Twitter’s board accepted an offer from Elon Musk to buy the social network and take it private for about $44bn. Mr Musk said he wants to “make Twitter better” and ensure free speech is protected on the platform. Jack Dorsey, the site’s founder and former CEO, endorsed the purchase. In a series of tweets, he described Twitter as the “closest thing we have to a global consciousness”, and said, “Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness”.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said on state television that he regards NATO as engaging in a “proxy war” by providing weapons to Ukraine—and that the danger of escalating into a nuclear exchange is “real, serious”. After a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, Antony Blinken, America’s secretary of state, said Russia is trying to brutalise Ukraine but that its war effort seems to be failing. In Germany Lloyd Austin, the American defence secretary, will host talks with more than 40 countries on providing more arms to Ukraine.
The secretary-general of the United Nations is due to meet Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, in Moscow on Tuesday. Antonio Guterres has been asked by the Ukrainian government to try and ensure a humanitarian corridor out of the besieged city of Mariupol, something that has failed thus far.
Explosions shook Transnistria, a Russian-controlled sliver of Moldova bordering Ukraine. Grenades reportedly hit the office of a security agency in the regional capital and a radio station, though there appeared to be no casualties. Ukrainian officials said the attack was a provocation by Russia to justify military action. The Kremlin has previously said ethnic Russians in the statelet are being oppressed—the same excuse it used to invade eastern Ukraine.
After over two years of one of the world’s most severe lockdowns, Singapore ended most of its covid-19 restrictions on Tuesday. With 85% of the population fully vaccinated, gathering bans have been dropped and facemasks are now only required indoors in public settings and on public transport. Testing requirements have also been scrapped for all inbound passengers, partly to reboot the city-state’s moribund economy and tourism industry.
China’s central bank said it would intensify its support of the economy, and especially small businesses, as covid-induced lockdowns threaten growth. The People’s Bank of China also promised more funds, via relending programmes, to the coal and aviation sectors. Municipal authorities in Beijing spooked investors with a campaign to test 22m residents, after 33 new cases were reported in the capital on Monday.
Kim Jong Un said that North Korea will accelerate its nuclear weapons programme, according to state media. On Monday night the dictator oversaw a huge parade of the country’s military might, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (which it is banned from using by the UN security council but has nevertheless been testing recently). Mr Kim promised to “develop our nation’s nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace.”
Fact of the day: 35m, the number of votes cast in the second round of France’s presidential election. Turnout was the lowest in more than 50 years—but still higher than in comparable countries. Read the full article.
Twitter accepts Elon Musk’s offer
PHOTO: AFP
The world’s richest man is buying what he has described as the “de facto public town square”. Elon Musk, the boss of the carmaker Tesla and the aerospace firm SpaceX, made an offer of $44bn for Twitter. The social network’s board accepted his bid on Monday, in what amounts to one of the most expensive buyouts in history.
Twitter’s business is insipid. Its share price has barely risen since the firm floated nine years ago. But Mr Musk contends that what interests him is the content. Having a platform that is “maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilisation,” he says. His idea of inclusion may mean reinstating banned tweeters including Donald Trump, who was suspended after America’s Capitol riot of January 2021. Twitter’s board, after some initial hesitation, liked the sound of his offer. The platform’s users, who lean young and Democratic, are #furious.
The re-elected French president mulls a new team
PHOTO: EPA
After his remarkable re-election on April 24th, Emmanuel Macron is planning a new government. The sitting centrist president won 58.5% of the final run-off vote, defeating his nationalist-populist rival, Marine Le Pen, who secured 41.5%. This is the first time since the Fifth Republic was established in 1958 that the French have directly re-elected an incumbent president who commanded a majority in parliament.
At just 72%, however, turnout was lower than when Mr Macron was elected in 2017. Speaking on election night, he promised to take this into account, and govern with more consultation. Soon his prime minister, Jean Castex, will present his resignation and Mr Macron will appoint a new one to take the country into legislative elections on June 12th and 19th. The full shape of the government will depend on whether the president’s party, and its friends, can win another majority in parliament—a feat that looks possible, but is far from guaranteed.
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Is the party over for Boris Johnson?
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
The scandal over gatherings in British government offices during covid-19 lockdowns shows no signs of going away. Boris Johnson attended several of the parties—including one to mark his own birthday, for which the police fined him. He may yet get whacked with more.
A report into “Partygate” is being prepared by Sue Gray, a senior civil servant. Once the police have completed their investigations, the House of Commons’ Privileges Committee will determine whether the prime minister lied to Parliament when he denied knowledge of the parties. If he knowingly misled Parliament, he will be under pressure to resign.
Conservative MPs have so far stuck by Mr Johnson. But they could force him out with a vote of confidence. The Times reported on April 25th that the Gray report is “so damning” he may have no other choice but to resign. A test at the ballot box looms, in local elections on May 5th. If they are bloody for the Tories, they may be for Mr Johnson too.
Evading the censors in Shanghai
PHOTO: OPENSEA
China’s draconian restrictions in response to covid-19 outbreaks are not lockdowns so much as house-arrests on an enormous scale. With more than 10m people in Shanghai locked in their homes, and signs that Beijingers might soon be subjected to the same, people have turned to the internet to vent. But this being China, complaints are quickly censored.
One tool that netizens have deployed to document their experiences is the blockchain. Because the technology uses decentralised servers, there is no one company that can be leaned on to delete content. And activity is anonymous. “Shanghai Covid Memories” is a digital archive of disturbing moments. In one video a mother pleads with health workers to be allowed to take her sick two-year-old to hospital. The files are all saved (and available for sale) as non-fungible tokens on OpenSea, an NFT marketplace. So far none has been purchased. But the gallery is there for anyone to browse.
A play that pokes fun at POTUS
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Sex scandals rock the White House. Spin doctors struggle to contain the fallout and preserve the reputation of the man in the Oval Office. The plot of “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” is all too familiar.
This farcical, feminist comedy, which opens on Wednesday at the Shubert Theatre in New York, tells the story of seven female political aides. The “Great Dumbass” is an amalgamation of famous men. But parallels with the 45th president cannot be ignored. Donald Trump has been accused of sexual harassment by several women and churned through three female press secretaries (and a male one) during his time in office.
Selina Fillinger, the playwright, says current affairs inspire her writing. Her Broadway debut is a hilarious and insightful exploration of the relationship between powerful men and the women around them, and the insidiousness of misogyny in politics.
Daily quiz
Our baristas will serve you a new question each day. On Friday your challenge is to give all five answers and tell us the connecting theme. Email your responses (and include mention of your home city and country) by 1700 BST on Friday to QuizEspresso@economist.com. We’ll pick randomly from those with the right answers and crown one winner per continent on Saturday.
Tuesday: What is the capital of the state of North Dakota?
Monday: What is the current name of the long American river marked as Peki-tan-oui or Oumessourit on early maps?
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