BIDEN OPEN TO MEETING PUTIN DESPITE CALLING HIM WAR CRIMINAL

Amid signs of a drawdown in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has indicated he is open to meeting President Vladimir Putin for talks despite calling him a "war criminal" and a "butcher" and calling for his ouster. “The question is: Is there something to meet on that would justify him being able to end this war and be able to rebuild Ukraine. That’s the issue,” Biden said in a press conference, amid signs of a breakthrough in talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey.

Pressed by reporters wanting to know whether or not he would be willing to meet with President Putin again, Biden said, “It depends on what he wants to talk about. ”

Russia responded positively to the signal, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying, “One way or another, sooner or later, we will have to speak about questions of strategic stability and security and so on. ”

Biden, however, laid down markers for any prospective talks, reminding correspondents of his last meeting with Putin in Geneva in 2021 where the Russian leader had identified two objectives: Making sure Ukraine never becomes part of Nato and making sure there are no long-range missiles in Ukraine. “I said, ‘We can deal with the second one easily, but we can’t close the door on the first’. Because when we talk about missiles, we want to talk about what’s also on the Russian border heading towards Europe. Do both,” he recalled, explaining that since that meeting Putin’s “demand list. . . has escalated significantly. ”

Biden had a conference call with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British PM Boris Johnson, and Italian PM Mario Draghi to discuss what the White House said was “latest developments” on the Russia-Ukraine front, including progress made in talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

Russia has announced that it will “radically reduce” military activity outside Kyiv and Chernihiv after “meaningful” negotiations, days after signalling it was changing its military objectives after completing the initial phase of its operation. Ukraine is reported to have agreed to maintain a neutral status. There is even talk of a meeting between Putin and Ukraine’s leader Voldymyr Zelensky to seal a deal.

While Biden maintained that his remarks on Putin and calling for his ouster would not complicate any talks with Russia, the Kremlin said “Personal insults cannot but leave their mark on relations between heads of state”, although it did not rule out a meeting.

ABRAMOVICH WAS NOT POISONED, SAYS KREMLIN, CONFIRMS HIS ROLE IN TALKS

The Kremlin on Tuesday denied a report that Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich was poisoned while taking part in peace talks over Ukraine, but confirmed he is acting as an intermediary. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Abramovich and Ukrainian negotiators were targets of a suspected poison attack, potentially by Moscow hardliners seeking to sabotage peace talks. “This is part of information sabotage, part of an information war,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “It goes without saying that these reports do not correspond to reality. ” A source familiar with the matter had earlier confirmed the report to AFP, stating: “Unfortunately this took place, what the Wall Street Journal reported. ” After a meeting in Ukraine’s capital, Abramovich and at least two senior Ukrainian negotiators developed symptoms including red eyes, painfully watery eyes, and peeling skin on their face and hands, according to sources cited by Wall Street Journal. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak did not confirm the incident. Peskov said Abramovich, who has been placed on Western sanctions lists along with other oligarchs, is participating in Tuesday’s talks in Istanbul. RIA Novosti state news agency reported that Abramovich spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday morning before the talks began. “He is not an official member of the (Russian) delegation at the negotiations, but is involved in ensuring certain contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian sides,”Peskov said.

RUSSIAN GAS SUPPLY TO EUROPE AT RISK AS ROUBLE DEADLINE NEARS

Russia said it would work out practical arrangements by Thursday for foreign companies to pay for its gas in roubles, raising the probability of supply disruptions as Western nations have so far rejected Moscow’s demand for a currency switch. President Vladimir Putin’s order last week to charge “unfriendly” nations in roubles for Russian gas has boosted the currency. “No one will supply gas for free, it is simply impossible, and you can pay for it only in roubles,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. The speaker of Russia’s upper house, Valentina Matviyenko, said Moscow was ready if Europe refused to buy Russian energy and could redirect supplies to Asian markets among others, TASS news agency reported. European countries say Russia is not entitled to redraw contracts. Peskov said, in line with a March 31 deadlinefor the rouble payments, “all modalities are being developed so that this system is simpleand feasible for international buyers.”

EUROPEANS EXPEL DOZENS OF RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS TO COMBAT ESPIONAGE

The Hague : In what appeared to be a coordinated action to tackle Russian espionage, at least four European allies expelled a total of dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday. The expulsions come against a backdrop of relations between Russia and the West that have been plunged into a deep freeze following the invasion of Ukraine. The Netherlands said it was expelling 17 Russians who it described as intelligence officers masquerading as diplomats. Belgium said it was ejecting 21 Russians. The Czech Republic gave one Russian diplomat 72 hours to leave the country. Ireland told four senior Russian officials to leave the country because of activities deemed not “in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour”. Poland last week expelled 45 Russians whom the government identified as intelligence officers using their diplomatic status as cover to operate in the country. The Netherlands said it took its decision in consultation with “a number of like-minded countries”, citing similar expulsions by the US, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Montenegro. “The cabinet has decided to do this because of the threat to national security posed by this group,” the Dutch ministry said in a statement. “The intelligence threat against the Netherlands remains high. The current attitude of Russia in a broader sense makes the pre- sence of these intelligence officers undesirable. The deportation is a measure taken in the context of national security. ” Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra said he was prepared for a retaliation from Moscow.

RUSSIA ACCUSES US OF ‘CYBER AGGRESSION’

Russia accused the US on Tuesday of leading a massive campaign of “cyber aggression” behind hundreds of thousands of malicious attacks a day. It said media, critical infrastructure and life support systems had been targeted, with the unprecedented scale pointing at US and Nato-trained special forces as well as hackers acting on behalf of Kyiv’s western sponsors. “The sources of attacks will be identified and be held accountable. ”

NO-TRUST VOTE AGAINST IMRAN ON APRIL 3

The voting on the no-confidence motion against Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will be held on April 3, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Tuesday.

Mr. Rashid was addressing the media here in the federal capital after the Opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion against Mr. Khan on Monday during a session of the National Assembly.

“There will be a debate on the no-confidence motion on March 31, followed by voting on April 3,” the Minister said, adding that Mr. Khan would emerge victorious. He predicted that all estranged allies would back Mr. Khan’s government as already done by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).

The Minister’s remarks came as the Pakistan opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement, vowed to bring down Mr. Khan’s government.

BIDEN PROPOSES $1.8BN FOR INDO-PACIFIC STRATEGY

Washington : US President Joe Biden has proposed $1. 8 billion in his budget plan to support his Indo-Pacific strategy along with another $400 million to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the strategically vital region.

Several world powers, including the US and India, have been raising the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the region. “In the Indo-Pacific, America is strengthening its role and expanding its cooperation with longtime allies and partners, including new diplomatic, defence and security, critical and emerging technology and supply chain, and climate and global health initiatives, while supporting stronger ties between our European and Indo Pacific allies,” Biden said on Monday. The president has prioritised strategic competition with China and worked with allies to resist coercion and deter aggression from Beijing and Moscow, the White House said. To support American leadership in defending democracy, freedom, and security worldwide, the budget includes nearly $1. 8 billion to support a free and open, connected, secure, and resilient IndoPacific region and the IndoPacific Strategy, and $400 million for the Chinese malign influence fund, it added.

Both the proposals are part of the $773 billion annual defence budget of the US for the year 2023, which was submitted by the White House to Congress as part of its annual budgetary proposals. The budget, the White House said, promotes integrated deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and globally. The budget prioritises China as defence department’s “pacing challenge”.

BITCOIN HOLDS GROUND AFTER TOUCHING HIGHEST THIS YEAR

LONDON - Bitcoin held ground just below its highest this year, touched a day earlier, with gains for the original cryptocurrency topping 27 percent since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Bitcoin hit $48,234 on Monday evening, its highest since Dec. 31. It was last trading up 0.9 percent at $47,553.

Its gains lifted smaller cryptocurrencies that tend to move in tandem with bitcoin. Ether, the second biggest token, hit $3,436 on Monday, its highest since early January.

Market players cited emerging signs of a new wave of adoption of crypto by institutional investors and financial firms, whose interest over the past two years has fuelled crypto's journey to mainstream asset from niche technology.

Bitcoin has risen over 12 percent in the last week alone.

Among supportive comments cited were those by BlackRock Inc's chief executive, who said last week that the Russia-Ukraine war could end up accelerating digital currencies as a tool to settle international transactions.

Such moves signal "growing conviction that the crypto markets are worth dedicating more resources to," said Noelle Acheson, head of market insights at US crypto firm Genesis.

Though bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now spoken of in the same breath as traditional assets from stocks and foreign exchange to bonds, its remains as volatile as ever.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $69,000 in November, before tumbling almost 30 percent in just 24 days.

FACEBOOK ADVERTISERS CAN PURSUE CLASS ACTION OVER AD RATES

A U.S. judge ruled on Tuesday that a lawsuit accusing Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook of deceiving advertisers about its "potential reach" tool can proceed as a class action.

The decision by U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco allows potentially millions of individuals and businesses that paid for ads on Facebook and its photo-sharing app Instagram since Aug. 15, 2014 to sue as a group.

The lawsuit began in 2018, as DZ Reserve and other advertisers accused Facebook of inflating its advertising reach, by increasing the number of potential viewers by as much as 400%, and charging artificially high premiums for ad placements.

They also said senior Facebook executives knew for years that the company's "potential reach" metric was inflated by duplicate and fake accounts, yet did nothing about it and took steps to cover it up.

After calling out Meta's "blunderbuss" objections to class certification, Donato rejected its contention that the class was too diverse, including "large sophisticated corporations" as well as individuals and small businesses, and that it would be too hard to calculate damages.

Donato also said it made sense to let individual plaintiffs sue as a group, given that "no reasonable person" would sue Meta individually to recover at most a $32 price premium.

The judge is expected later this year to consider Meta's bid to dismiss the lawsuit.

UK POLICE FINE 20 PEOPLE OVER ‘PARTYGATE’

London : British police are fining 20 people over parties held by PM Boris Johnson and his staff during Covid lockdowns, and say that more people could face penalties. The Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday it wouldn’t identify the recipients of the fixed penalty notices, though Johnson’s office said it would reveal if he gets one. Opponents have said that Johnson should resign if he is issued a fine. Dozens of politicians and officials have been investigated over allegations that the government flouted its own pandemic restrictions. Police sent questionnaires to more than 100 people, including the PM, and interviewed witnesses. The Met said officers were still working through a “significant amount of investigative material” and more people could face penalties. Johnson’s grip on power was shaken by public anger over revelations that his staff held “bring your own booze” office parties in 2020 and 2021 while millions were barred from meeting with family because of Covid curbs. Johnson spokesman declined to say whether the PM would quit if he is fined. “It’s a hypothetical situation.

SRI LANKA FACES SHORTAGE OF MEDICINES

Sri Lanka’s state-run hospitals are running out of life-saving medicines due to a shortage of dollars needed to import essentials as the country reels from a dire economic crisis, officials said on Tuesday.

Teaching Hospital Peradeniya in the Central province said it was suspending all routine surgeries and was out of anaesthetic drugs and other essentials for operations.

VIETNAM'S VINFAST ANNOUNCES $2 BILLION US ELECTRIC CAR FACTORY

WASHINGTON - Vietnamese car manufacturer VinFast announced it will build a $2 billion electric vehicle factory in the US state of North Carolina amid its push to enter the competitive global market for EVs.

President Joe Biden cheered the announcement of the 800-hectare factory in Chatham County that will also make electric busses and EV batteries, calling it "the latest example of my economic strategy at work."

"Our efforts to build a clean energy economy are driving companies to make more in America, rebuild our supply chains here at home, and ultimately bring down costs for the American people," he said.

VinFast said construction on the facility that will be able to produce 150,000 vehicles a year would start this year once a permit is obtained, and aim to finish by 2024.

In a statement, the automaker said the factory would produce the five-passenger VinFast VF 8 and the seven-passenger VinFast VF 9, both of which are all-electric SUVs.

Under the company's memorandum of understanding with the state of North Carolina, VinFast said it would expand the factory in the future.

"North Carolina's strong commitments in building a clean energy economy, fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation make it an ideal location for VinFast to develop its premium, smart and environmentally friendly EVs," VinFast Global CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said in a statement.

The carmaker is a subsidiary of Vietnam's largest private conglomerate, Vingroup, which is owned by Pham Nhat Vuong, the country's richest man with a fortune Forbes estimates as $6.3 billion.

Last July, VinFast announced it would launch two new electric vehicles in North America and Europe in 2022.

The American electric vehicle market is an increasingly competitive space, home to Tesla, a host of EV startups and the Detroit automakers, who have recently announced electric versions of longstanding models.