Friday Briefing: Trump met with Britain’s leader
Good morning. We’re covering Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington and hundreds of people rescued from online scam mills in Myanmar. Plus, remembering Gene Hackman.
Trump said he trusted Putin to keep a Ukraine peace dealPresident Trump met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain in Washington yesterday. While sitting beside the British leader in the Oval Office, Trump said repeatedly that he believed that Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader, would not violate the terms of whatever peace deal might be reached to end the war in Ukraine. Here’s the latest. “I think he’ll keep his word,” Trump said. “I’ve known him for a long time now.” His attitude toward Moscow could hardly be more different than Starmer’s, who had come to the White House to pledge troops to a postwar peacekeeping effort, and to urge Trump not to abandon Ukraine to Putin’s demands. Trump was asked if the U.S. would aid Britain should they send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, only for Russia to renege on a peace deal. The president waffled. In the span of one minute, Trump seemed to say no, then yes, before landing back on no. “They don’t need help,” he said. Tariffs: Trump said that Canada and Mexico tariffs would go into effect on March 4, claiming that the countries had still not done enough to stop the flow of drugs into the U.S. He said on social media that China would face an additional 10 percent tariff next week.
Hundreds were rescued from a global scam industryHundreds of people were rescued in recent days from forced labor facilities in Myanmar that were dedicated to a multibillion dollar industry of online scams. Thousands of people from dozens of nations have been duped and smuggled into the area by Chinese gangsters and militia commanders from Myanmar, according to the U.N. Rescue missions, coordinated by officials in Thailand, Myanmar and China, were pitched as a blow to the industry. But construction workers in these scam centers — some in Myanmar’s borderlands are as big as cities — continue to build new warehouses for crime. Background: After a military coup in Myanmar in 2021 and the ensuing civil war, the country’s border with Thailand has become one of the most lawless and lucrative places on Earth. Abuse: People forced to work these frauds have been subjected to electric shocks and tied up in a pose that mimics crucifixion, said those who had witnessed the abuse or had been tortured themselves. “All I did was scam and sleep,” one rescued worker said.
Thailand deported dozens of Uyghurs to ChinaThailand sent 40 Uyghur asylum seekers back to China yesterday. The act drew a sharp rebuke from U.N. officials and activists who had long warned that the men could face torture and long-term imprisonment upon their return. They had been detained in Bangkok for over a decade and were part of a wave of more than 300 people who fled China in 2014. Context: The deportations, which Thai officials said came at Beijing’s request, are a major victory for China and show its growing clout in the region in contrast to the U.S. |
