IMPORTANT | | | Put It in Neutral | Zelenskyy Says Ukraine ‘Carefully’ Considering Neutral Option In an address to Russian journalists that was preemptively censored by Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was willing to discuss adopting neutral status as part of a peace deal, but it would have to go to a referendum and be guaranteed by third parties. “Security guarantees and neutrality, nonnuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point,” Zelenskyy said. But he stressed that his representatives at face-to-face negotiations in Turkey this week would not budge when it came to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity or to requests for demilitarization. (Sources: Reuters, BBC) |
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| | | | | Punch Drunk | Will Smith Hits Chris Rock Minutes Before Winning Oscar The Oscars may have found the ratings boost it needed. Will Smith stormed onstage after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s short hair (she has alopecia, which causes hair loss) and slapped the comedian across the face shouting “leave my wife’s name out of your f- - - mouth,” twice. Minutes later, he was back on stage accepting the best actor statuette for his role in King Richard — and apologizing tearfully. Elsewhere, CODA became the first film by a streaming service to win best picture and Jane Campion scooped best director for The Power of the Dog. (Source: NYT) |
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| | | Bloody Saturday | State of Emergency in El Salvador After 62 Gang Killings in 24 Hours El Salvador’s parliament has approved a state of emergency after the country experienced its most violent day since the civil war ended in 1992. “We have had a new spike in homicides, something that we had worked so hard to reduce,” said President Nayib Bukele, who was elected in 2019 on promises to fight organized crime. Last year, the gang-plagued nation recorded only 1,140 murders — the lowest in 30 years. Juan Pappier, from the international advocacy group Human Rights Watch, tweeted that the new laws — which restrict the right to gather and allow arrests without a warrant — were “very worrying.” (Source: BBC) |
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| | | I Didn’t Mean That! | Biden Denies Calling for Regime Change in Russia An off-the-cuff comment by U.S. President Joe Biden threatened to undo the impact of a carefully — but strongly — worded speech in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday. “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” he ad-libbed, prompting a swift rebuttal from France’s Emmanual Macron. “I wouldn’t use this kind of words,” said Macron, warning that they may escalate the situation. The White House spent Sunday downplaying the comments, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying, “We do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else.” The Kremlin pointed out that “the president of Russia is elected by Russians.” (Sources: NYT, BBC) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: More US sanctions. The Treasury Department has announced that six Nigerian nationals have been sanctioned for setting up a Boko Haram cell to raise funds for fighters in Nigeria. (Source: Al Jazeera) Test everyone? China announced staggered lockdowns in Shanghai that will be rolled out sequentially across the city’s neighborhoods as part of an effort to test the entire population of 26 million. (Source: NYT) Millions strike. Workers across India began a two-day strike today, demanding universal social security coverage for the vast unorganized sector, minimum wage hikes and a stop to the privatization of public sector banks. (Source: AP) |
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| | | INTRIGUING | | | | | Lord Vlademort | Putin Compares Himself to JK Rowling, Author Points Out Differences In a televised rant last week Vladimir Putin bemoaned the Western boycott of events, books and products with connections to Russia. “Today they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture … They are banning Russian writers and books,” he said before likening the situation to the treatment of the Harry Potter author, who has been sternly criticized for her position on trans rights. “They canceled Joan Rowling recently,” he said, “Just because she didn’t satisfy the demands of gender rights.” Rowling tweeted back that “critiques of Western cancel culture are possibly not best made by those currently slaughtering civilians.” (Sources: Vanity Fair, Sky News) |
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| | | Urine Luck | New Ultrasound Technique Breaks Up Kidney Stones in 10 Minutes Patients with smallish kidney stones — waste crystals that can cause severe pain when lodged in the kidneys or ureter — are often treated via shock wave lithotripsy. This technique, which is usually done under sedation and takes around an hour, uses high-amplitude, low-frequency ultrasound waves to break up the stones so they can be passed naturally. Jonathan Harper and a team at the University of Washington have developed a less painful treatment that uses ultrasound waves at a lower amplitude and higher frequency. The new technique takes only 10 minutes, doesn’t require sedation and breaks the stones up into smaller pieces. (Source: New Scientist) |
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| | | Defanged | Shark House Is Now a Protected Landmark — To Owner’s Chagrin Quantum chemist Magnus Hanson-Heine is angered by Oxford City Council’s decision to declare the 25-foot-long sculpture of a shark crashing through his roof in rural England a heritage site that makes a “special contribution” to the community. His father, Bill Heine, and sculptor John Buckley installed the shark in 1986 in protest against U.S. bombing in Libya and the use of missiles and nukes in general. “Using the planning apparatus to preserve a historical symbol of planning law defiance is absurd,” said Hanson-Heine, who’s especially angered by the timing of the decision given the Russian bombardment of Ukrainian homes. (Source: AP) |
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| | | Remembering Taylor Hawkins | Foo Fighters Drummer Dies in Bogota Hotel, Drugs Found in Body The Foo Fighters have canceled their South America tour after drummer Taylor Hawkins, 50, died on Friday. Hawkins, who joined the band in 1997 and was their most recognizable member behind singer Dave Grohl, had traces of 10 substances, including opioids, marijuana and antidepressants, in his body. But Colombian officials have not determined a cause of death. Tributes poured in from across the music world: “God bless you Taylor Hawkins. I loved your spirit and your unstoppable rock power,” wrote Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. Ozzy Osbourne called him “truly a great person and an amazing musician.” (Sources: BBC, NME) |
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| | | The Show Must Go On | Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Goes Ahead Despite Houthi Missile Strike Max Verstappen won Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after a missile strike on an oil depot 10 miles from the circuit nearly scuppered the race. In a four-hour emergency meeting with organizers, drivers — including Verstappen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton — raised safety concerns while also objecting stridently to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Several drivers have said they never want to race in the Kingdom again, but F1 is desperate to keep racing there due to a reported $900 million contract. “I am so happy that everyone is safe,” said Hamilton after the race. “I just want to go home.” (Sources: The Guardian, ESPN, Al Jazeera) |
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