Joe Biden to consult with Japan’s Kishida ahead of G7 summit

US President Joe Biden landed in Japan Thursday to attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima, skipping previously planned stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia. (Reuters)
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Updated 18 May 2023
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Joe Biden to consult with Japan’s Kishida ahead of G7 summit

  • Japanese leader’s home city of Hiroshima will play host to the gathering of major industrialized nations

HIROSHIMA: President Joe Biden arrived in Japan Thursday with plans to meet privately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of the larger Group of Seven summit — a sign of how the economic and national security alliance between the two countries has strengthened.

Kishida’s home city of Hiroshima will play host to the gathering of major industrialized nations. The setting of Hiroshima, where the US dropped the first nuclear bomb in 1945 during World War II, carries newfound resonance as the US, Japan and their allies strategize on dealing with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the Russian invasion looms large, and would be a significant conversation during the summit.

“There will be discussions about the battlefield,” Sullivan said aboard Air Force One, stressing that the G-7 leaders would work to seal off any loopholes in sanctions so their effect can be maximized.

“There’ll be discussions about the state of play on sanctions and the steps that the G-7 will collectively commit to on enforcement in particular.”

Sullivan said the alliance between the US and Japan was at a “genuine high-water mark.”

He said Biden and Kishida, in their meeting, will aim to advance a relationship that’s progressed over the course of the last two years “in every dimension, whether it’s the military dimension of the alliance, the economic dimension, the recently concluded agreement on clean energy, the work we’re doing together on economic security.”

Last year, Biden came to Tokyo to discuss Indo-Pacific strategy and launch a new trade framework for the region, with the US president and Kishida engaging in an 85-minute tea ceremony and seafood dinner.

Kishida was quick to call out the risks of nuclear-power Russia invading Ukraine in 2022, saying then, “Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow.”

China has declared a limitless friendship with Russia, increasing trade in ways that blunted the ability of financial sanctions to constrain the war. But the US and its allies say China has yet to ship military equipment to Russia, a sign that the friendship might have some boundaries.

Biden and Kishida also have economic matters to consider. The US and Japan have begun to redefine global trade with an eye toward supply chain resilience and national security. They recently signed an agreement on critical mineral supply chains. They’re also cooperating on the development of renewable energy sources and partnering on efforts to limit China’s access to advanced computer chips.

Kishida hopes to discuss further strengthening of deterrence and response capability with Biden in the face of China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as confirming the importance of the Taiwan Strait for global peace and stability. China has asserted that self-governing Taiwan should come under its rule. US officials have been briefed on the possible economic damage caused by a war over Taiwan, which would disrupt the supply of advanced computer chips.

Japan is also keen to discuss ways to reinforce its three-way partnership with the US and Seoul following an April agreement between the United States and South Korea to strengthen their tools to deter the risk of a nuclear attack by North Korea.

Kishida and Biden will hold a trilateral summit with South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the G-7 summit. But Kishida is in a complicated position by discussing efforts to respond to nuclear threats by North Korea with Japan’s history of also calling for a world free from nuclear arms, said Kan Kimura, a Kobe University professor and an expert on South Korea.

In the wake of World War II, Japan embraced pacifism. The atomic bomb scorched Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people and destroying most of the river delta city’s buildings. But current conditions are testing Japan’s pacifism and anti-nuclear weapon tradition.

“Kishida is from Hiroshima, believes deeply in the disarmament agenda,” said Christopher Johnstone, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. “Of course, Kishida is walking a fine line. He recognizes the need for the nuclear umbrella, Japan’s dependence on US extended deterrence — that that’s more vital than ever, frankly, in the current security environment.”

There are outstanding issues between the US and China. During a January meeting with Kishida, Biden brought up the case of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, a US Navy officer deployed to Japan who last year was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to the negligent driving deaths of two Japanese citizens in May 2021, according to a senior administration official. Alkonis also agreed to pay the victims $1.65 million in restitution. His family is seeking his release, saying he was detained until he confessed.

As much as Biden believes he has improved relations with US allies, he still faces political turmoil at home. The president on Wednesday curtailed part of his trip across the Pacific Ocean. He will skip Papua New Guinea and Australia in order to return to Washington in hopes of finalizing a deal to raise the federal government’s debt limit.

“The work that we need to do bilaterally with Australia and with the Pacific Islands is work that can be done at a later date, whereas the final stretch of negotiations over the debt limit or the budget cannot be done at a later date,” Sullivan said Wednesday.


Israel president says ‘moral imperative’ to bring home Gaza hostages

Updated 3 sec ago
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Israel president says ‘moral imperative’ to bring home Gaza hostages

“With a broken heart, I remind us all that even though after the Holocaust we swore ‘never again’,” Herzog said
Nearly 60 “of our brothers and sisters remain held by terrorist murderers in Gaza, in a horrific crime against humanity“

OSWIECIM, Poland: Israel’s president said in Poland on Thursday the return of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza was a “universal moral imperative” and called on the international community to help end “this horrific humanitarian crime.”
Isaac Herzog spoke from the southern city of Oswiecim, the site of the former Nazi German death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, on the occasion of the annual March of the Living to commemorate its victims.
Auschwitz was the largest of the extermination camps built by Nazi Germany and has become a symbol of the Holocaust of six million European Jews. One million Jews and more than 100,000 non-Jews died at the site between 1940 and 1945.
“With a broken heart, I remind us all that even though after the Holocaust we swore ‘never again’, today — here and now — the souls of dozens of Jews are once again yearning within a cage, longing for water and freedom,” Herzog said at a ceremony.
Nearly 60 “of our brothers and sisters remain held by terrorist murderers in Gaza, in a horrific crime against humanity,” he added.
“The return of the hostages is a universal moral imperative, and I call from here — from this sacred place — for the entire international community to mobilize and end this horrific humanitarian crime.”
Some 251 people, including women and children, were seized during Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, which left 1,218 Israelis dead according to an AFP tally based on official data, and sparked a deadly war in Gaza.
Fifty-eight hostages are still being held there, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s military response in Gaza has unleashed a humanitarian crisis and killed at least 51,355 people, mainly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Herzog did not mention Israel’s military operations in Gaza at the ceremony in Auschwitz.
Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, brokered a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas which began on January 19 and enabled a surge in aid, alongside the exchange of hostages and prisoners.
Israel resumed its intense air strikes and ground offensive across Gaza on March 18 amid disagreement over the next phase in the ceasefire that for two months had largely halted the fighting.
Last month, Herzog said he was shocked that the hostage issue was no longer a top priority in the country and criticized the war policy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Thousands of Israelis have been holding daily protests in Jerusalem, angry over the government’s policies including a return to war, which many see as forsaking the hostages still being held in Gaza.

A French high school student is arrested after fatally stabbing another student and wounding 3

Updated 6 min 24 sec ago
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A French high school student is arrested after fatally stabbing another student and wounding 3

  • The circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear
  • A national police official said the attack occurred at the private Catholic Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides High School in Nantes

PARIS: A student at a French high school stabbed four other students at his school Thursday, killing at least one and injuring three others before being arrested, police said.
The circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear. Fatal attacks are quite rare in French schools.
A national police official said the attack occurred at the private Catholic Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides High School in Nantes on France’s Atlantic coast.
The student stabbed four people with a knife during a lunch break before teachers subdued him, and he was later taken in by police, the official said. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to national police policy.
Students at the school told French media at the scene that they had received an email from the assailant earlier in the day with unspecified grievances.
Education Minister Elisabeth Borne said on X that she is heading to the school with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to show “solidarity with victims and the school community.” The regional prosecutor announced a news conference for later Thursday.
Images from the scene showed police and armed military forces surrounding the school as the investigation got underway.
An official at the school, which is part of a complex housing a primary and middle school, would not comment on what happened, saying the school is concentrating on caring for the students who were on campus at the time. The school website was down.


Gangs in Haiti kill 4 soldiers and 4 civilians in bid to seize full control of the capital

Updated 20 min 41 sec ago
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Gangs in Haiti kill 4 soldiers and 4 civilians in bid to seize full control of the capital

  • Lionel Lazarre, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in Kenscoff
  • In videos posted on social media, gunmen are seen mutilating several bodies

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: Gangs trying to seize full control of Haiti have killed at least four soldiers and four armed civilians who worked with law enforcement to protect their communities, an official said Thursday.
Lionel Lazarre, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, told Radio Caraïbes that two soldiers and four civilians were killed in Kenscoff, a once peaceful community on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Two other soldiers and an undetermined number of civilians were killed in the community of Pacot inside the capital, he said.
On Wednesday night, the government said that at least four police officers and armed civilians from the community of Canapé-Vert, one of the few neighborhoods not controlled by gangs, were killed in the attacks.
In videos posted on social media, gunmen are seen mutilating several bodies and picking up severed heads as trophies, saying, “We got the dogs.”
Haiti’s transitional presidential council and the prime minister’s office condemned the attacks in separate statements and said that multiple people were injured.
“The government reaffirms that the fight against insecurity remains its top priority,” the office said.
Gangs that control at least 85 percent of Port-au-Prince have launched recent attacks on previously peaceful areas that police and armed residents are trying to protect.
More than 260 people were killed in attacks on Kenscoff and Carrefour earlier this year, according to the UN political mission in Haiti.
Haitian police are working alongside a UN-backed mission led by Kenyan police to repel gangs, although they have struggled in their efforts. The mission is underfunded and only has some 1,000 personnel out of the 2,500 envisioned.
More than 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year, with gang violence leaving more than one million people homeless, according to the UN


Saudi exhibition takes Indonesians on virtual tour of Islamic heritage

Updated 26 min 42 sec ago
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Saudi exhibition takes Indonesians on virtual tour of Islamic heritage

  • ‘Jusoor’ exhibition runs until May 3 at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta
  • Visitors can also view rare manuscripts, learn Arabic calligraphy

JAKARTA: A week-long Saudi exhibition opened in Jakarta on Thursday, offering Indonesian visitors virtual tours of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, as well as a display of the features of the Holy Kaaba.

Organized by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, the display, titled “Jusoor” or bridges, is being held at the Istiqlal Mosque complex in Jakarta.

The event is free to the public and will run until May 3.

It was inaugurated by Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar and Saudi Arabia's Islamic Affairs Undersecretary Dr. Awwad bin Sabti Al-Anzi.

“This exhibition symbolizes the strengthening of cultural and diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, while also serving as a platform to introduce the rich history and civilization of Islam to the general public,” Umar said on social media.

“Through the collection of artifacts, ancient manuscripts, and interactive multimedia installations, (it) invites visitors to explore the Islamic world’s contribution to science, art and culture across time.”

Aside from the virtual tours of the two holy mosques, the Saudi exhibition in Jakarta features their scale models and photos of the Kaaba.

Designed to be educational and child-friendly, it also invites visitors to explore the printing of the Qur’an, view rare manuscripts, learn about Arabic calligraphy, and to taste qahwa — the traditional Arabic coffee.

Organizers are aiming to attract 1 million visitors.

“The exhibition, which aims to attract 1 million visitors, embodies the Kingdom’s efforts to spread moderation, serve the Holy Qur’an, and strengthen bridges of cultural and human communication between peoples,” the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs said in a statement on X.

According to Ahmad Zayadi, information director of Islamic affairs at Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry, the event showcases Saudi Arabia’s role in world culture and history.

“(The Kingdom’s) standing in the Islamic world makes it a center of civilization that is inseparable from mankind’s history and cultural development,” Zayadi said.

“We are showing the world that religion and culture are not just legacies of the past, but a strategic foundation to build future civilizations.”


Ramaphosa to meet Trump ‘soon’ to discuss strained South Africa-US relations

Updated 39 min 26 sec ago
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Ramaphosa to meet Trump ‘soon’ to discuss strained South Africa-US relations

  • "We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths,'' Ramaphosa said
  • “We also spoke about the need to foster good relations between our two countries"

JOHANNESBURG: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Thursday he will “meet soon” with US President Donald Trump to discuss relations between the two countries.
Ramaphosa said he had spoken to Trump and the two leaders had also agreed to discuss the peace process in Ukraine and the end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We both agreed that the war should be brought to an end as soon as possible to stop further unnecessary deaths. We both agreed to meet soon to address various matters regarding US-South Africa relations,” Ramaphosa said in a post on social media platform X.


“We also spoke about the need to foster good relations between our two countries,” he added. Ramaphosa did not indicate when the meeting with Trump was likely to take place.
Relations between South Africa and the US have deteriorated since Trump took office earlier this year.
Trump has criticized South Africa’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war, which has seen the country take Israel to the International Court of Justice and accuse it of committing a genocide in Gaza.
Trump has also signed an executive order stopping all financial aid to South Africa and has also slapped South Africa with 37 percent trade tariffs on its exports to the US, which he subsequently paused for 90 days.
The cuts were an additional blow to the country after it also lost US funding for its key health programs including the fight against HIV.
Trump has also falsely accused South Africa of illegally seizing farms owned by white Afrikaner farmers after it enacted the Expropriation Act which empowers the government to expropriate land for public use.
He has offered to facilitate the resettlement of white Afrikaner farmers who wish to leave South Africa and move to the US
Last month, the US expelled Ebrahim Rasool, the South African ambassador to the US, over his criticism of Trump, who has hinted that he may not attend the G20 summit of world leaders scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in November.
Ramaphosa revealed his conversation with Trump as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was on an official visit to South Africa.
Zelensky held a planned meeting with Ramaphosa at the government’s Union Buildings in Pretoria.