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.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is hosting an event to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event will include a keynote address by Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. A panel discussion will also explore ways to counter AAPI hate and discrimination and its intersections with U.S. foreign policy in Asia, building on a previous event held in 2021. The event is being hosted by CSIS' Asia Program, Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project, and the staff-led Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Employee Resource Group.
The Walkley Foundation in Australia has opted to create a new category entitled "specialist and beat reporting" rather than a dedicated award for the journalism of environmental issues, after a survey of news industry leaders identified explanatory journalism as a priority. It will join the explanatory journalism category and a returning international reporting award in the revamp. The decision came amid widespread calls for recognition of the environment reporting's importance, with many news outlets and researchers advocating for an award in this domain. However, some categories were scrapped, including one for best headline.
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.
The Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2, after Kyle Farmer, Kyle Garlick and Willi Castro drove in runs in a three-run first. The Twins’ Joey Gallo then homered for the fourth time in seven games to boost the lead to 4-1 with a 430ft homer in the sixth, his 11th home run this season. The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani hit his 11th home run of the season and takes a 5-1 record to the mound for the rubber game. Minnesota will be trying to win its second road series in eight tries this season.
Vela’s stoppage-time PK goal lifts LAFC over Earthquakes 2-1
The Toronto Star
23-05-21 05:22
Los Angeles FC (LAFC) secured a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes when Carlos Vela scored after a penalty kick in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time. The defending MLS Champion now sits atop the Western Conference standings, and its victory came shortly after the sounders lost to the Vancouver Whitecaps. LAFC had taken an early lead thanks to a goal by Stipe Biuk, only for San Jose to equalise through defender Miguel Trauco seven minutes into the second half. The team now has a break until 19 June, when it will face the Houston Dynamo.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is hosting an event to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event will include a keynote address by Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. A panel discussion will also explore ways to counter AAPI hate and discrimination and its intersections with U.S. foreign policy in Asia, building on a previous event held in 2021. The event is being hosted by CSIS' Asia Program, Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project, and the staff-led Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Employee Resource Group.
The leader of a Russian mercenary group has claimed it captured Ukrainian city Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk-Oblast region, however, Ukraine continues to dispute this. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his private army captured the city on Saturday and that his soldiers would create the "necessary defence lines" before handing the city over to Russian soldiers in four days. Reports from the city yesterday indicated that Ukrainian forces were said to have partly encircled the city along the flanks and still part control of it.
The United Nations has designated May 21 as International Tea Day to celebrate the cultural heritage, health benefits and economic importance of the drink. Tea is the most popular drink across the globe after water, and it is valued for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. Nearly all words for tea across the globe can be derived from the root words “cha” or “te,” with China producing nearly half of the world’s tea. Tea drinking is very common among many nations, from being a marker of hospitality to the idiosyncratic methods in which different teas are made.
The Ukraine conflict was at the forefront of G7 meetings in Hiroshima, Japan, over the weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the invitees to the meetings, which discussed China's growing dominance and issues affecting the so-called "Global South." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed the need for a "resilient and diversified" approach to supply chains, while UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commented on the summit's significance for consolidating peace. Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for the issue of nuclear weapons to be discussed openly, and said it was "historically significant" for the G7 leaders visiting the Peace Memorial Museum to publish a focus on nuclear disarmament – known as the Hiroshima Vision. The G7 summit heralded a number of warm bilateral meetings, concluding with talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the conflict on Sunday afternoon.
Ten people have died and nine more have been injured in a shooting attack on a group of amateur rally drivers in the Mexican town of Ensenada. The reason for the attack is not known. Baja California, where Ensenada is located, is among the states with the highest number of homicides in Mexico, with between January and April of this year, 721 murders taking place in the region. Mexican authorities attribute much of the violence to confrontations between criminal gangs. Between 2006 and 2021, over 200,000 people have been murdered in Mexico due to criminal violence.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is hosting an event to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event will include a keynote address by Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. A panel discussion will also explore ways to counter AAPI hate and discrimination and its intersections with U.S. foreign policy in Asia, building on a previous event held in 2021. The event is being hosted by CSIS' Asia Program, Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project, and the staff-led Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Employee Resource Group.
This Ontario man is a 4th generation farmer — and 1st in his family to teach millions about the work
CBC
23-05-21 14:11
Canadian farmer, Hayden Fox, is using TikTok to teach millions about agricultural life on his farm in Cayuga, Ont. Fox has close to two million followers on the platform, where he makes comedic videos about farming. He believes that people find comedy an easier way of learning about agricultural life than having information shoved down their throats. Fox also discusses his struggles as a queer man growing up in Ontario, hoping to help others in the farming community who feel isolated.
Market concerns over the debt ceiling standoff in the US are fading amid signs of progress in resolving the issue; analysts say that high inflation is a greater risk to investors than the remote risk of a US default; however, they add that high public debt remains a challenge for the largest economy in the world. US President Joe Biden plans to visit Australia instead of involving himself in addressing the debt crisis. Economists estimate default odds at around 1-10%, with catastrophic implications if it occurs, while markets would freak out, causing US bond yields to rise markedly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received positive feedback after his speech and calls for support at the three-day G7 summit last week. US President Joe Biden revealed an additional $375m military aid package for Ukraine, as other G7 leaders committed to further support for Ukraine as it rises above its war-torn past. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also joined to express support by referencing the symbolic importance of hosting the summit in Hiroshima, where the dropping of atomic bombs nearly erased the city and its inhabitants. Japan’s unwavering support for Ukraine — in contrast with other Asian countries who have refrained from condemning Russia’s 2020 invasion — has increased its profile as mediator and gained Kishida domestic popularity. The summit also marked a rare occasion for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to engage with Zelenskyy and address the conflict. Experts highlight the importance of united action against the common challenges posed by China and Russia as member states work to translate their collective policy consensus into action.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that June 1 is a “hard deadline” for raising the federal debt limit which currently stands at $31.4tn. Yellen went on to say that if the government failed to raise the limit before it runs out of cash, tough choices will need to be made over which payments to make. The next deadline for paying tax receipts is June 15.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is hosting an event to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event will include a keynote address by Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. A panel discussion will also explore ways to counter AAPI hate and discrimination and its intersections with U.S. foreign policy in Asia, building on a previous event held in 2021. The event is being hosted by CSIS' Asia Program, Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project, and the staff-led Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Employee Resource Group.
Chinese companies involved in critical information have been ordered to stop purchasing products from Micron Technology following a cybersecurity review of the US-based manufacturer of memory chips that found its products posed "relatively serious cybersecurity problems." Many analysts view China's move as retaliation against the US following its efforts to cut off China's access to high-end chips. The company's Chinese customers are likely to seek homegrown or South Korean alternatives to Micron's US memory chips, potentially having a knock-on effect on Chinese supply chains.
The US government's focus on four Mexican individuals known as "Los Chapitos" as the culprits behind the influx of synthetic opioid fentanyl into the country is a convenient distraction from the real causes of the crisis, writes Lisa Tilley in Al Jazeera. As Tilley indicates, over-prescription of opioids and the pharmaceutical industry's irresponsible practices that fuelled the crisis have not been adequately addressed. There has been no reappraisal of the wide-reaching implications of America's capitalist foundations, in which corporate profit is deemed more important than human life. The poorest in society, who are disproportionately affected by the fentanyl crisis, are also the least valued. Additionally, a lack of healthcare, insurance, and secure housing has made at-risk groups more vulnerable to opioid overdoses. Tilley argues that the capitalist superstructure, built on the misery of impoverished communities, is responsible for society's addiction to cheaper painkillers.
China's Cyberspace Administration has said that memory chips made by US firm Micron Technology have failed the country's network security review. It added that it would bar providers of key infrastructure from using Micron products due to "serious network security risks" unless their risks are addressed. Details of the risks have not been specified, though Micron said it had received notification and looked forward to "continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities".
