HIROSHIMA : Leaders of the world richest democracies agreed on Friday to stiffen sanctions against Russia and pledged financial support for Ukraine as its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, prepared to join them in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
The Group of Seven leaders are also expected to address growing tension between their economies and China during their summit that runs until Sunday. Officials said Zelensky would attend in person over the weekend.
The leaders said in a joint statement existing measures against Russia would be broadened and any exports that could help it in its 15-month war against Ukraine would be restricted across the G7 countries.
“This includes exports of industrial machinery, tools, and other technology that Russia uses to rebuild its war machine,” they said in a joint statement, adding that efforts would continue to restrict Russian revenues from its trade in metals and diamonds.
Amid evidence that existing sanctions were being weakened by circumvention, they said the group was “engaging” with countries through which any restricted G7 goods, services or technology could transit through to Russia.
“We note and encourage commitments made by these countries to ensure our measures are not circumvented and have the intended effect,” they said, without naming any territories.
Breakdowns of German trade data show that its exports to countries bordering Russia have risen sharply, fueling concerns that about the re-exportation of goods from those neighboring states.
The group of rich democracies reaffirmed their condemnation of what they called Russia’s aggression and promised further support for Ukraine, in terms of military help and financial aid for its war-shattered economy this year and next.
The members of the G7 — the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy — are also expected to debate strategy on the Ukraine conflict that shows no sign of easing.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in Japan’s lower house of parliament, said he chose the city for the summit to focus attention on arms control.
Hiroshima, and another Japanese city, Nagasaki, were destroyed by US nuclear attacks 78 years ago that ended World War Two.
Zelensky will attend on Sunday, two officials involved in the G7 summit said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told state television that Zelensky’s attendance was “absolutely essential in order to defend our interests.”
Having emerged as the world’s richest nations after World War Two, the G7 democracies have become increasingly challenged by an ascendant China and unpredictable Russia.
Leaders are expected to issue a statement with a “a section specific to China,” listing issues that include “economic coercion and other behavior,” a US official said.
They are focusing on how to warn the world’s second biggest economy against what they see as its threat to global supply chains and economic security without alienating a powerful and important trade partner.
G7 leaders’ statement: Ukraine has budget support for 2023 and early 2024
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G7 leaders’ statement: Ukraine has budget support for 2023 and early 2024
- The G7 said members said they are “engaging” with other nations to avoid the flow of their goods and technology into Russia
- Talks also to address tensions with China
Vietnam urges stricter controls on origin of goods after tariff shock
“Uniform and determined measures are required... to stop and prevent fraud in the origin of goods”
HANOI: Vietnam’s trade ministry has ordered authorities to tighten control over the origin of goods to avoid sanctions by trading partners in the wake of threatened US tariffs, according to a document seen by AFP on Tuesday.
A document by the ministry dated April 15 said escalating trade tension meant Vietnam was increasingly exposed to trans-shipment fraud.
Less than two weeks earlier, US President Donald Trump had threatened massive 46 percent levies on Vietnam, with Washington accusing the country of facilitating Chinese exports to the United States and allowing Beijing to get around tariffs.
In the document, the ministry called for stricter controls to avoid “sanctions that countries may apply on goods imported to their countries.”
“Uniform and determined measures are required... to stop and prevent fraud in the origin of goods... especially illegal imported raw materials and goods without origin for the production of goods for export,” it added, without naming China.
Hanoi is now trying to negotiate with Trump over the so-called reciprocal tariffs, which have been paused until July.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged for “negotiations to promote balanced, stable, sustainable, and effective trade relations with the United States.”
He warned however that the talks were “not to affect another market.”
China on Monday said it “firmly opposes” other countries making trade deals with the United States at Beijing’s expense, warning it would take “countermeasures” against them.
During his visit to Vietnam last week, China’s President Xi Jinping urged the communist neighbor to join forces in upholding free trade.
Trump, however, said the trip was aiming to “screw” the United States.
Vietnam was Southeast Asia’s biggest buyer of Chinese goods in 2024, with a bill of $161.9 billion.
In the first three months of this year, the United States was Hanoi’s biggest export market.
Vietnam has long pursued a “bamboo diplomacy” approach — striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States.
Many feared dead in gun attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir
- Initial reports say shots fired at mostly Indian tourists visiting Baisaran meadow
- Attack much larger than anything directed at civilians in recent years, says official
SRINAGAR, India: Many people are feared to have died after gunmen indiscriminately fired at tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said.
Police have described the incident as a “terror attack” and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule.
“This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.
“The death toll is still being ascertained so I don’t want to get into those details,” he said.
Initial reports said shots were fired at mostly Indian tourists visiting Baisaran meadow, some 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam.
Police and officials said tourists with gunshot wounds were evacuated to local hospitals.
The scene of the attack was cordoned off as police launched an operation to track down the attackers.
India’s home minister, Amit Shah, is heading to Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where he said he would review the situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on an official visit in Saudi Arabia, has been briefed about the incident, Shah said.
“We will come down heavily on the perpetrators with the harshest consequences,” Shah wrote in a post on the X social media platform.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key Kashmiri resistance leader, condemned what he described as a “cowardly attack on tourists.”
“Such violence is unacceptable and against the ethos of Kashmir which welcomes visitors with love and warmth. Condemn it strongly,” he wrote on X.
The attack coincided with the visit to India of US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a largely personal four-day visit.
The meadow in Pahalgam is a popular sightseeing destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
Tuesday’s attack seems to be a major shift in the regional conflict where tourists for many years have largely been spared from violence despite a spate of targeted killings of Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, after New Delhi ended the region’s semi-autonomy in 2019 and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms.
Tensions have been simmering ever since as India has intensified its counterinsurgency operations.
The region, known for rolling Himalayan foothills, exquisitely decorated houseboats and pristine meadows, has also become a major domestic tourist destination, with hotels booked out for months. Kashmir has also drawn millions of visitors, who enjoy a strange peace kept by ubiquitous security checkpoints, armored vehicles and patrolling soldiers.
Although violence has ebbed in recent times in Kashmir Valley, the heart of anti-India rebellion, fighting between government forces and rebels has largely shifted to remote areas of Jammu region including Rajouri, Poonch and Kathua, where Indian troops have faced deadly attacks.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored “terrorism.” Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Kremlin warns against rushing Ukraine talks
- “This topic is so complex, connected with a settlement, that, of course, probably it is not worth setting any rigid time frames and trying to get a settlement,” Peskov said
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his team’s “first priority” at the London talks would be the idea of “an unconditional ceasefire“
KYIV: The Kremlin on Tuesday warned against rushing Ukraine peace talks, pushing back on US President Donald Trump’s hopes for a speedy deal the day before Ukraine’s allies are set to meet in London.
Trump, who promised on the campaign trail to strike a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in 24 hours, has in three months failed to wrangle concessions from Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt his invasion.
The Republican had said over the weekend he hoped a peace deal could be struck “this week” despite no signs the two sides are anywhere close to agreeing even a ceasefire, let alone a wider long-term settlement.
Moscow’s forces occupy around a fifth of Ukrainian territory and tens of thousands have been killed since they invaded in February 2022.
“This topic is so complex, connected with a settlement, that, of course, probably it is not worth setting any rigid time frames and trying to get a settlement, a viable settlement, in a short-time frame,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV on Tuesday.
After rejecting a US-Ukrainian offer for a full and unconditional ceasefire last month, Putin announced a surprise Easter truce over the weekend.
Fighting dipped during the 30-hour period but Russia launched fresh attacks on residential areas on Monday and Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.
Kyiv and its allies dismissed the truce as a PR exercise from Putin.
“The Easter truce that he announced somewhat unexpectedly was a marketing operation, a charm operation aimed at preventing President Trump from becoming impatient and angry,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the FranceInfo broadcaster.
Ukraine’s allies will meet in London on Wednesday, a senior Kyiv official told AFP, where they are expected to continue discussions on the contours of a possible deal they could all get behind.
European leaders are scrambling to work out how they can support Ukraine should Trump pull Washington’s vital military and financial backing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his team’s “first priority” at the London talks would be the idea of “an unconditional ceasefire.”
Zelensky proposed to Russia on Sunday halting missile and drones strikes against civilian facilities for at least 30 days.
While saying he would “analyze” the idea, Putin threw doubt on it 24 hours later by accusing Kyiv of using civilian facilities for military purposes.
He held open the prospect of bilateral talks on the topic, though the Kremlin said there were no fixed plans to engage with Kyiv.
“There are no concrete plans (to talk), there is readiness from Putin to discuss this question,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
“If we are talking about civilian infrastructure, then we need to understand, when is it civilian infrastructure and when is it a military target,” he added.
The talks in London — a follow-up to a meeting in Paris last week — come after Russia resumed its aerial attacks.
Russia hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with “two guided aerial bombs” on Tuesday, killing one and wounding 23, the regional head said.
Photos from Ukraine’s emergency services showed the outer walls of an apartment block blown open and a bloodied man being tended to by medics on a stretcher, with bandages around his head and arms.
“One guided aerial bomb hit an infrastructure facility, another one hit a densely populated neighborhood, a residential building directly,” Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
Russian strikes wounded another six in the southern city of Kherson and seven in Kharkiv, in the north east.
Its army also claimed to have captured a small village in the eastern Donetsk region, where its troops are advancing.
In Paris last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented Washington’s plan for ending the war, before both he and Trump warned Washington’s patience was running thin and could lead it to withdraw.
Many in Ukraine fear any settlement he brokers could reward Russian aggression.
Multiple deaths feared after gunmen fire on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir
- “This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Abdullah wrote on social media
- Initial reports said gunmen sprayed bullets at mostly Indian tourists visiting Baisaran meadow
SRINAGAR, India: Multiple deaths are feared after gunmen indiscriminately fired at tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said, with police calling it a “terror attack” and blaming militants fighting against Indian rule.
“This attack is much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years,” Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, wrote on social media.
“The death toll is still being ascertained so I don’t want to get into those details,” he said.
Initial reports said gunmen sprayed bullets at mostly Indian tourists visiting Baisaran meadow, some five kilometers (three miles) from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam.
Police said multiple tourists had gunshot wounds, and officials were evacuating them to hospitals.
Police and soldiers cordoned off the area and launched a hunt for the attackers.
The attack coincided with the visit to India of US Vice President JD Vance, who is on a largely personal four-day visit.
The meadow in Pahalgam is a top sightseeing destination, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and dotted with pine forests. It is visited by hundreds of tourists every day.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.
Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Twelve children and teens drown in Ivory Coast boat capsize: minister
- “Twelve bodies have been recovered and are being taken to the morgue,” said Sports Minister Adje Silas Metch
- The outing was organized by a Methodist church in Tiaha
ABIDJAN: A boat overturned during a church outing for Easter on a lagoon near the city of Abidjan in Ivory Coast, killing 12 children and teenagers, a government minister told AFP Tuesday.
“Twelve bodies have been recovered and are being taken to the morgue,” said Sports Minister Adje Silas Metch, who went during the night to the site of the accident late Monday.
The bodies are “of children and adolescents,” he added, saying one was a youngster who was not from the church but had joined the boat crossing.
“Four people were rescued,” he said.
Young people from the village of Tiaha had gone to another village to take part in the “Galilee” event to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The outing was organized by a Methodist church in Tiaha, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the economic capital, Abidjan, Gerard Gbato, deputy chief of the Dabou police district, told AFP.
“It was on the way back that the tragedy happened. The canoe’s engine stopped at one point, the canoe overturned,” he said.
It is possible the boat was overloaded, he added.
Police have opened an investigation.
Gbato said that such dugout canoes with an engine were commonly used by the local community.
The lagoon winds between the districts of Abidjan and the towns surrounding the metropolis of more than six million inhabitants.
