Politics

Elon Musk's reaction to President Biden's comments at the White House correspondents' dinner with a single word response, "Wow," generated mixed reactions on social media. This raised questions about Musk's political leanings, especially considering his previous social media activity suggesting a preference despite claiming not to financially support either Biden or Trump.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump's White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, has publicly condemned the ex-president's actions and character following the recent indictments of his associates in the Arizona fake electors scheme. In an interview with CNN, Hutchinson accused Trump of sacrificing those loyal to him for his own personal gain and criticized his disregard for democratic institutions.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, faced a setback in the House of Representatives by-elections, losing three seats, including in Shimane Prefecture, historically a strong conservative stronghold. The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan secured all three seats by garnering support from anti-LDP voters, highlighting public discontent with the ruling party due to recent scandals.

Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara has resigned after being removed from the post of deputy prime minister in a cabinet reshuffle. His resignation leaves the Foreign Ministry rudderless as he headed the team on Myanmar affairs and launched a humanitarian initiative last month that seeks to pave the way for talks between warring camps after three years of instability and violence triggered by a coup.

Four nations, Japan, the United States, the Philippines, and Australia, conducted a joint maritime exercise in the South China Sea on April 7, 2023, as a response to China's growing assertiveness in the region. The exercise was completed as planned on April 8, 2023, with the Philippines hoping it will deter conflict with China.