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BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Monday that confrontation between major powers could have “catastrophic consequences” in a speech to world leaders at an all-virtual Davos forum. For the second year in a row the face-to-face gathering of political and corporate power players in the Swiss Alps has had to go online thanks to a coronavirus pandemic that shows no sign of abating. Xi opened proceedings with a speech much like the […]
by Marc BURLEIGH BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — EU leaders said on Thursday that vaccinations and booster shots would be vital to counter the Omicron coronavirus variant as countries stepped up restrictions to slow its startling spread. The EU summit they were participating in also emphasised the need for “coordinated efforts” based on science, amid go-it-alone measures applied notably by Italy. The joint conclusion, swiftly adopted at the beginning of the one-day gathering, underlined the urgency […]
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte accepted the invitation of US President Joe Biden to attend the two-day “Summit for Democracy” set to happen on Thursday and Friday, December 9 to 10, hosted by the United States. Duterte will join other world leaders “to share the Philippine democratic experience and commitment to democratic values and nation-building during his attendance to the summit,” a statement from Malacanang said. The summit has three key themes: Defending […]
by Francesco FONTEMAGGI WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden has invited Taiwan to a virtual summit on democracy alongside more than 100 countries — a move bound to anger China, which is not on the list. The conference was a campaign pledge by the US president, who has placed the struggle between democracies and “autocratic governments” at the heart of his foreign policy. The “Summit for Democracy” will take place online on December 9 […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Joe Biden that US support for Taiwanese independence would be “like playing with fire”, state media said Tuesday, as the two held a long-awaited video call. “Taiwanese authorities have repeatedly tried to ‘rely on the US for independence’,” Xi was quoted as saying by state media agency Xinhua, adding: “Some people in the US intend to ‘use Taiwan to control China’. This trend is very dangerous […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday that he has “concerns” over human rights abuses and also warned against “unliteral” moves to change the status of Taiwan, the White House said. “President Biden raised concerns about the PRC’s (Chinese communist party) practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as human rights more broadly,” the White House said in a readout after the virtual Biden-Xi […]
by Aurelia End and Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping opened a virtual summit Monday with an appeal for better communication between the superpowers and “guardrails” to avoid conflict. Speaking from the White House to Xi on a television screen, Biden said they must develop “guardrails” to “ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict, whether intended or unintended.” He said they […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Pacific Rim trade and foreign ministers agreed to push for a freeze on fossil fuel subsidies at a virtual summit Wednesday but host Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand said more “bold” action on climate change was needed. Ministers from the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group met online to discuss their Covid-19 response ahead of a meeting of national leaders on Saturday including US President Joe Biden and […]
by Hakim S. Hayat BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AFP) — Myanmar’s junta boycotted a Southeast Asian summit Tuesday after its chief was banned from the event, deepening the regime’s isolation nine months after it took power in a bloody coup. The virtual gathering kicked off three days of meetings hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with US President Joe Biden as well as Chinese and Russian leaders set to attend. Myanmar topped […]
MILAN, Italy (AFP) – Swedish activist Greta Thunberg opened a youth climate summit on Tuesday by lambasting three decades of government inaction, accusing world leaders of having “drowned” future generations with “empty words and promises”. Speaking weeks ahead of a crunch UN climate meeting in Glasgow, Thunberg accused governments of “shamelessly congratulating themselves” for insufficient pledges to cut emissions and promises of financing. Hurling leaders’ own words back at them, the 18-year-old laid bare to […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, under pressure to adopt a 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target, said in an interview published Monday that he may not join this year’s landmark UN climate summit in Glasgow. The world’s biggest coal exporter by value, and still reliant on fossil fuels for most of its electricity, Australia has not made a firm commitment on its own greenhouse gas reductions. Morrison has vowed to mine and […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged all countries to raise their climate ambitions as the UN Security Council took up the environmental crisis, warning that it is aggravating conflicts. Blinken pointed to recent record rains in New York that contributed to dozens of deaths and said climate has aggravated conflicts in countries including Syria, Mali, Yemen, South Sudan and Ethiopia. “The climate crisis isn’t coming. It’s […]
