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Ukraine faced more Russian drone attacks Wednesday that killed at least three people shortly after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida left Kyiv. Kishida was back in Poland Wednesday morning, according to Japan’s Kyodo News, and is expected to return to Japan Thursday. Kishida's surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital stole some of the attention from Chinese leader Xi Jinping's trip to Moscow where he promoted Beijing’s peace proposal for Ukraine, which Western nations have already dismissed. Xi left Moscow early Wednesday. Early Wednesday, Ukraine faced a new series of Russian drone attacks, which killed at least three people and damaged some infrastructure across the country. The Rival visits by Xi and Kishida, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) apart, highlighted how countries are lining up behind Moscow or Kyiv during the nearly 13-month-old war. Kishida, who will chair the Group of Seven summit in May, became the group’s last member to visit Ukraine and meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after paying tribute to those killed in Bucha, a town that became a symbol of Russian atrocities against civilians. Xi’s visit gave a strong political boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin just days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on charges of alleged involvement in abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine. In a joint statement, Russia and China emphasized the need to “respect legitimate security concerns of all countries” to settle the conflict, echoing Moscow’s argument that it sent in troops to prevent the U.S. and its NATO allies from turning the country into an anti-Russian bulwark. Kishida called Russia’s invasion a “disgrace that undermines the foundations of the international legal order” and pledged to “continue to support Ukraine until peace is back on the beautiful Ukrainian lands.” XI, PUTIN BLAME NATO The Russia-China front against the West was a prominent theme of Xi’s visit. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused NATO of seeking to become the world’s dominant military force. “That is why we are expanding our cooperation with China, including in the security sphere,” he said. After the talks, Putin and Xi issued joint declarations pledging to further bolster their “strategic cooperation,” develop cooperation in energy, high-tech industries and other spheres and expand the use of their currencies in mutual trade to reduce dependence on the West. They said they would develop military cooperation and conduct more joint sea and air patrols, but there was no mention of Chinese weapon supplies to Russia, a prospect that the U.S. and other Western allies feared. Xi and Putin announced no major progress toward implementing the Chinese peace deal, although the Russian leader said it could be a basis for ending the fighting when the West is ready. U.S. officials have said any peace plan coming from the Putin-Xi meeting would be unacceptable because a cease-fire would only ratify Moscow’s territorial conquests and give Russia time to plan for a renewed offensive. Putin is keen to show he has a heavyweight ally and market for Russian energy products under Western sanctions. He and Xi signed agreements on economic cooperation, noting Russian-Chinese trade rose by 30% last year to $185 billion and is expected to top $200 billion this year. Russia stands “ready to meet the Chinese economy’s growing demand for energy resources” by boosting deliveries of oil and gas, he said, while listing other areas of cooperation, including aircraft and shipbuilding industries and other high-tech sectors. Further contacts are planned. Xi said he invited Putin to China this year to discuss a regional initiative that seeks to extend Beijing’s influence through economic cooperation. After meeting Kishida, Zelenskyy told reporters his team had sent his own peace formula to China but hasn’t heard back, adding that there were “some signals, but nothing concrete about the possibility of a dialogue.” KISHIDA CONDEMNS RUSSIAN “CRUELTY” Hours before Xi and Putin dined at a state dinner in glittering Kremlin opulence, Kishida laid flowers at a church in Bucha for the town’s victims. “Upon this visit to Bucha, I feel a strong resentment against cruelty,” Kishida said. “I would like to represent the people in Japan, and express my deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones, were injured as a result of this cruel act.” Japan’s top government spokesman said Wednesday that Kishida’s visit to Ukraine was “very meaningful” for Japan’s future support for that country, while taking a leadership role as president of the Group of Seven nations in responding to the issue. “Through Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to Ukraine, Japan was able to show not only to other members of the G-7 but also the international society including the Global South (nations) its determination to defend the rules-based international society,” he said. Matsuno noted that the China-Russia summit took place almost at the same time as Kishida’s visit to Ukraine, and said “President Xi (Jinping)’s visit to Russia only underscored the unwavering ties between China and Russia despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel noted the “two very different European-Pacific partnerships” that unfolded Tuesday. “Kishida stands with freedom, and Xi stands with a war criminal,” Emanuel tweeted, referring to Friday’s decision by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Putin, saying it wanted to put him on trial for the abductions of thousands of children from Ukraine. DRONE ATTACKS CONTINUE The Ukrainian military’s General Staff said that Russia struck Ukraine with Iranian-made Shahed exploding drones. It said air defenses downed 16 of the 21 drones launched by Russia. The Kyiv military administration said that eight of the drones were downed near the Ukrainian capital. A high school and two dormitories were partially destroyed in an overnight drone attack in the city of Rzhyshchiv, in Ukraine’s north-central Kyiv province, local officials said Wednesday morning. “As of 7 a.m., three people were killed, two people were wounded and one person was rescued. There are probably four people under the rubble,” the Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported. In neighboring Zhytomyr province exploding drones damaged infrastructure facilities, according to regional Gov. Vitalii Bunechko. He said Ukrainian air defenses shot down three drones. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-appointed head of the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, said the Russian military has fended off a drone attack on the main harbor early Wednesday. Razvozhayev said the Russian navy destroyed three unmanned sea drones that attempted to attack Sevastopol that serves as the main base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. He said that Russian warships weren’t damaged in the attack, but added that several civilian facilities were slightly damaged when the drones were hit and exploded, shattering windows in several buildings near the harbor. He said there were no injuries. Ukrainian officials didn’t claim responsibility for the attacks.

Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on a $15.6 billion loan package aimed at shoring up government finances severely strained by Russia's invasion and at leveraging even more support by reassuring allies that Ukraine is pursuing strong economic policies. Ukraine’s finance ministry said Wednesday that the program will “help to mobilize financing from Ukraine’s international partners, as well as to maintain macrofinancial stability and ensure the path to post-war reconstruction after Ukrainian victory in the war against the aggressor.” The loan program will run for four years, with the first 12 to 18 months focusing on helping Ukraine close its massive budget deficit and alleviating pressure to finance spending through printing money at the central bank, the IMF said in a statement Tuesday. Also Read: Russia’s reliance on China rises amid Ukraine sanctions The remainder of the program will focus on supporting Ukraine's bid for European Union membership and post-war reconstruction. The IMF deal is expected to leverage even more money for Ukraine since it provides evidence to potential donor governments, including in the Group of Seven democracies and the European Union, that Ukraine's government is following sound economic policies. The agreement, which still needs approval from the IMF's executive board, “is expected to help mobilize large-scale concessional financing from Ukraine’s international donors and partners over the duration of the program,” Gavin Gray, the IMF"s mission chief for Ukraine, said in a statement. Also Read: Japan, China leaders visit rival capitals in Ukraine war The IMF said that the Ukrainian authorities demonstrated their commitment to healthy economic policy and met all agreed upon goals during a preliminary consultation. The loan program goes beyond previous IMF practice by lending to a country that is at war, under new rules that permitted assistance under circumstances of “extremely high uncertainty.” Ukraine massively increased military spending while the economy shrank by around 30% in 2022, hitting tax revenues. The result was a huge budget deficit that has been covered by outside financing from the U.S., the European Union and other allies. The external help has helped the country end its reliance on money printed by the central bank and loaned to the government, an emergency step considered necessary early in the war, but which could fuel inflation and destabilize the country's currency if prolonged. Before the war, Ukraine had made progress in reforming its banking system and making government contracting more transparent. But Ukraine still ranked 122 out of 180 countries on Transparency International's corruption perceptions index. Its pre-war economy was characterized by political involvement from wealthy individuals known as oligarchs and by slow progress on improving the legal system perceived as too open to political influence. The IMF, however, said after the preliminary consultations that the government has "made progress in reforms to strengthen governance, anti-corruption and rule of law, and lay the foundations for post-war growth, although the agenda of reforms in these areas remains significant.”

The Biden administration is putting out the word that planned stopovers in the United States by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in the coming weeks fall in line with recent precedent and should not be used as a pretext by China to step up aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s office of the president confirmed on Tuesday that Tsai is tentatively scheduled to transit through New York on March 30 before heading to Guatemala and Belize. She’s expected to stop in Los Angeles on April 5 on her way back to Taiwan. The office did not provide details of her itinerary while in the U.S. Ahead of Taiwan's announcement, senior U.S. officials in Washington and Beijing have underscored to their Chinese counterparts in recent weeks that transit visits through the United States during broader international travel by the Taiwanese president have been routine over the years, according to a senior administration official. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. Also Read: Australia won’t promise to side with US in Taiwan conflict In such unofficial visits in recent years, Tsai has met with members of Congress and the Taiwanese diaspora and has been welcomed by the chairperson of the American Institute in Taiwan, the U.S. government-run nonprofit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the planned stopovers—administration officials stress they are not official visits—are “business as usual” and consistent with longstanding U.S. policy. “There’s no reason for China to overreact," Kirby said about the expected unofficial visit. "Heck, there’s no reason for China to react.” Tsai transited through the United States six times between 2016 and 2019 before slowing international travel with the coronavirus pandemic. In reaction to those visits, China rhetorically lashed out against the U.S. and Taiwan. Also Read: US approves selling Taiwan munitions worth $619 million State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said “the unofficial nature of our relations with Taiwan remains unchanged.” The Biden administration is trying to avoid a replay of the heavy-handed response by China that came after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year. Following Pelosi's August visit, Beijing launched missiles over Taiwan, deployed warships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and carried out military exercises near the island. Beijing also suspended climate talks with the U.S. and restricted military-to-military communication with the Pentagon. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has said he would meet with Tsai when she is in the U.S. and has not ruled out the possibility of traveling to Taiwan in a show of support. Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don’t support. Pelosi, D-Calif., was the highest-ranking elected American official to visit the island since Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. Under the “one China” policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan but has maintained that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. officials are increasingly worried about China’s long-stated goals of unifying Taiwan with the mainland and the possibility of war over Taiwan. The self-ruled island democracy is claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed U.S. relations with the island, does not require the U.S. to step in militarily if China invades but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and to prevent any unilateral change of status by Beijing. The difficult U.S.-China relationship has only become more complicated since Pelosi's visit. Last month, President Joe Biden ordered a Chinese spy balloon shot out of the sky after it traversed the continental United States. And the Biden administration in recent weeks has said that U.S. intelligence findings show that China is weighing sending arms to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine, but it does not have evidence that suggests Beijing has decided to follow through on supplying Moscow. The Biden administration postponed a planned visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken following the balloon controversy but has signaled it would like to get such a visit back on track. The White House on Monday also said officials are in talks with China about possible visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo focused on economic matters. Biden has also said he expects to soon hold a call with China's Xi Jinping. Kirby said “keeping those lines of communication open” is still valuable. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi met in Moscow on Tuesday for a second day of talks, the first face-to-face meeting between the allies since before Russia launched its Ukraine invasion more than a year ago. The Taiwanese government earlier this month said that Tsai planned stops in New York and Southern California during an upcoming broader international trip.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said water is the lifeblood of the world and climate change is wreaking havoc on water’s natural cycle. He said from health and nutrition, to education and infrastructure, water is vital to every aspect of human survival and wellbeing, and the economic development and prosperity of every nation. "We don’t have a moment to lose. Let’s make 2023 a year of transformation and investment for humanity’s lifeblood. Let’s take action to protect, sustainably manage and ensure equitable access to water for all," said the UN chief in a message marking World Water Day today. "But drop by drop, this precious lifeblood is being poisoned by pollution and drained by vampiric overuse, with water demand expected to exceed supply by 40 percent by decade’s end," Guterres said. Also Read: 26% of the world have no access to clean drinking water: UN He said greenhouse gas pollution continues to rise to all-time record levels, heating the world’s climate to dangerous levels. "This is worsening water-related disasters, disease outbreaks, water shortages and droughts, while inflicting damage to infrastructure, food production, and supply chains," Guterres said. The theme of this year’s World Water Day reminds all of the cost of these failures on the billions of people who lack access to safe water and sanitation. Out of every 100 people on earth, 25 fetch all their water from open streams and ponds — or pay high prices to buy water of dubious safety. Twenty-two relieve themselves outdoors or use dirty, dangerous or broken latrines. And 44 see their wastewater flow back into nature untreated, with disastrous health and environmental consequences. "In short, our world is dramatically — and dangerously — off-track to reaching our goal of safely managed water and sanitation for all by 2030," Guterres said. This year’s World Water Day reminds all of their individual and collective roles to protect and sustainably use and manage humanity’s lifeblood for present and future generations, he said. The United Nations Water Conference, which kicks off today (March 22), is a critical moment for national governments, local and regional authorities, businesses, scientists, youth, civil society organizations and communities to join forces, and co-design and invest in solutions to achieve clean water and sanitation for all, said the UN Secretary-General. Meanwhile, he said, governments, businesses and investors must take much bolder actions to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, with the G20 leading the way. "We must break our addiction to fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy, while supporting developing countries every step of the way," said the UN chief.    

A new report launched Tuesday on the eve of the first major U.N. conference on water in over 45 years says 26% of the world’s population doesn’t have access to safe drinking water and 46% lack access to basic sanitation. The U.N. World Water Development Report 2023 painted a stark picture of the huge gap that needs to be filled to meet U.N. goals to ensure all people have access to clean water and sanitation by 2030. Richard Connor, editor-in-chief of the report, told a news conference that the estimated cost of meeting the goals is somewhere between $600 billion and $1 trillion a year. But equally important, Connor said, is forging partnerships with investors, financiers, governments and climate change communities to ensure that money is invested in ways to sustain the environment and provide potable water to the 2 billion people who don’t have it and sanitation to the 3.6 million in need. Also Read: UN Experts: Water is a common good not a commodity According to the report, water use has been increasing globally by roughly 1% per year over the last 40 years “and is expected to grow at a similar rate through to 2050, driven by a combination of population growth, socio-economic development and changing consumption patterns.” Connor said that actual increase in demand is happening in developing countries and emerging economies where it is driven by industrial growth and especially the rapid increase in the population of cities. It is in these urban areas “that you’re having a real big increase in demand,” he said. With agriculture using 70% of all water globally, Connor said, irrigation for crops has to be more efficient — as it is in some countries that now use drip irrigation, which saves water. “That allows water to be available to cities,” he said. Also Read: Millions lack safe water months after Pakistan floods As a result of climate change, the report said, “seasonal water scarcity will increase in regions where it is currently abundant — such as Central Africa, East Asia and parts of South America — and worsen in regions where water is already in short supply, such as the Middle East and the Sahara in Africa.” On average, “10% of the global population lives in countries with high or critical water stress” — and up to 3.5 billion people live under conditions of water stress at least one month a year, said the report issued by UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Since 2000, floods in the tropics have quadrupled while floods in the north mid-latitudes have increased 2.5-fold, the report said. Trends in droughts are more difficult to establish, it said, “although an increase in intensity or frequency of droughts and 'heat extremes’ can be expected in most regions as a direct result of climate change.” As for water pollution, Connor said, the biggest source of pollution is untreated wastewater. “Globally, 80 percent of wastewater is released to the environment without any treatment,” he said, “and in many developing countries it’s pretty much 99%.” These and other issues including protecting aquatic ecosystems, improving management of water resources, increasing water reuse and promoting cooperation across borders on water use will be discussed during the three-day U.N. Water Conference co-chaired by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon opening Wednesday morning. There are 171 countries, including over 100 ministers, on the speakers list along with more than 20 organizations. The meeting will also include five “interactive dialogues” and dozens of side events.

Muslim authorities in Saudi Arabia and several other Middle Eastern countries say this year's fasting month of Ramadan will begin Thursday based on the expected sighting of the crescent moon. Clerics across the region said the moon was not visible Tuesday night, meaning it will almost certainly appear the following evening, heralding the start of the monthlong observance. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual intercourse from sunrise until sunset. Even a tiny sip of water or a puff of smoke is enough to invalidate the fast. At night, family and friends gather and feast in a festive atmosphere. The fasting is aimed at bringing the faithful closer to God and reminding them of the suffering of the poor. Muslims are expected to strictly observe daily prayers and engage in heightened religious contemplation. They are also urged to refrain from gossip, fighting or cursing during the holy month. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and is required for all healthy Muslims. But there are exemptions for those who are ill, and for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Small children are not expected to fast. Islam follows a lunar calendar, so Ramadan begins around a week and a half earlier each year. At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the joyous Eid al-Fitr holiday, when children often receive new clothes and gifts.

Like a salesman buttering up his best customer, President Vladimir Putin gushed about China’s economic success as he welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin. “We even feel a bit envious,” Putin said Monday as Xi grinned. That was more than idle flattery. China isn’t just Moscow’s diplomatic partner in opposing what they see as U.S. domination of global affairs. Its thriving economy is the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas exports, pumping billions of dollars into Putin’s treasury and helping the Kremlin resist Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Putin welcomes the lifeline, but that reliance is accelerating Russia’s slide into the junior role in an uneasy relationship with Xi’s government. Beijing has ambitions that diverge from Moscow’s and sometimes conflict.“Russia may worry about increasing reliance upon China, but it has no other good options,” said Li Xin, director of the Institute of European and Asian Studies at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. The current Beijing-Moscow partnership dates to the 1990s, when they set aside border disputes and other strains that led to the 1961 Sino-Soviet split and forged a post-Cold War diplomatic front to push back against Washington. For both sides, the importance of that relationship increased as Washington imposed sanctions on Russia and restricted Chinese access to U.S. technology on security grounds. Xi accused the United States this month of trying to block China’s economic development. “There’s a feeling that the U.S. and American allies are out to contain the two countries,” said Li Mingjiang, an international relations expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Despite “strategic mistrust” stemming from conflicts dating back to the 19th century, they share a “common political interest” of “resisting American challenges,” Li said. Before last year’s invasion, Xi and Putin declared they had a “no limits friendship.” But Beijing already has shown there are limits. It says they aren’t allies and has avoided openly giving Russia military help in Ukraine, a step President Joe Biden and other Western leaders warn would trigger unspecified consequences for China. Beijing once called the Soviet government “Big Brother,” but Moscow’s lead in political influence eroded as China’s economy raced ahead following market-style reform in the 1980s. Russia had oil riches, but the post-Soviet economy failed to create competitive companies. Meanwhile, China launched auto, tech and other industries that are expanding into global markets. In the mid-’90s, Russia’s economy was half the size of China’s but its smaller population had four times the output per person. By 2020, China’s lead had multiplied. Its economy was 10 times the size of Russia’s and edged ahead in output per person, $10,525 to Russia’s $10,115, according to the International Monetary Fund. Russia’s $1.7 trillion economy was about three-quarters the size of that of Texas. Russia also is losing its lead in arms technology, its biggest non-oil export. China paid billions of dollars in the early 2000s for fighter jets and other weapons. But in another sign of the limits to cooperation, Russia suspended sales after 2004 due to complaints Beijing was copying its missile and other technology. Sales didn’t resume until 2014. China’s imports from Russia, mostly oil and gas, rose 49% last year to $76.4 billion, according to customs data. The Global Times newspaper reported Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as China’s biggest foreign oil supplier in January and February.China can buy Russian energy without triggering Western sanctions that prohibit or limit imports into the United States, Europe or Japan. Beijing values relations with Moscow so highly that it has avoided using that economic power as leverage, said Li Mingjiang. “We’ve seen Chinese caution not to do anything or say anything that may make the Russians upset or suspicious,” he said. Moscow is uneasy that its dominant role among former Soviet republics in Central Asia might be undermined by Xi’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to expand trade by building ports, railways and other infrastructure. Putin’s government shares worries with Washington, Tokyo and New Delhi that China is using Belt and Road to expand its strategic influence at their expense. Beijing tried to mollify Putin’s government by agreeing Moscow would be in charge of security affairs in Central Asia while China would focus on trade. To sweeten the deal, Beijing invested $1 billion to keep an oil project in Siberia alive after it lost access to Western financing due to sanctions imposed over Moscow’s 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. Beijing wants to keep Putin’s government as a viable diplomatic partner but has avoided doing anything that might trigger sanctions against Chinese banks or other companies or shut them out of Western export markets. The potential losses for China’s exporters if it crosses Western governments are immense. The United States bought 15% of Chinese exports last year, even after tariff hikes in a feud with Beijing over technology and security. The 27-nation European Union bought almost 13%. And Russia? It accounted for 1.3%. Less than Thailand. “To China, the importance of Russia is lower than the West in technology and economic cooperation,” said Li Xin. “But politically, the importance of Russia to China is on the rise, because of the geopolitical and military suppression of China from the United States.”

Gwyneth Paltrow is scheduled to stand trial on Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actress-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States. Terry Sanderson, 76, said Paltrow was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele. "Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control," Sanderson's attorneys claim in the lawsuit, “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries. Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.” In a case that has lasted years since the 2016 incident, Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000 — claiming that the accident in Park City was a result of negligence, and left him with physical injuries and emotional distress. At ski resorts, the skier who is downhill has the right of way, so a central question in the case is who was further down the beginner's run when the collision transpired. Both Paltrow and Sanderson claim in court filings that they were further downhill when the other rammed into them. Sanderson also accused Deer Valley and its employees of engaging in a “cover up” by not providing complete information on incident reports and not following resort safety policies. After his initial lawsuit seeking $3.1 million was dropped, Sanderson amended the complaint and he is now seeking $300,000. Paltrow — the Oscar-winning actress known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love" and Marvel's “Iron Man” movies — filed a counterclaim in response, seeking attorney fees and $1 in damages. Paltrow has countered that he was actually the culprit in the collision, is overstating his injuries, and trying to exploit her celebrity and wealth. In addition to her acting career, she is also the founder and CEO of the high-end wellness company, goop. In court filings, her attorneys deny Sanderson's claims and allege that he was the one who crashed into her — a collision in which she sustained a “full body blow.” Her counterclaim alleges that members of Paltrow's group checked on Sanderson, who assured them he was fine. It casts doubt on his motive and claims of injury, noting that before the incident, he had 15 documented medical conditions. “He demanded Ms. Paltrow pay him millions. If she did not pay, she would face negative publicity resulting from his allegations,” her attorneys wrote in a 2019 court filing. The trial in Park City is slated to last longer than a week.

It seemed like a good idea at the time: Red-state Democrats facing grim reelection prospects would join forces with Republicans to slash bank regulations — demonstrating a willingness to work with President Donald Trump while bucking many in their party. That unlikely coalition voted in 2018 to roll back portions of a far-reaching 2010 law intended to prevent a future financial crisis. But those changes are now are being blamed for contributing to the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that prompted a federal rescue and stoked anxiety about a broader banking contagion. The rollback was was leveraged with a lobbying campaign that cost tens of millions of dollars and drew an army of hundreds of lobbyists into the effort. It also was seeded with ample campaign contributions. The episode offers a fresh reminder of the power that bankers wield in Washington, where the industry spends prodigiously to fight regulation and often hires former members of Congress and their staff to make the case that they are not a source of risk to the economy “The bottom line is that these banks would have faced a tougher supervisory framework under the original ... law, but Congress and the Trump regulators took an ax to it,” said Carter Dougherty, a spokesman for Americans for Financial Reform, a left-leaning financial sector watchdog group. “We can draw a direct line between the deregulation of the Trump period, driven by the bank lobby, and the chaos of the last few weeks.” President Joe Biden has asked Congress for the authority to impose tougher penalties on failed banks. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have started investigations. And congressional Democrats are calling for new restrictions on financial institutions. But so far there is no indication that another bipartisan coalition will form in Congress to put tougher regulations back in place, underscoring the banking industry's continued clout. That influence was on full display when the banking lobby worked for two years to water down aspects of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that had placed weighty regulations on banks designed to reduce consumer risk and force the institutions to adopt safer lending and investing practices. Republicans had long looked to blunt the impact of Dodd-Frank. But rather than push for sweeping deregulation, Sen. Mike Crapo, an Idaho Republican who led the Senate banking committee, hoped a narrowed focus could draw enough support from moderate Democrats to clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold. Crapo broached the idea with Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — all on the ballot in 2018 — as well as Mark Warner of Virginia. By the fall of that year, the bipartisan group met regularly, according to a copy of Tester’s office schedule posted to his Senate website. A lobbying strategy also emerged, with companies and trade groups that specifically mention Crapo's legislation spending more than $400 million in 2017 and 2018, according to an Associated Press analysis of the public lobbying disclosures. The bill was sold to the public as a form of regulatory relief for overburdened community banks, which serviced farmers and smaller businesses. Community bankers from across the U.S. flew in to Washington to meet repeatedly with lawmakers, including Tester, who had 32 meetings with Montana bank officials. Local bank leaders pushed members of their congressional delegation when they returned home. But the measure also included provisions sought by midsize banks that drastically curtailed oversight once the Trump Fed finished writing new regulations necessitated by the bill’s passage. Specifically, the legislation lifted the threshold for banks to be considered “too big to fail” — a designation that carries a strict regimen of oversight, including mandatory financial stress testing. That component, which effectively carved large midsize banks out of more stringent regulation, has come under new scrutiny in light of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, whose executives lobbied on behalf of the 2018 rollback. Read more: Silicon Valley Bank collapse concerns founders of color “The lobbyists were everywhere. You couldn’t throw an elbow without running into one," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who vehemently opposed the bill, told reporters last week. Campaign checks were written. Ads were cut. Mailers went out. As a reward for their work, Heitkamp ($357,953), Tester ($302,770) and Donnelly ($265,349) became the top Senate recipients of money from the banking industry during the 2018 campaign season, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group tracking money in politics. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer freed members to vote for the bill, a move intended to bolster the standing of vulnerable moderate incumbents. But the move also bitterly divided the Democratic caucus, with Warren singling out the moderates as doing Wall Street's bidding. In the hours before the bill passed the Senate with 17 Democratic votes, Heitkamp took to the chamber floor to inveigh against the “diatribe,” “hyperbole” and “overstatement” from opponents of the bill. Tester, meanwhile, huddled with executives from Bank of America, Citigroup, Discover and Wells Fargo, who were there on behalf of the American Bankers Association. The American Bankers Association, which helped lead the push, later paid $125,000 for an ad campaign thanking Tester for his role in the bill’s passage, records show. Less than a month after the bill was passed out of the Senate, Tester met Greg Becker, the CEO for the now-collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, according to his schedule. Becker specifically lobbied Congress and the Federal Reserve to take a light regulatory approach with banks of his size. Lobbyists with the firm the Franklin Square Group, which had been retained by Silicon Valley Bank, donated $10,800 to Tester's campaign, record show. Heitkamp was the only member of the group invited to the bill signing ceremony, beaming alongside Trump. Later, Americans for Prosperity, the grassroots conservative group funded by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, ran an online ad commending Heitkamp for taking a stand against her party. In an interview, Heitkamp pushed back against suggestions that the legislation was directly responsible for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. She acknowledged, however, that there was an open question about whether new rules put in place by the Fed after the measure was signed into law could have played a role. “I’m willing to look at the argument that this had something to do with it,” Heitkamp said, adding: “I think you will find that (the Fed) was engaged in some level of some supervision. Why that didn’t work? That’s the question that needs to be resolved.” In a statement issued last week, Tester did not directly address his role in the legislation, but he pledged to "take on anyone in Washington to ensure that the executives at these banks and regulators are held accountable.” Cam Fine, who led the Independent Community Bankers of America trade group during the legislative push, said the overall the bill was a good piece of legislation that offered much needed relief to struggling community banks. But like any major piece of legislation that moves through Congress, final passage hinged on support from a broad coalition of interests — including those of Wall Street and midsize banks. “Was it a perfect piece of legislation? No. But there’s an old saying in Washington: You can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” said Fine. Many of the moderate Democrats who supported the measure did not fare as well. Of the core group who wrote the bill, only Tester won reelection. Others from red states who supported it, including Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Bill Nelson of Florida, lost. Tester will be on the ballot again in 2024. Last week he was in Silicon Valley for a fundraiser. One of the event's sponsors was a partner at a law firm for Silicon Valley Bank.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was heading to Kyiv early Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that coincide with the Chinese leader’s visit to Moscow. Kishida will “show respect to the courage and patience of the Ukrainian people who are standing up to defend their homeland under President Zelenskyy’s leadership, and show solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine as head of Japan and chairman of G-7,” during his visit to Ukraine, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in announcing his trip to Kyiv. At the talks, Kishida will show his “absolute rejection to Russia’s one-sided change to the status quo by invasion and force, and to affirm his commitment to defend the rules-based international order,” the ministry’s statement said. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, meanwhile, is in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed Xi to the Kremlin on a visit both nations describe as an opportunity to deepen their “no-limits friendship.” Japan’s public television NHK showed Kishida riding a train from Poland heading to Kyiv. His surprise trip to Ukraine comes just hours after he met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Kishida, who is to chair the Group of Seven summit in May, is the only G-7 leader who hasn’t visited Ukraine and was under pressure to do so at home. U.S. President Joe Biden took a similar route to visit Kyiv last month, just before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Due to limitations of Japan’s pacifist constitution, his trip was arranged secretly. Kishida is Japan’s first postwar leader to enter a war zone. Kishida, invited by Zelenskyy in January to visit Kyiv, was also asked before his trip to India about a rumor of his possible trip at the end of March, denied it and said nothing concrete has been decided. Japan has joined the United States and European nations in sanctioning Russia over its invasion and providing humanitarian and economic support for Ukraine. Japan was quick to react because it fears the possible impact of a war in East Asia, where China’s military has grown increasingly assertive and has escalated tensions around self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. Kishida is expected to offer continuing support for Ukraine when he meets with Zelenskyy. Television footage on NHK showed Kishida getting on a train from the Polish station of Przemysl near the border with Ukraine, with a number of officials. Due to its pacifist principles, Japan’s support for Ukraine has also been limited to non-combative military equipment such as helmets, bulletproof vests and drones, and humanitarian supplies including generators. Japan has contributed to Ukraine more than $7 billion, and accepted more than 2,000 displaced Ukrainians and helped them with housing assistance and support for jobs and education — a rare move for a country that is known for its strict immigration policy.