Global Courant 2023-05-02 02:20:26
Marcos at the White House
The President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., began a four-day visit to the US yesterday with a meeting with President Biden in Washington. The trip aims to send a message to China that Marcos intends to deepen his country’s relationship with the US
“We face new challenges and I couldn’t think of a better partner than you,” Biden told Marcos in the Oval Office. Biden added that the US “will continue to support the military modernization of the Philippines.”
Marcos’ trip comes days after the US and the Philippines held their largest joint military exercises to date in the South China Sea aimed at curbing China’s influence. The two countries signed an agreement in February to allow the US military to expand its presence in the Philippines.
“It is only natural,” Marcos said in the Oval Office, that the Philippines “looks to their only treaty partner in the world to strengthen and redefine the relationship we have and the role we play in light of the emerging tensions we are now seeing around the South China Sea and Asia Pacific.”
US outlook: The White House has focused on cultivating Marcos, the son of a dictator, as a regional ally since taking office 10 months ago. His predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, was more conciliatory towards China than his predecessors, and sometimes more confrontational towards the US.
Taiwan: The northernmost island of the Philippines is less than 100 miles from the self-governed island. A greater US military presence could allow rapid troop response in a war with China.
China’s position: When China’s foreign minister visited the Philippines last month, he had a stern message: It was vital that the government in Manila, the capital, address issues related to Taiwan and the South China Sea “in a timely manner.” the right way” her earlier commitment not to take sides.
Fighting in Ukraine is on the rise
Both Russia and Ukraine reported escalating attacks in recent days, a sign that fighting intensified ahead of an expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Russia launched a broad pre-dawn airstrike in Ukraine yesterday, the second large-scale strike in just four days. Two people were killed and 40 injured in Russian attacks on the central city of Pavlograd, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address.
Ukraine said yesterday it had carried out four attacks on concentrations of Russian troops in the past 24 hours. Yesterday, an explosion derailed a freight train in Russia, near the border, though a Russian official did not say who was responsible. A series of explosions also took place behind Russian lines over the weekend.
Timing: Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on national television that the army “reached the finish line” in preparations for the counter-offensive.
One complicating factor: mud. It has been raining in the region for weeks and the ground is unusually wet. Ukraine’s new advanced weapons are no match for the black, soupy soil.
A British spy in Iran
He was a senior official in Iran, a trusted keeper of defense secrets – and a British spy. A Times investigation reveals how information shared by the official, Alireza Akbari, rocked the world’s view of Iran’s nuclear program and led to his execution in January.
Akbari, who was a senior military commander of the Revolutionary Guards, had open access to Iran’s inner circles of power and advised on key state policies. According to Western intelligence officials, he also spied for Britain for nearly 16 years. Intelligence sources told my colleagues Ronen Bergman and Farnaz Fassihi that Akbari revealed, among other things, the existence of Fordo, a uranium enrichment site near Tehran.
The revelations, which Britain shared with Israel and other Western intelligence agencies, shocked even those closely watching Iran. Fordo’s discovery proved critical in dispelling any doubt that Iran was pursuing nuclear weapons and reshaping the West’s military and cyber plans to counter the program. It also proved crucial in persuading the world to impose far-reaching sanctions on Iran.
Details: Akbari was an unlikely spy. He showed a fanatical loyalty to the ideals of the Islamic Republic and unwavering support from the Iranian leadership, according to interviews with people who knew him.
Other revelations: Iran also said it has revealed the identities of more than 100 officials, most notably Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the top nuclear scientist who killed Israel in 2020.
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More and more young men are getting a perm. The hairstyle has changed since its 1980s heyday: Instead of curls and hairspray, the modern male perm – inspired by K-pop and TikTok – is more tender and soft.
A Met Gala preview
Celebrities line up to walk the red carpet at New York’s Met Gala. (It’s scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in New York, which is 5:30 a.m. in Hong Kong; 7:30 a.m. in Sydney.)
The party is usually themed to the annual blockbuster show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. This year’s show, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” is a tribute to the imagination and creativity of Chanel’s longtime designer, Fendi and his eponymous line. (Lagerfeld died in 2019.)
Given the theme, you can expect a lot of vintage designer dresses on the catwalk this year, which could make this the most enduring Met Gala ever. Vanessa Friedman, our fashion editor, told us she hoped it would be “a return to more understated elegance after years of guest wear becoming more and more costumed, all the better to go viral.”
Among the many celebrities attending the celebration, Gala viewers will be looking for one in particular: It’s speculated that Lagerfeld’s white Burmese cat (and rumored heir), Choupette, who has her own sitter and Instagram account, will make an appearance. .
For more: Take our Lagerfeld Quiz.
