Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have pledged to provide Ukraine with financial and military support, renewing their commitment in the face of Russian aggression. Speaking at a summit in Hiroshima, the G7 said that it specifically ensured Ukraine had the budget support it would need in 2016 and early 2017. The group’s members also stated that they were engaging with other nations in a bid to prevent goods and technology flowing to Russia via third European countries, thereby undermining sanctions.
Nadhim Zahawi, the UK minister for vaccine deployment, has joined thinktank the Adam Smith Institute (ASI). Zahawi said many solutions to modern challenges can be found through the wisdom of Adam Smith, and that political organisations needed to move away from "ever more government intervention". He added he wanted entrepreneurs to be liberated from bureaucratic restrictions, particularly in the growing fields of AI, quantum computing and life sciences. Zahawi helped the UK introduce free ports, which was inspired by ASI research from the 1980s.
Russia has adopted China’s anti-imperial, anti-colonial stance and has begun touting it in sub-Saharan Africa as it seeks to expand its sphere of influence, according to an op-ed in the Toronto Star. Even as the war in Ukraine rages on, the article argues that Moscow and Beijing have increasingly “tightened and quickened their embrace” by tagging themselves as geopolitical, economic and moral foes of the West. Russian Russian media and propaganda efforts have blossomed in recent years in sub-Saharan Africa with Russian diplomats and business people criss-crossing the continent aided by Wagner troops on the ground. China has provided practical help, with its media rebroadcasting Russian propaganda content across Africa, and RT (formerly Russia Today) establishing a hub in South Africa.
The report suggests this is hardly the first time that Russia and China have teamed up. Throughout the 1950s, the two countries promoted world communism under the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance. Now, it appears, the new partnership provides a worldview that embraces rather than combats capitalism and luxury goods and is seen as a disruption and inversion of the “Western-led international order”.
Finally, the report suggests that Russia has been offered linguistic freedom to manoeuvre by the West, on occasion mimicking the language of Western leftist movements such as post-colonialism. “The Russian recycling of Western language has thus exposed the Western normative discourse,” the article argues.
The outlook for interest rates is changing as financial markets revise their outlook for inflation. Investors who favour the safety of Government of Canada (GoC) bonds should keep an eye on GoC bond yields to follow rates on guaranteed investment certificates (GICs). The yield on the five-year Canada bond, which governs five-year GICs, jumped this week to 3.4% early Friday from 3% a week earlier due to the April inflation report from Statistics Canada. The year-over-year inflation rate in April edged up to 4.4% from 4.3% in March. It had been expected that inflation would be around 3% later this year and that rate cuts would start to happen around that time or in early 2024. Now, bets for a rate increase this summer are increasing. Bonds fell in price in response, so yields are up for government and corporate bonds. Expect GICs to follow if bond yields hold at recent levels. Short-term GIC rates are currently usually significantly lower than long-term rates, but markets see potential for near-term interest rates to rise and then fall back in the medium term as the economy slows, possibly lapsing into a recession.
The African mediating mission announced by South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa may merit a mention when historians write about the rise of the post-unipolar world, according to an op-ed in the Financial Times. The author, Alec Russell, argues that the quixotic mediators from Africa underscore the accelerating assertiveness of the countries of the “global south”. Many non-western nations have seen the west's full-throttle support for Ukraine and regard it as hypocritical, with powers once again prioritising their own interests and concerns over other global issues such as health and climate change. The crisis has led to a renewed focus on the idea of six African heads of state criss-crossing the front lines of a European war, which threatens to totally rewrite the post-1945 world order.
The Brics summit in Durban in August will be a cacophonous showcase for the contradictions within the new “non-aligned movement”. The group consists of two autocracies, Russia and China, two big democracies, Brazil and India, and the host, and junior relation, South Africa. Now over a dozen more countries are interested in joining, including Iran. The risk, particularly for India and Brazil, is that the Brics could tilt ever more into becoming a China club.
The author suggests that the west should lead by example, commit finally to reforms of the global order and choose words more carefully. The Biden administration has been building bespoke regional alliances, but China is also busily convening summits of its own. New world orders, it is cautioned, are of course easier to declare than realise. South Africa’s chaotic mediating pas de deux with Russia is seen as an object lesson in how not to play the non-aligned game.
The recent death of a 19-year-old lion, who strayed into a Kenyan village, was merely the most recent example of deaths due to hunger. Crops and livestock have been decimated by a lethal cocktail of climate change and conflict which has led to food shortages and malnutrition across east Africa. The crisis is due to kill one person every 28 seconds between now and July, yet it will not make the wider news. People most affected are those who have the least responsibility for climate change.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has spoken out against pessimistic reports over the country’s future prospects. Sunak defended the Conservative government, stating bold action taken to prevent recession and protect small businesses led to one of the biggest upward revisions for the UK economy by the Bank of England and the strongest surge of confidence amongst finance directors since 2020. Sunak also made direct reference to post-Brexit growth rates and said the country’s plans to boost its economy and trade with other nations had led to significant inward investment.
The article covers the upcoming Bundesliga football match between Freiburg and Wolfsburg, and also provides an overview of the top teams in the league. Bayern Munich is noted as the top team, having won the title 31 times, with Borussia Dortmund as their closest rival. Other notable teams in the league, such as Borussia Mönchengladbach and Werder Bremen, are also mentioned. The article provides live updates for the match throughout the game.
Alun Wyn Jones, the 37-year-old Ospreys lock, has retired from Test rugby after earning 158 caps for Wales Rugby and making 12 British and Irish Lions Test appearances. His decision comes after Wales flanker Justin Tipuric, who earned 93 caps, also announced his retirement from the international stage. Both players had been named in a 54-player preliminary training squad for the World Cup, and their departure less than four months ahead of Wales' opener against Fiji will be a major blow. Jones is regarded as one of Wales' greatest-ever players.
Rugby player Alun Wyn Jones has retired from international rugby. The 37-year-old holds a world record for Test match appearances, with a total of 170, including 158 for Wales and 12 for the British and Irish Lions. He captained both teams and won five Six Nations titles, four World Cups, three of them as part of a Grand Slam. Jones began his international career in 2006 as a blindside flanker and helped Wales reach the semi-finals of two World Cups. He was a pivotal part of the British and Irish Lions team on four occasions, captaining them for the 2021 tour of South Africa.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has announced that it will fly a Pride flag at Twickenham rugby stadium in support of the LGBTQ+ community in response to the inclusion of controversial former Australian rugby player Israel Folau in a World XV side. Folau’s contract was terminated by the Australian Wallabies after he posted views on social media claiming that gay people would be sent to hell “unless they repent of their sins and turn to God”. The RFU, which will also display a foreword in the match programme outlining its commitment to diversity, has called itself “inclusive to all players, staff and fans”, regardless of background.
Enuma Okoro writes in the Financial Times about the complicated and delicate relationship between parent and child, and how it changes over a lifetime. She reflects on several works of art that capture different aspects of parenting, from David Hockney’s 1977 double portrait “My Parents” to Shaina McCoy’s painting “Smile II”. Okoro notes how the relationships between parents and children change over time, as the perspective of the child shifts with life experiences. For Okoro, parenting is a process that doesn’t stop, as we continue to learn from the lessons our parents taught us.
Okoro uses painting to highlight the changing aspects of parenting and describes Michael Andrews’ 1978-79 painting “Melanie and Me Swimming” as a metaphor for how we make it through life. The child who may easily be able to stand in shallow water still looks to her father for guidance - a lesson in survival. Parenting can be thought of as an act of continual release, in which we must release our child into an unknown world where we do not have the means or control to protect them. This is true even for adult children who might still need active support or parenting.
Okoro suggests that we are all, in some way, children of someone. She concludes by inviting readers to reflect on the lessons they learnt from their parents and to recognise which of these may be keeping them from life-giving patterns and relationships.
US football Hall of Famer, Hollywood actor and Civil Rights activist Jim Brown died on Thursday at the age of 87 at his home in Los Angeles, according to a family spokesperson. Brown, one of American football's greatest stars, was also an accomplished Hollywood actor, appearing in more than 30 films. He used his profile to amplify the voices of Black Americans in the fight for equality and later worked to help curb gang violence in LA with the founding of Amer-I-Can, a program designed to help disadvantaged inner-city youth and ex-convicts. Although Brown faced allegations of domestic violence, he was never convicted.
President Zelensky of Ukraine is trying to lobby support from countries outside of the West, including Saudi Arabia, India, and Japan, to protect itself from further Russian aggression, as beyond NATO, many countries maintain neutrality despite Russia invading Ukraine more than seven years ago. The stance of many of these neutral nations has become more challenging for the US and NATO as Russia, China and other hostile powers have been successful in pulling these wavering countries into their sphere of influence. Increasingly, the importance of creating “a more coherent and robust strategy for uniting the democracies of the world behind a common mission, particularly in light of the rise of China” is being recognised.
Jim Brown, the former American football player turned Hollywood actor, has died at the age of 87. Brown was known for his activism, particularly regarding the civil rights cause during the 1950s and 1960s. He was instrumental in organising a 1967 meeting of black sports stars who supported Muhammad Ali’s stand against the Vietnam War. Brown appears in some 30 films, including reprises in TV series such as The A-Team, T.J. Hooker, and The Running Man, as well as Hollywood classics such as The Dirty Dozen and Ice Station Zebra. He was also listed as the NFL’s greatest player of the 20th century.
Example of a rewritten Parks Canada plaque at N.L. historic site
The Toronto Star
23-05-19 21:27
Parks Canada is updating its historic plaques and markers to reflect changes in scholarship and interpretations of Canada’s past. The effort aims to rectify previous omissions and tell a more diverse, inclusive and accurate history for and about Indigenous Peoples. For example, the new marker for L'Anse Amour National Historic Site correctly identifies it as the burial place of a young person in North America’s oldest-known First Nations funerary monument, rather than a burial of an Indian child, the previously-expressed but inaccurate perception.
Australia's Min Woo Lee is in contention after the second round of the US PGA Championship. He fired a three under par 67, pushing him up the leaderboard five shots off the pace. The 24-year-old missed the cut in each of his last three events, but got his groove back just in time for the season's second major. Unfortunately, fellow Australians Jason Day and David Micheluzzi missed the cut. Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland lead the field with Rory McIlroy even par, while Jon Rahm follows nine shots back.
Leaders from the G7 countries will release a statement at their annual meeting in Japan calling for a reduction in trade with China, though also pledging to build “constructive and stable relations”. The statement will sit alongside a pledge of support for Ukraine, both in terms of budget and the release of military equipment, as the group prepares to intensify sanctions against Russia following its 2014 invasion of Ukraine. In addition, the G7 leaders will issue a statement calling for a world free of nuclear weapons and urging countries including Russia, North Korea, China and Iran to embrace non-proliferation.
Leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) nations have warned China and North Korea about their nuclear arsenals as they focus on the major northeast Asian crises ahead of the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the summit later on Saturday. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that President Joe Biden and Zelensky would have face-to-face talks at the summit, a day after Biden supported training Ukrainian pilots on US F-16 fighter jets. The move follows earlier decisions by the US to send rocket launcher systems and Abrams tanks to Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression but discouraged attacks by Ukraine into Russian territory. The focus on Asia comes as Japanese military officials confirmed Zelensky’s decision to attend the G7 in person to participate in talks to influence Ukraine’s defence against Russia. Zelensky called for the supply of Western fighter jets to bolster his country’s defences against Russia’s invasion; the jets could become useful in the long-term security of the country.
Members of the G7 will release a unified statement on a shared approach to China, which will emphasise "de-risk, not decouple" from the country, according to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Sullivan said the statement would include measures to protect sensitive technology, and that the US was committed to economic engagement with China. The statement, which will be issued following the G7 meeting in Japan, will reportedly aim to foster co-operation, and call for the development of more resilient supply chains, as well as calling for "stable and constructive" ties with China.
