Emilia Romagna Grand Prix canceled because of flooding
CNN
23-05-17 20:26
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, scheduled for 18 April, has been cancelled by Formula 1 due to heavy flooding and mudslides in the region. At least eight people have died in the floods with over 13,000 residents evacuated. This week, issues with flooding on the track prompted fears for the safety of motorsport staff, and on Wednesday an official decision was made not to proceed with the event, on the grounds of safety concerns for fans, teams and personnel. Formula 1 described the decision as “the right and responsible thing to do.” The Emilia Romagna GP would have been race six of the 2021 F1 calendar.
Leaders of the G7 countries – the US, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Canada – face several challenges as they gather in Hiroshima. The global economic outlook is unstable, while Russia continues its actions in Ukraine and China expands its economic and strategic growth. The G7 will need to address several issues, including enlisting middle countries such as those in Africa, and addressing China without creating undue confusion. Moreover, with concerns around nuclear proliferation and use re-emerging, the monitoring architecture of nuclear arsenals needs to be maintained to avoid future use of nuclear weapons. Finally, as global temperatures continue to rise and heatwaves become deadlier, coordinated responses and the regulation of cryptocurrency will become increasingly important.
Oil prices saw a slight decline over worries of increasing supply, with Brent crude futures dropping by 24 cents to $76.72 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude dipping 21 cents to $72.62. While both benchmarks showed a near 3% rise on Wednesday in relation to optimism over US debt ceiling negotiations and oil, US oil inventories rose by five million barrels to 467.6 million barrels last week due to another release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. However, US gasoline inventories fell as demand increased to its highest since 2021. Price concerns also revolve around US debt ceiling negotiations.
Security forces in El Salvador surround town after officer is killed
CNN
23-05-17 23:10
El Salvador has sent around 5,000 security forces and 500 police to a northern town to arrest those involved in the alleged gang-related killing of a police officer. President Nayib Bukele suspended constitutional rights in 2022 and declared a state of emergency, allowing security forces to arrest thousands of suspected gang members without the right to legal defence or to be charged without conviction. Human rights groups have documented abuses, but Bukele’s tough stance on crime continues to gain popularity, with 89% of Salvadoreans approving of him, according to a November 2021 poll. Criminal gangs in El Salvador were originally formed in the US by Salvadoran immigrants during the 1980s civil war.
US President Joe Biden will hold a Pacific Island leaders' summit later this year featuring more than a dozen nations that are important to the US and whose alliances benefit American interests, amid growing concerns about China’s influence in the region. The summit was confirmed by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan following the president's decision to scrap his trip to Australia. The summit is the second within 12 months, building on last year's meeting where Biden promised an additional $810m to seek progress on climate change, economic recovery, pandemic response and maritime security.
US President Joe Biden would enjoy a large lead over former President Donald Trump if Trump faced more federal and state criminal charges related to his conduct, according to a poll of 1,571 registered voters by Republican polling firm WPA Research. The poll found 47% of voters preferred Biden over Trump, who garnered 40%. The result was a 14-point lead for the sitting president among registered independents. If Trump faced charges in Georgia, where there is a grand jury investigation into his election-loss efforts, Biden's lead would extend to 49% to 39%, growing to 21 points on independents’ voting preferences.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is set to officially announce his 2024 presidential bid next week. Two sources claim DeSantis has gathered top Republican fundraisers in Miami, Florida, for the event. DeSantis has spent time constructing his campaign, boasting of his re-election victory and the legislative agenda in Florida passed by GOP supermajorities. In competing with former president Donald Trump for GOP nominations, doubt has arisen, but a small group of fundraisers met with him in Tallahassee over recent weeks to garner support for a DeSantis campaign.
Artificial intelligence (AI) poses challenges for the future of journalism, said US reporter Carl Bernstein. The veteran journalist warned of the risks posed by AI in an interview with the BBC. He also noted that determining truth is critical. News outlets are the "essential element in a community of being able to attain that," said Bernstein. There are serious concerns around potential job losses, privacy and the dissemination of false information posed by widespread AI usage.
Ukraine's foreign minister has told a high-level Chinese envoy that Kyiv will not accept any proposals to end the ongoing war with Russia that could lead to Ukraine losing territory. Dmytro Kuleba also said that "just peace" could only be restored if "respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" was observed. Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, was in Kyiv to promote Beijing-led negotiations to resolve the conflict and is now expected to visit Moscow to discuss a possible political solution to the conflict.
Anti-abortion campaigners and pro-life religious groups are moving to the forefront of the battle over abortion, hoping that the new wave of laws in Republican states will trump state laws. Activists who sway legal opinions warn that any effort to retreat from national abortion restrictions would be a serious mistake, and Kellyanne Conway believes a 15-week limit on abortion is an effective way to put Democrats on defense on the issue. Two-thirds of Americans say they oppose the decision to eliminate the constitutional right to an abortion, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, and despite abortion restrictions becoming more prevalent, the pro-choice lobby is seen as powerful and a key issue for many voters in the Democratic party. Trump, as a candidate, has not yet given his opinion on where he will draw the line on federal legislation concerning abortion since the Supreme Court ruling overturning the right to an abortion.
From Ukraine war to China’s rising power: 5 reasons this G7 matters
CNN
23-05-18 08:48
The leaders of the world’s most advanced democracies will meet in Hiroshima today to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and emerging threats from China. The meeting’s location has placed nuclear arms at the top of the agenda, with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum looming close by. The museum reminds visitors of the risks of nuclear war with dozens of exhibits, including timepieces stopped at 8.16am, the exact timing of the atomic bomb that was dropped on the city in August 1945 by a US Army Air Force B-29 bomber. Global risk monitors, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, states that the Doomsday Clock, an annual indicator of how close the world is to nuclear disaster, now stands at 90 seconds to midnight, an unprecedentedly dangerous rating; Russia’s war on Ukraine is cited as a major cause, together with Chinese weapons building, and a North Korea testing nuclear capable missiles.
Leaders from the Group of Seven countries arrived in Hiroshima this week for their annual summit, accompanied by representatives from India, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, Brazil, Australia, Comoros and Cook Islands. Despite China and Russia not receiving an invitation, concerns about the two nations are still high on the agenda. Talks centred on what the G7 views as economic coercion by China, with a conclusion that developing nations in the Global South need to be engaged with.
The Group of Seven (G7) summit has begun in Hiroshima, with world leaders including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressing the escalating conflict in Ukraine, Amid the talks there has been a spate of Russian air raids on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The G7 is also expected to outline a collective strategy on China’s assertiveness, particularly in areas such as military expansionism and human rights violations in Xinjiang province, as well as discussing the risks of nuclear proliferation posed by North Korea and China.
State-owned Saudi oil giant Aramco has appointed Nasir al-Naimi and Mohammed Al Qahtani to run its upstream and downstream businesses. The move to support the firm's long-term growth plans and spur operational and financial performance comes amid reports Aramco is planning another stock offering. Aramco, which listed on the Saudi stock exchange in late 2019, denigrated the listing reports as speculation. The Saudi state remains Aramco's largest shareholder, owning 90.18% of the company.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Lorie Logan has claimed that she is worried that “much too high” inflation has not slowed enough to let the US Federal Reserve pause its interest-rate increase campaign in June. While acknowledging that future data readings could justify skipping a meeting, Logan asserted that inflation levels had yet to reach that point. The Federal Reserve will meet on 13 to 14 June.
The 1970s disco band Village People has sent a cease-and-desist letter to former President Donald Trump, requesting he stop hiring impersonators to perform their songs. Trump has used the band's songs at his rallies for years and a video emerged of him and a Village People lookalike group performing "Macho Man" at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The band's manager and lead singer's wife, Karen Willis, said in the letter that they had "tolerated" Trump's use of their music in the past but would file a lawsuit if he did not stop using their images and music.
On the podcast The Bottom Line, Steve Clemons interviews Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, and Faiz Shakir, former campaign manager for Bernie Sanders, on their respective candidates' chances in the upcoming US presidential election. Miller argues that Trump's anti-establishment message will resonate with millions of voters across the political spectrum, while Shakir contends that Trump's candidacy will only serve to increase support for presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
The prime minister of Armenia has accepted a Russian proposal to hold talks with the Azerbaijani president, as tensions rise between the two countries that have been locked in a territorial conflict for decades. The negotiations will take place in Moscow on 25 May, and come as the EU and US mediate between Azerbaijan and Armenia over a peace agreement, a process that Russia views as an erosion of its influence as regional power broker. The conflict over disputed territory has seen two major wars and ongoing deadly clashes along their volatile border.
CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour has criticised the broadcaster's recent event featuring former president Donald Trump. The town hall, which took place in New Hampshire and drew over three million viewers, sees CNN staff and viewers alike take issue with the inclusion of Trump. Speaking after the event, Amanpour told Columbia Journalism School that CNN's CEO Chris Licht should never have allowed Trump to appear. Though the event led to debate about CNN's ethics and trustworthiness in the wake of Trump's assault allegations, Trump told Fox News that he was happy to have taken part.
Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who faces incumbent President Recep Erdogan in a second round of voting on 24 June, has pledged to deport all refugees from Turkey. In addition, the left-wing politician has attempted to reject the support of pro-Kurdish groups. Experts have suggested that Kilicdaroglu will need to broaden his support from moderate Islamists and right-wingers in order to oust Erdogan from power after his two-decade presidency.
