WASHINGTON: G7 finance ministers pledged Wednesday to take aim at those who are continuing to step up purchases of Russian oil, since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
In a statement after a virtual meeting, officials from the Group of Seven advanced economies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — agreed that it is time to “maximize pressure on Russia’s oil exports.”
This would hit at revenue Moscow needs for the war.
“We will target those who are continuing to increase their purchase of Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine and those that are facilitating circumvention,” the ministers said in a joint statement.
They added that they agreed on “the importance of trade measures, including tariffs” and import or export bans in efforts to cut off Russian revenues.
The countries are also giving “serious consideration to trade measures and other restrictions on countries and entities that are helping finance Russia’s war efforts, including on refined products sourced from Russian oil.”
The statement came after the United States indicated last month that it was ready to broaden tariffs targeting buyers of Russian oil if the European Union takes similar moves.
President Donald Trump, who dialed in to talks between the United States and EU officials, had raised the possibility of tariffs between 50 percent and 100 percent targeting oil buyers like China and India, according to an official.
In September, the European Commission also said that it was working on potentially imposing tariffs on imports of Russian oil into the bloc, in the face of pressure from Trump.
The US leader has demanded that Europe end energy imports from Moscow before agreeing to move forward with sanctions against Russia.
The G7 ministers plan to meet again on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington this month.
G7 ministers to target those increasing Russia oil purchases
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G7 ministers to target those increasing Russia oil purchases
- The US leader has demanded that Europe end energy imports from Moscow before agreeing to move forward with sanctions against Russia
Shooter kills 9 at Canadian school and residence
- The shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound
- A total of 27 people were wounded in the shooting, including two with serious injuries
TORONTO: A shooter killed nine people and wounded dozens more at a secondary school and a residence in a remote part of western Canada on Tuesday, authorities said, in one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country’s history.
The suspect, described by police in an initial emergency alert as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
The attack occurred in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, a picturesque mountain valley town in the foothills of the Rockies.
A total of 27 people were wounded in the shooting, including two with serious injuries, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the “horrific acts of violence” and announced he was suspending plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday, where he had been set to hold talks with allies on transatlantic defense readiness.
Police said an alert was issued about an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon.
As police searched the school, they found six people shot dead. A seventh person with a gunshot wound died en route to hospital.
Separately, police found two more bodies at a residence in the town.
The residence is “believed to be connected to the incident,” police said.
At the school, “an individual believed to be the shooter was also found deceased with what appears to be a self?inflicted injury,” police said.
Police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.
“We are devastated by the loss of life and the profound impact this tragedy has had on families, students, staff, and our entire town,” the municipality of Tumbler Ridge said in a statement.
Tumbler Ridge student Darian Quist told public broadcaster CBC that he was in his mechanics class when there was an announcement that the school was in lockdown.
He said that initially he “didn’t think anything was going on,” but started receiving “disturbing” photos about the carnage.
“It set in what was happening,” Quist said.
He said he stayed in lockdown for more than two hours until police stormed in, ordering everyone to put their hands up before escorting them out of the school.
Trent Ernst, a local journalist and a former substitute teacher at Tumbler Ridge, expressed shock over the shooting at the school, where one of his children has just graduated.
He noted that school shootings have been a rarity occurring every few years in Canada compared with the United States, where they are far more frequent.
“I used to kind of go: ‘Look at Canada, look at who we are.’ But then that one school shooting every 2.5 years happens in your town and things... just go off the rails,” he told AFP.
‘Heartbreak’
While mass shootings are extremely rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”
Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, said it was “one of the worst mass shootings in our province’s and country’s history.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee, whose athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, said Wednesday it was “heartbroken by the news of the horrific school shooting.”
Ken Floyd, commander of the police’s northern district, said: “This has been an incredibly difficult and emotional day for our community, and we are grateful for the cooperation shown as officers continue their work to advance the investigation.”
Floyd told reporters the shooter was the same suspect police described as “female” in a prior emergency alert to community members, but declined to provide any details on the suspect’s identity.
The police said officers were searching other homes and properties in the community to see if there were additional sites connected to the incident.
Tumbler Ridge, a quiet town with roughly 2,400 residents, is more than 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city.
“There are no words sufficient for the heartbreak our community is experiencing tonight,” the municipality said.
