One person has been injured after a helicopter crashed in Italy whilst inspecting downed power lines. The crash happened in the province of Ravenna, which has been badly affected by floods and storms. The region has declared the highest alert level in some areas along the Adriatic coast, with floods and landslides still being severe holdbacks. In the whole Emilia-Romagna region, at least 14 people have been confirmed dead from the storms, which have also caused widespread land, building and agriculture damage.
Japan and Germany are pushing for a reform of global institutions including the United Nations Security Council to be more inclusive of emerging countries referred to as the "Global South." Outreach to these low and middle-income countries has been a focus at this year's Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima amid concerns over China's influence over these countries. China has lent hundreds of billions of dollars to build infrastructure in developing countries, but some commentators believe that China's lending has left developing countries "trapped in debt." The G7 countries are struggling to stay relevant and credible amid China's growing footprint in the developing world and their declining economic clout.
Negotiations between the White House and House Republicans over raising the borrowing limit came to a standstill heading into a weekend during which US President Joe Biden was attending a meeting of global leaders in Japan. The sides face a deadline as soon as 1 June to raise the spending limit, with Republicans demanding spending cuts the Democrats oppose. Talks briefly resumed on Saturday morning only to be interrupted later in the day. The market soured as negotiations hit pause, with experts warning that even the threat of a debt default could spark a recession.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have met at the G7 summit in Japan to discuss the problem of migration. The meeting was designed to end a diplomatic row after French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Meloni's right-wing government had failed to resolve the issue. On Saturday, the two leaders discussed a range of issues, including Ukraine, migration and Tunisia, and agreed that Tunisia required financial support to prevent the outflow of migrants.
Japan, India, Australia and the US have pledged to create a resilient and well-connected Indo-Pacific, launching a series of initiatives while looking to establish an area “free from coercion” on the sidelines of the Hiroshima Group of Seven summit. The announcements, which came amid growing concerns over China’s influence in the region, include support for their own undersea network of cables for what the group called “trusted and secure” communications services, and scholarships aimed at bolstering infrastructure. In addition, the new initiatives include a health security partnership, while the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness will be expanded. While Beijing has derided the grouping as an Asian version of Nato, it is a broader partnership that includes infrastructure, health and climate cooperation.
The G7 has pledged a total of $21bn to tackle global humanitarian crises – a sum NGOs have declared inadequate – despite new data indicating that almost 60 million people are at risk of extreme hunger without urgent aid. The United Nations had requested $55bn. Friederike Röder, Senior Director for Global Citizen said: “The group seems to be off track on poverty and climate.” The G7 also failed to commit to debt cancellation for countries hit by Ebola. Critics pointed both to the alleged inadequacy of the response and to spending on weapons, estimated at ten times the total humanitarian aid pledge.
The Group of Seven summit has witnessed the world's most powerful leaders in front of the world's cameras, frequently posing in arrangements with one another in various settings and against sober backdrop of bombed-out Hirsohima. The photo sessions act as one of the few windows into global discussion around which leaders habits are scrutinised and body language can be assessed. At such summits there is also little room for the staging of "silly shirts" pictures, a common feature of the colourful Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summits.
The Quad alliance, consisting of the US, India, Japan, and Australia, is to expand its remit to boost infrastructure development and telecommunications networks in the Asia-Pacific area, according to an announcement by the four prime ministers. The group's new focus represents an attempt to neutralise China’s growing influence in the region, especially the $1tn Belt and Road Initiative. The leaders also pledged to place the interests of southeast Asian nations and the Pacific Islands at the centre of their strategies, amidst criticism from Beijing of the grouping as elitist and disconnected from developing countries.
The UK government has promised that its support for Ukraine will “never waver” after Chancellor Rishi Sunak met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during the G7 summit in Hiroshima. Sunak updated Zelensky with “very positive progress” on fighting jets, which the US has approved for donation to the Ukrainian military. Zelensky expressed confidence that “peace will become closer today”. The G7 leaders endorsed continued support for Ukraine and vowed to raise the costs for those involved on Russia’s side of the conflict, as well as criticising China for its aggression towards Taiwan. Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko warned the “escalation” carries “enormous risks” for the countries involved, while Defence Secretary Ben Wallace claimed it underlined “how serious this situation still is”. The UK has supplied Ukraine with equipment including Challenger tanks and long-range missiles.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has defended new voter ID laws and dismissed Jacob Rees-Mogg's claim that they are linked to an attempt to improve Conservative Party election chances. Sunak said he was "very comfortable" with the legislation, which saw thousands of voters turned away from polling stations this month as they lacked the required ID. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has indicated he supports extending the franchise to those aged 16 and above, and also to settled migrants; however, Sunak argued that voting is a "privilege" which should not be extended to such individuals.
Leaders of the Quad group – Australia, India, Japan and the United States – have criticised China's actions in a thinly veiled swipe at Beijing. While attending a summit in Hiroshima, the leaders referenced Beijing's economic tactics to gain leverage over poorer countries and its military expansion in the Pacific by emphasising "peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain.” In a joint statement, they criticised "unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion", and expressed concern over the "militarisation of disputed features" and maritime harassment. They also called attention to the urgent need to support undersea cable networks.
Leaders from the G7 countries will end their festivities in Hiroshima centred on Russia and managing China following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's appearance. The western leaders used the forums to implement new sanctions against Russia while increasing cash flow to the Ukrainian military. The talk will transition to China as the most robust Asian ally of Russia, as the leaders implicitly remind President Xi Jinping that if he bullies them or changes the status quo in self-ruled Taiwan or the disputed South China Sea, China will experience the same resolve as Russia's attempt to redraw Ukraine's borders.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated that he plans to improve relations with China, despite trade sanctions and the detention of two Australians. Albanese has not yet confirmed a date for his visit to Beijing, but said that “Australia is in dialogue with China. You need dialogue to get understanding.” Australia's federal opposition urged him to delay his trip until China lifts trade restrictions, including those on wine and barley. Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton recently praised Australia's role in forcing China to “re-evaluate” its position in the Asia Pacific region.
Zelenskyy and Trudeau meet face-to-face at G7 in Japan
CBC
23-05-21 01:58
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the G7 summit in Japan, telling him that Canada stands with Ukraine. Zelenskyy has been trying to build international support for his plans to launch a counter-offensive against Russian troops. At the same time, the Russian defence ministry and the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary force claimed that the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut had fallen to Russian forces and was under complete Russian control. Ukrainian forces continue to hold positions in the city, however, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.
The leaders of Japan and South Korea have laid flowers at a memorial for Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima. This move follows steps by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to resolve the countries' disputes over Japan's 1910-1945 colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula, in order to work more closely with the US to avoid threats from North Korea. Japan is seen as using the joint visit by Kishida and Yoon to acknowledge historical relations between the countries and highlight the devastating effects of nuclear war.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at the G7 summit in Hiroshima where Zelensky expressed his thanks for the G7’s support. A joint statement also reasserted its intention to decrease its economic dependency on China while specifically calling on the country not to engage in “interference activities”. China was warned must “act in accordance with its obligations” under treaties governing diplomatic relations and not to “conduct interference activities aimed at undermining the security and safety of our communities, the integrity of our democratic institutions and our economic prosperity”, which was added at Trudeau’s request.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has affirmed that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's recent admission that his “heart hurts” for those who suffered as wartime labourers under Japan's colonial rule was positively received in South Korea. The statement took place on Sunday at a meeting between the two leaders on the fringes of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, and was the third such meeting between the two men this year.
Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has appealed for diplomatic and military assistance in Hiroshima to his fellow G7 leaders amid ongoing aggression from Russia. The group has already announced new sanctions and other measures against Moscow, with Zelenskyy expected to deliver a speech to rally support for a ten-point peace plan which centres around Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. Despite initial scepticism regarding the Ukrainian leader’s trip, there is guarded optimism that it will lead to a constructive end. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said: “I can assure you that India, and personally, I will do whatever we can to resolve this” while French President Emmanuel Macron referred to the trip as “a pathway to peace”, as Russia condemned attempts to contain it made by the G7. Although the US has been critical of its own delayed response, allied nations are now allowed to provide F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv in an attempt to help prevent further escalation.
Russia and China have criticised Group of Seven leaders in Hiroshima for their joint statement, following US President Joe Biden’s first in-person talks with Moscow’s Vladimir Putin days earlier in Geneva of working to “ensure predictability and stability” in world affairs amid “a new and challenging strategic landscape.” Moscow described the G7 statement as pushing the Ukraine war towards infliction of a strategic defeat upon Russia, while Beijing accused Washington of “coercive diplomacy,” claiming US sanctions against China and decoupling and disrupting industrial and supply chains made the US the real coercer. The G7 leaders pledged joint diplomatic, financial, humanitarian, and military support for Ukraine in the document. The statement also pledged they would “starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine”, and that the G7 would continue to shield agricultural, medical and humanitarian products from the measures. Critics have accused the emerging rivalry between the G7 and China/Russia of creating two global blocks and a new Cold War, with third-world countries forced to take sides.
Russia and China hit back at a G7 that saw them as a threat
CNN
23-05-21 05:42
Russia and China have reacted angrily to the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, which pledged new measures designed to target Russia and spoke out about concerns over China. The Moscow government condemned the G7’s agenda for seeking to “deter” both countries whilst the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the G7 of “hindering international peace”. Both Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine and how to confront a more assertive China have dominated the three-day gathering of the world’s big democracies taking place in Japan, which counts both amongst its neighbours.
