sea. Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said Chinese patrol ships had this year come as close as 60 nautical miles (111km) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon. “Their goal is to normalize such deployments, and if these actions go unnoticed and unchallenged, it will enable them to alter the existing status quo,” he said in a statement. He later told reporters that Manila had deployed a coast guard ship to the area
HOLLYWOOD IN TURMOIL: Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton and Cary Elwes lost properties to the flames, while awards events planned for this week have been delayed Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events, while at least five people have died. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week’s Oscar nominations have been delayed, while tens of thousands of city residents had been displaced and were awaiting word on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city’s most famous denizens. More than 1,900 structures had been destroyed and the number was expected to increase. More than 130,000 people
A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand more than one decade ago said that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back. Forty-three Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation. “We could be imprisoned and we might even lose our lives,” the letter said. “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
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