Leaders of the G7 are planning to focus on infrastructure and debt relief in a strategy to try to offset China's influence in lower income countries. Russia's war in Ukraine is among the concerns raised by G7 leaders as having a negative impact on low-income countries. The group is due to release a statement on economic security as a growing number of countries, particularly India, begin to increase their economic importance leading to a drop in the G7's influence. G7 leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about China's reach into developing markets through the development of infrastructure and extending finance.
Novo Nordisk's newly launched obesity drug, marketed as Wegovy, may help to decrease the risk of heart disease, according to research by the Mayo Clinic, which found that the risk of conditions including strokes and heart attacks could decrease to 6.3% from 7.6% after a year of taking the drug. The study was conducted among 93 patients and the results will form part of Novo's five-year SELECT study, which will examine the broader health impact of the drug, including heart disease.
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.
Disney is to close the two-night Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Hotel and experience in Florida from September, it said on Thursday. The company did not give a reason but some Star Wars fans had complained that the cost of staying at the Starcruiser was too high. Bookings started at $4,800 for two guests. The backdrop to the announcement was an increasingly acrimonious fight between Disney and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed legislation that took control of a board that oversees municipal services at Disney World after the company publicly opposed a state law limiting discussion of gender issues in public schools.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has vowed to maintain a peaceful and stable status quo between Taiwan and China amid increasing military and diplomatic pressure from China. Beijing has threatened to bring Taiwan under its control and has rejected calls to hold talks with Tsai. Leaders of the G7 nations agreed to seek a peaceful resolution to issues concerning Taiwan. Tsai also announced discussions with the US over sending $500m worth of weapons aid to Taiwan to address delays arising due to the pandemic. Taiwan is due to hold a key presidential election in January, with tensions with China set to be a top issue.
Leaders of the G7 countries and their invited guests, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam and Australia, are meeting in Hiroshima over the next few days. The likely topics for discussion include the Ukraine conflict, growing Chinese dominance and the threat to Taiwan as well as issues surrounding supply chains and economic and energy security. The prominent attendance of India, a country that chairs the G20 this year, is highlighted as likely to shine a spotlight on the developing world. However, many have asked why the focus of the summit is background noise, rather than on the nuclear threat signaled by North Korea's recent nuclear tests and missile launches.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed a decision by the US government to support the training of Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighters. The plans to train the pilots form part of what has been touted as a “historic decision” by Zelenskyy and have been called “strategic assistance” by US officials. With Ukraine having improved its air defences and preparing to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces, the fighter jets could prove vital in Ukraine’s battles with Moscow, as they are considered to be far more effective than the Soviet-era jets the country already possesses.
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.
Basketball star Brittney Griner made her return to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) on 7 January, after being detained in Russia for almost 10 months last year. Griner, who was detained on drug-related charges, was embraced by Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the US, during an introduction to the game in LA.
We originally categorised this article under ‘Sports’ but decided to re-categorise it under ‘Incarceration’ due to its focus on Griner’s detainment and subsequent release.
Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak located in the Himalayas, is losing snow and becoming “dry and rocky,” according to British climber Kenton Cool who made his 17th ascent earlier this week. Cool suggested that the trend may be the result of a lack of precipitation as a result of global warming, or another environmental change. As a result of temperature rise, climate scientists have warned that the Himalayas have been subjected to greater warming than the global average with Nepali officials confirming that the country’s temperature was increasing annually by 0.06 degrees Celsius, a trend partly shaped by the emissions of China and India.
Iran has announced it has executed the head of a human trafficking organisation that sent Iranian girls and women to other countries for prostitution, according to reports from Reuters. Shahrooz Sakhnoori, known as Alex, was captured in Malaysia and transferred to Iran in 2020. He was sentenced to death in September 2021. Reuters reports Iranian authorities have also executed Saleh Mirhashemi, Saeed Yaqoubi and Majid Kazemi over their alleged involvement in a fatal shooting attack on security personnel in Isfahan in November 2019. Amnesty International has called the three men's trials unfair and says they were tortured.
A joke at an Xiaoguo Culture Media-coached stand-up comedy show has reduced its industry to fear for the future, with cancelled events and police investigations. The professional standards bureau fined Xiaoguo over $2m and forbid it from holding shows in Beijing and Shanghai, following comments which ridiculed Chinese military veterans. The media company, which was reported to be censoring sensitive content prior to the show, claims the incident occurred due to “major loopholes in management” and terminated the comedian involved, Livestreamer Li Haoshi, with a sincere apology.
Air strikes hit the outskirts of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum as fighting between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces entered its sixth week. Civilians have been trapped in a humanitarian crisis while displaced numbers exceed one million. The fighting is a result of a collapse in law and order, with looting by both sides. The conflict began mid-April, causing over 705 deaths while 5,287 citizens have been injured. Approximately 1.1 million people have been displaced internally and into neighbouring countries. Talks sponsored by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia held in Jeddah failed.
Liverpool's Roberto Firmino and James Milner were named on the bench for their final match at Anfield as Jurgen Klopp picked an unchanged side to face Aston Villa. Midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita, who are also leaving when their contracts expire next month, were not in the squad. Villa made three changes with former Everton left-back Lucas Digne, Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara coming in for Alex Moreno, Ashley Young and Emi Buendia.
Ukrainian-Americans could have an outsized impact on the 2024 US election due to the dense distribution of their votes in a string of highly competitive areas, according to advocacy groups, strategists and a Reuters analysis of census data. Although there are only roughly one million Americans of Ukrainian heritage, in Pennsylvania and Michigan the Ukrainian-American community outstrips Trump's margin of victory in 2016. Furthermore, in at least 13 congressional districts across the US, it exceeds or roughly matches the margin of victory achieved by either party in the 2022 midterms. Republican Ukrainian-Americans are protesting at the lack of interest by top Republican lawmakers and some potential 2024 White House candidates in Ukraine's conflict with Russia. This is set in "sharp relief" to President Joe Biden's support of Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy. A Ukraine Crisis Response Committee of Michigan is putting together a guide to recommend voting based on candidates' views on Ukraine.
Voting has opened for Turkish citizens living outside the country in the presidential runoff election, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to secure the required support for a first-round victory earlier this month. Three million Turkish nationals and citizens live in Germany, with 1.5 million registered to vote. The deadline for all voters abroad to cast their ballot is 24 May, before the domestic vote on 28 May. Erdogan will go head-to-head with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, an opposition leader, with voters choosing between "two starkly different world visions", according to Turkish policy expert Asli Aydintasbas.
In the first round of voting, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) formed a comfortable parliamentary majority, and he received 49.24% of the vote, compared to Kilicdaroglu’s 45.07%. Nationalist politician Sinan Ogan took 5.25%. Kilicdaroglu has exhorted Turks to vote, calling it their “national duty”. The election has captured international attention because of “the opposition’s chance of winning”, Aydintasbas said, noting that while there is strong support for Erdogan, the country’s first-time voters appear “to see nothing but him,” leaving many calling for a change.
Leaders at the G7 summit in Japan have held talks focusing on the deepening dominance of China and political tensions on the Korean peninsula. The likely impact on the Japanese economy of the UK's Brexit decision is also a significant concern. Top of the agenda was the situation in the Ukraine and issues related to economic security and supply chains. India's attendance, as chair of the G20, has highlighted the importance of the developing world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made several contributions to the talks, arguing for inclusive food systems to be created across the world. At a separate meeting, involving the leaders of Japan and Brazil, mention was made of the need for security council reform. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, where he laid a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
Roberto Firmino helped Liverpool avoid defeat in his final appearance at Anfield as he scored a late equaliser against Aston Villa. The Brazilian striker scored his 12th goal of a season marked by injuries, equalising Mohamed Salah’s cross to rescue a point for a Liverpool side now out of the race for a top-four finish. Liverpool’s fate seems sealed, meaning that they will contest in the Europa League next season. Villa, on the other hand, still have a chance of European qualification following their impressive season so far.
Thousands of people protested to demand an end to sewage pollution by water companies across the UK at a national "paddle-out" on Saturday. The protest was held as water companies face the biggest wave of public criticism since the industry was privatised in 1989, with campaigners saying water companies are discharging much more often than they should, including when there has been no rain. On Thursday, Water UK, which represents water companies, apologised and pledged 10 billion pounds ($12.6 billion) to cut waste outflows, but campaigners say it still has to be signed off by regulator Ofwat.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russian mercenary group Wagner, has claimed that the group has successfully captured the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. However, Ukraine has denied the claim. Bakhmut is a regional transport and logistics hub in Ukraine's Donetsk that Moscow aims to annex with its "special military operation". Its capture would put two larger cities in the region, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, within easy range of Russian artillery. Despite this, US and NATO military officials have played down its significance. The largely ruined city has been at the centre of the war's longest and bloodiest battle.
