Good morning. We are talking about Vladimir Putin’s defiant comments, Sri Lanka’s default and China’s economic hub.
Putin’s resistance
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said peace talks with Ukraine had reached a “dead end”. He also said there was “no doubt” that Russia would achieve its goals in a campaign that has left cities in ruins, forced millions to flee their homes and exposed disturbing stories of atrocities committed by Russian soldiers.
Here are the latest updates.
“What we are doing is on the one hand helping people and saving people, and on the other hand we are simply taking measures to ensure the security of Russia itself,” Putin said on Tuesday. “Obviously we had no other choice.”
The comments seemed calculated to show the Russians that their country would still be able to innovate despite Western sanctions.
“We’re not going to isolate ourselves, and it’s generally impossible to isolate anyone in the modern world, especially not a country as big as Russia,” he added, along with his ally, White’s President Alexander Lukashenko. -Russia.
Russia is now pouring troops and equipment into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. “I’ve said it from the start,” Putin said. “The main goal is to help the people of the Donbas.”
Other Ukraine news: New Zealand will send more than 50 soldiers to Europe to help distribute aid, a rare move by the country’s government. And the Chinese state media are increasingly copying Russian propaganda.
Developments:
Standard of Sri Lanka
As the economic crisis deepened and citizens protested in frustration in the streets, the Sri Lankan government suspended payments on its international debt on Tuesday. The move — an effort to conserve dwindling dollar supplies to pay for imported food, medicine and fertilizer — effectively left the small island nation in default of $50 billion in debt.
Sri Lanka closed its borders to tourists for nearly a year and a half during the coronavirus pandemic, providing the nation with much-needed tourism revenue. The currency has also collapsed, a plunge exacerbated by government missteps.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of protesters swarmed the streets of the capital Colombo, where they clashed with security forces outside the official residences of the ruling family. They demand that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign.
Analysis: Sri Lanka once appeared to be a rapidly developing economy committed to healing after decades of sectarian conflict. Instead, it fell back into authoritarianism. Rajapaksa has imprisoned dissenters and destroyed the opposition, while filling the government with his relatives, fellow soldiers and right-wing monks in keeping with his mentality of order and authority.
What’s next: The government is in talks with creditors and the IMF to restructure its debt and is requesting aid from India and China, Bloomberg reports.
Xi Jinping, the leader of China, has tried to portray China as more prosperous, powerful and stable under his rule, especially as he prepares for a third five-year term. Officials are now struggling to reverse a slowdown in growth, exacerbated by rising global oil prices, the war in Ukraine and Covid lockdowns.
Analysis: The party’s overriding priority to achieve growth makes it difficult to implement changes that can address deep-seated problems with its economic model. Borrowing for infrastructure projects has burdened the country with trillions of dollars in debt, and attempts to curb real estate speculation have led to defaults by major developers like Evergrande.
citable: “Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government system runs like a sports car – the accelerator and brake pedals work extra fast,” said a top analyst. “If he wants to pursue a policy, even a long-term policy, the car accelerates immediately, and that may not be the intention.”
Covid in China:
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A morning reading
The town of Zipolite — and its nudist beach — have long been an oasis for Mexico’s queer community. But the area’s rising popularity and growing party culture can threaten the relaxed atmosphere of the counterculture.
War between Russia and Ukraine: important developments
ART AND IDEAS
A mentalist sets a running record
Every day, thousands of people jog a few miles in New York City’s Central Park. But last week, a man went to extremes.
Oz Pearlman, who has a day job performing mental magic, walked a record 19 loops around Central Park, totaling 216 miles, in one day.
To train, Pearlman completed several runs over 20 miles, mostly on the road before or between shows. He literally runs his errands and has won seven marathons, with personal best times placing him just out of reach for men invited to the Olympic trials.
His mentalistic feats — like guessing the name of our reporter’s childhood sweetheart as he runs his 80th mile — also help him physically: “If I can get into your brain, I can get into my own brain when I’m suffering, dig deep and keep running.”
