Reuters World News - Biden and Putin square off over war in Ukraine

Episode Date: February 21, 2023

**This podcast was corrected. A line inaccurately stating Kyiv is east of Moscow was removed. Putin accuses West of fanning conflict after Biden’s Kyiv trip. Wisconsin – the hottest political race of 2023. And all the latest from Turkey, Iran and the extreme weather hitting the Indian Ocean. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we look at why a judicial race in Wisconsin has got the political world on tentahooks. We have the latest out of Iran, Pakistan, and the extreme weather sweeping across the Indian Ocean. But first, all the details from the ground on Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin's face off over the war in Ukraine. It's Tuesday, February the 21st. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. I'm Kim Vinal in London. In Moscow, Shopify.com

In Moscow, Vladimir Putin takes to the stage for his state of the nation address as Joe Biden's been in Kiev. His appearance in the presidential palace sparked an unprecedented standoff as the two leaders push their messages

days before the first anniversary of the war starting. The two political veterans of the Cold War have traded words over the last year but never with such close proximity. In the Kremlin, Putin claimed Russia did not want a war in Ukraine, blaming the West for the conflict.

He also told the Russian Parliament now was a watershed moment for the country. Our Russia chief political correspondent Andrew Osborne listened to the speech. The two men are locked in this standoff over Ukraine. Putin says that Russia, the way he sees it, is not actually fighting Ukraine, but is fighting the West and is locked in an existential battle with the West. And what we're seeing here is both men laying out their vision for the future and both making very clear that they're not going to back down or give in any time soon

that they're in for the long term and that they will throw and redirect any resources which are necessary to ensure victory for the chosen side. Later on Tuesday, Joe Biden will speak in Warsaw, but before that he arrived in Kiev on a trip that surprised the world, including us. Our White House correspondent and the rest of the press corps were left behind when Biden slipped out of D.C. after dark, but our journalists on the ground raced to cover his arrival. Breaking news reporter Max Hunter sent us this.

So of course, his visit has huge significance, given its timing, just before the anniversary of the invasion. And it really was a surprise visit, because we normally know in advance who's coming. But in this case, even though we suspect it was Biden, we, the press, were kept in suspense until, the very last moment until we were actually in the room where they were due to give the statements. And people in Kiev were genuinely surprised to see Biden here.

There was a buzz of excitement in the early morning after several major roads in the city center were closed off, but few guessed that it would be for Biden himself until the very last moment. It's also worth to note just how emotional the visit was. Biden made a genuinely moving speech. One year later, Keith stands. and Ukraine stands, democracy stands. The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.

And then to top it all off, we get this amazing visual of Biden Zelensky striding out of St. Michael's Cathedral as air raid sirens blared all around them. And that's something that might in time become one of the iconic images of the war. The flurry of diplomacy around the war has reached fever pitch this week.

as the first anniversary approaches. There's also China's top diplomat Wang Yi expected in Moscow. China has floated a peace proposal to end the conflict. From Kiev, Joe Biden is headed to Poland to meet fellow NATO leaders, as calls for further military support for Ukraine is discussed. Back in America, a local Wisconsin race to appointed judge to the state Supreme Court is now a high-stakes battle. Reuters Joey Axe explains how a tiny primary rubey,

race in the Badger State that begins today could shape the future of abortion and voting rights. The race for a single seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court is probably the biggest U.S. election of 2023. After years of a right-wing majority, control of the state's highest court is up for grabs, and both liberal and conservative groups are pouring millions of dollars into the race. The election appears certain to become the most expensive state Supreme Court race in history. Ben Wickler, the state Democratic chair, told me the contest has massive implications for the state and the nation. The key to this. The top issue is abortion.

The court is likely to decide whether to uphold the state's 1849 abortion ban that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last June, eliminating a national right to abortion. But the court could also issue crucial rulings on voting laws ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Technically, the race is nonpartisan, but it's frankly hard to tell. Both Democrats and Republicans have gone all in on backing their favored candidates. Now to headlines around the world. Another quake hits the devastated border region of Turkey and Syria. Six more people were killed in the violent tremors, which came two weeks after a massive earthquake killed more than 47,000 people.

It hindered recovery efforts and triggered panic. Reuters Clodagh Kilcoyne was in central Hothai when the 6.4 magnitude quake struck. The gravity, it seemed to just hold you down. The waves of the ground, it just comes up like the ocean up and down, and you literally can't move. It threw me in front of this family

that were just holding each other really, really tight. Afterwards, people were just crying in shock, the wailing of emergency services, the sirens, helicopters then arrived with giant torches shining them down on buildings. The whole place was just thick with dust from all of those structures that just would have fallen down even into more devastation. An Iranian foundation is offering land to Salman Rushdie's attacker. State TV reports that the New Jersey man who assaulted the novelist

will get 1,000 square metres of farming land. Rushdie lost an eye and the use of one hand after the attack in western New York State last year. Now the Iranian Foundation says the writer is no more living than dead. And they say his assailant, a 24-year-old Shiite American, should be praised for his brave action for following the fatwa, issued by the Ayatollah harmony, some 33 years ago, over the book, The Satanic Verses. Rushdie remains defiant. In a recent interview, with New Yorker writer David Remnick, he said he would not stop writing books.

There are various ways in which this event can destroy me as an artist. One way is that I should be scared and that I would write scared books or not write. Imran Khan isn't going to jail, at least for now. The former Pakistan Prime Minister has been granted protection from arrest for at least two weeks. A Lahore court granted Khan protective bail and a case that involves charges under the country's anti-terrorism laws. Khan appeared before the Lahore High Court late Monday evening, along with hundreds of his supporters. The government denies cracking down on Khan and his party and says it is not interfering in the

various cases against him. Bulldozers in Brazil, clearing roads littered with fallen trees and overwhelmed with mud after devastating floods. More than 40 people are reported to have died, most in South Sebastio, which has been worst hit. The torrential rain is hit during Brazil's carnival holiday period when thousands flocked to the region's beaches. More than 2,000 people have been forced from their homes. People in Mauritius are bracing themselves as violent tropical cyclone Freddie approaches. Weather services have warned the Indian Ocean Island is under direct threat, with winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour expected.

Footage obtained by Reuters shows beachside resorts being lashed by heavy rain and winds while waves crashed over beachside cabanas. Meanwhile in Venice, weeks of dry weather have sent the water levels dropping, solo in fact that it's impossible for the gondolas or water taxis to navigate some of the city's canals. Venetians are hoping for some rain soon to unclog the city. What's going on in the markets today? Let's find out from Dara. Rangessing. U.S. stock futures are trading lower in London. That means that traders expect Wall Street

will open weaker this session. And what's really gripping U.S. markets and markets globally is this sense that big central banks, such as the Federal Reserve, are going to have to keep hiking interest rates and keep rates higher for longer. So that's really taken off some of the euphoria that we were seeing in equity markets at the start of the year. At the same time, those expectations for higher borrowing costs have lifted the US dollar. And it is all about the economy. So globally today, we're getting the first snapshot of how business activity is doing in February.

And it's really good news in Europe. So far, strong business activity data means that inflationary pressures will stay high for longer and that means central banks will keep hiking interest rates. That's it for this edition of Reuters World News. We'll be back on Wednesday. In the meantime, you can find more trusted news at Reuters.com. Thank you.