Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui called out the nuclear deterrence policy of G7 leaders as "folly" at the memorial ceremony of the atomic bombing that was also attended by Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Japan on Sunday commemorated the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in the final phase of World War II.  Considering the growing nuclear threat worldwide, the mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui called for the abolition of nuclear weapons and described the nuclear deterrence policy of G7 as "folly." "They must immediately take concrete steps to move us from the dangerous present to our ideal world," he said as a peace bell rang on Sunday at 8.15 a.m. — exactly when on August 6, 1945 US bomber Enola Gay set off the world's first atomic bomb dropped on a population center.  This year, the G7 summit took place in Hiroshima which happens to be Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's home constituency. "Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said at the ceremony which was also attended by Kishida. At the memorial ceremony about 50,000 people, including aging victims who survived the bombing, gathered and observed a moment of silence. Drums of nuclear war beating again: Antonio Guterres The anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing was commemorated amid the growing threat of nuclear weapons propelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The issue poses a tricky balancing act for Kishida. Japan is traditionally an advocate of nuclear disarmament, in no small part because of the legacy of the attacks on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki three days later.  However, it also supports the partly nuclear-armed G7's group stance that members with atomic weapons shall retain them for as long as they're a necessary deterrent against other nuclear powers. "World leaders have visited this city, seen its monuments, spoken with its brave survivors, and emerged emboldened to take up the cause of nuclear disarmament," he said in remarks read by a UN representative. "More should do so, because the drums of nuclear war are beating once again." The American atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima was nicknamed "Little Boy." It is thought to have killed as many as 140,000 people by the end of 1945. Three days later, the US dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki. It's believe to have killed up to 70,000 over the next four months. A few days after the bombings, on August 15, Japan made an official announcement that it was surrendering. Soon after, on September 2, Japan formally capitulated, bringing an end to World War II in Asia. Whether using the bombs brought about a speedier, and possibly even more bloodless, end to the war or whether it was an ultimately unecessary show of force remains a fierce debate among historians almost eight decades on. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Hiroshima in Japan from May 19 to 21 for the Group of Seven (G7) summit. He will be the second Indian head of state to visit Hiroshima, since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1957. US President Joe Biden would also meet Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit. The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1997 Russia joined the group which was then renamed G8 until the country was suspended in 2014 following the crisis in Crimea, and the group reverted to the ‘G7’. Japan, which is hosting the G7 this year, has invited India as the guest country. India has been a regular guest of the G7, invited by France in 2019, by the UK in 2021, and when Germany was the host in 2022. In 2020 India was invited by the US to the G7, though it was cancelled on account of Covid-19. 2023 sees India hold the presidency of both the G20 and the SCO after the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, there is no better moment for India to restate its geopolitical significance than through an enabling role as a guest of the G7. Being on the high table of the G7 is an indication that India is on the right path in the international power circuit, an endorsement by the rich and powerful that India mattered. Among the issues that are likely to set the G7 agenda in 2023 international trade plays a key role. The interdependence of economic globalisation has also raised awareness of transnational issues and yet member states of important bodies like the G7 fall short of providing adequate answers to international conflicts and policy crises. As a regular guest member of the G7 India is uniquely placed because it is both an emerging and developing country but has a claim and a stake in global decision-making. In many ways, India, a regular guest of the G7 is representative of the countries left out of the steering group. Two overlapping challenges will dominate the discussions among the G7 – the first is Russia’s campaign in Ukraine and the second concerns the grim state of the global economy rocked not just by war but also by Covid-19. Spiralling food and fuel costs threaten the humanitarian plight of people. The suspension of Russia from the G8 has left the G7 as a grouping of members who are generally ideologically aligned. And now with the war in Ukraine, the G7 is likely to regain importance as its limited membership is more ideologically aligned. In this India stands out as it has traditionally and presently remained neutral and has resisted efforts by the West to criticise Russia. Under the circumstances, India could express its concern that the United States and its allies are exacerbating the economic crisis by using sanctions against Moscow. India, one of the largest buyers of Russian oil, must highlight that Western sanctions collectively by the G7 have contributed to the cascade of global shocks. Although a guest nation, India could voice to the G7 leaders that while Ukraine is consuming their attention other global conflicts need to be addressed notably through the G7’s financial muscle. As a guest nation, India could stress that G7 must explicitly recognise that its members will phase out coal power generation by 2030 and encourage all other countries to do likewise by providing financial and diplomatic support to dedicated initiatives and instruments in order to meet climate goals. Challenging coal transition circumstances reflected in countries like India and South Africa can be reflected in other countries as well and progress made by the G7 Nations towards supporting guest members like India could set positive precedents for transition in some of the world’s big coal users like Indonesia and Vietnam. India can contribute to the discussion by stressing on the greater provision of global public goods such as quality infrastructure, global health, multilateral concerted solutions to global challenges such as climate change, and also highlight the need to formulate policies for maximising and sharing benefits from artificial intelligence. As India becomes the world’s most populous country the inclusion of population issues such as jobs for vast youth and health and care of the ageing population can be highlighted in the G7 agenda. India must reaffirm the G7 trade acquis which traditionally rests on supporting the multilateral trading system. Thus, in order for India to realise its own ideas in the world it is essential to actively speak on global issues and win the confidence of the world.

Finance ministers and central banks' chiefs are discussing a wide range of topics, including the US debt standoff and preventing Russian sanction evasion. Measures to counter China were also reportedly being debated. Finance leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) are meeting on Friday, for the second day of a three-day summit in the coastal Japanese city of Niigata. The summit is setting the financial agenda for an anticipated meeting of the grouping's leaders in Hiroshima next week. What is on the agenda? On the agenda for Friday's talks are topics like support for Ukraine, global economic growth, inflation and the US standoff over raising its national debt ceiling. While China plays an important role in most of the issues, it was reportedly not listed as an official topic for the closed-door meetings.  However, some media reports said the finance ministers could debate, at least informally, possible investment controls against China. Another major topic that was set to dominate discussions was the domestic political standoff over the US debt ceiling and potential default. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that "a default is frankly unthinkable."  "America should never default. It would rank as a catastrophe," she told reporters ahead of the talks. Kazuo Ueda, Japan's central bank governor, said a US default "will become a big move and a big problem, and I think that the Fed alone, for example, may not be able to counteract it." Speaking on the sidelines of Friday's talks, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told reporters he hopes that politicians in the US will make a "grown-up" decision on raising the debt ceiling, echoing concerns about an impact on the global economy. The financial leaders of the G7 advanced economies are also discussing measures to prevent Russia from evading sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told reporters. The US said the G7 "will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes" to bring an end to the conflict. "We have taken a wave of actions in the past few months to crack down on evasion. And my team has traveled around the world to intensify this work," said Yellen. US seeking counter-China measures While the group's current chair, Japan, is seeking to diversify supply chains and reduce its heavy reliance on China, G7 countries have been seemingly wary of how far they could go in countering China. The US has pushed for stronger measures against Beijing. On Thursday, Yellen said many G7 members were concerned about China's use of "economic coercion" against other countries, and called for measures to counter such behavior. "We have been engaging in discussions with our G7 colleagues, and I would expect that that would continue these meetings, at least in some informal way," Yellen said on the US push to impose such curbs.

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday reiterated the importance of a "free and open Indo-Pacific" and cooperating with India as well as reaffirmed their commitment to promoting cooperation in line with the ASEAN outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The comments mark the culmination of a three-day long meeting that were held in Karuizawa, Nagano in central Japan and comes ahead of the G7 leaders' summit to be held in Hiroshima this May. "We reiterate the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive, prosperous, secure, based on the rule of law, and that protects shared principles including sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful resolution of disputes, fundamental freedoms and human rights," the joint comminique stated. "We reaffirm individual initiatives of the G7 members and welcome those of our partners to enhance their engagement with the region. We underscore our commitment to further strengthening our 3 coordination among the G7 on the region, to working with regional partners, including ASEAN and its member states," it read. The G-7 ministers said they reaffirmed their unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity and our commitment to promoting cooperation in line with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The ministers also reaffirmed their partnership with Pacific Island countries and reiterate the importance of supporting their priorities and needs, in accordance with the Pacific Islands Forum's 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, including through the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in 2024. "We welcome and further encourage efforts made by the private sector, universities and think tanks, which contribute to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific," they said. On April 17, the second day of the G-7 foreign ministers' meeting, Japan's foreign minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, hosted the "Indo-Pacific" session which he explained his country's views "Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)" and the New Plan for a FOIP. The G7 Foreign Ministers expressed their support, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Hayashi also stated that, with the emerging and developing countries known as the "Global South" facing a variety of issues, the G7 intends to work together with them to tackle these issues. "Furthermore, in addition to underscoring the importance of cooperating with India, the G7 Foreign Ministers shared the view to increase engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, including ASEAN and the Pacific Island countries, and, as part of the G7 framework, to regularize discussions and strengthen cooperation in relation to the Indo-Pacific," the statement by Japanese ministry of foreign affairs read. Japan's PM Fumio Kishida had unveiled the Japanese plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) while delivering a speech entitled "The Future of the Indo-Pacific-Japan's New Plan for a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific-Together with India, as an Indispensable Partner" at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in New Delhi on March 20 this year. He had said "India is an indispensable partner" to achieve the objectives of FOIP. Meanwhile, at the G-7 ministers' meeting in Karuizawa, regarding Southeast Asia, Japanese foreign minister Hayashi stated the need for the G7 to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN in the medium and long term, while supporting ASEAN centrality and unity, and the importance of cooperating with ASEAN in line with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). The G7 Foreign Ministers meeting was presided by Yoshimasa and attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Candian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, and Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora. Source: www.business-standard.com

Shortly after the EU agreed on a price cap on Russian oil, G7 nations also adopted the measure to starve Russia of funds for its war in Ukraine. Poland agreed on Friday to the European Union's deal for a $60 (€57) per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil. "Crippling Russia's energy revenues is at the core of stopping Russia's war machine," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas posted on Twitter. Poland, which was promoting a lower cap, has now withdrawn its objection to the EU proposal, and the deal will be made official in the coming days, Warsaw's Ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados told reporters. The Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, said in a statement that "ambassadors have just reached an agreement on price cap for Russian seaborne oil.'' The decision must still be officially approved with a written procedure, which is expected to go through. Shortly after the EU agreed on the measure, the Group of Seven (G7), which includes Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as EU members France, Germany and Italy, and Australia also adopted the $60-per-barrel cap. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the agreement will help achieve the goal of restricting Putin's "primary source of revenue for his illegal war in Ukraine while simultaneously preserving the stability of global energy supplies." "Today's announcement is the culmination of months of effort by our coalition, and I commend the hard work of our partners in achieving this outcome," she said. Embargo on Russian crude oil from Monday The EU, G7 and Australia will impose an embargo on Russian crude oil from Monday. Poland's Sados said the embargo was the most significant sanction so far placed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. He added that Poland and the EU were "working on the next package of sanctions, which will be painful and expensive for Russia." Since the war in Ukraine began, a primary target for Western governments has been to try to limit Russia's revenues from energy exports.

As the UN General Assembly continues in New York, G7 foreign ministers came together for an emergency meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine. They also spoke about the food and energy crisis. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) announced further cooperation in their support for Ukraine through military and financial measures on Wednesday. The foreign ministers came together in New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. What the ministers said A statement from the ministers said they deplored deliberate Russian escalatory steps, including the partial mobilization of reservists and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. They said they would pursue further targeted sanctions and are committed to sustained economic and political pressure on Russia. The statement condemned a plan to hold sham referenda on sovereign Ukrainian territory in the occupied Donbas region. It added that voting could not be free or fair while Russian forces were present. Cooperation would also increase on finding a response to the food and energy crisis, ministers said. Russian threats and mobilization The emergency meeting came after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists for the war in Ukraine. Putin has also threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia and has planned to hold referendums for parts of Ukraine to join Russia. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell said before the emergency meeting that it was important for the G7 foreign ministers to address these threats. The ministers have to discuss this threat, to reiterate the continuing support to Ukraine and to alert the international community about the unacceptable situation in which Putin is putting all of us, Borrell told reporters. It’s clear Russia wants to destroy Ukraine, Borrell said. We will not be intimidated. Borrell went on to say that the EU was supporting Ukraine but was not participating in the war, we are not belligerent. In comments to German media, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who belongs to the environmentalist Green Party, stressed that there was an understanding between her and Chancellor Olaf Scholz from the center-left Social Democrats that Ukraine should be given full material support. The important thing at this time is that we concentrate all our strengths and not look where differences lie between the foreign minister and the chancellor, Baerbock said. The minister said the coming weeks and months would prove decisive. The more people can be liberated there, the more lives can be saved, Baerbock said. US President Joe Biden said his country was working with the G7, as they were like-minded countries that could show democracy can deliver. British Prime Minister Liz Truss called for further economic measures against Russia. The G7 and our like-minded partners should act as an economic NATO, collectively defending our prosperity, she said in her address in front of the UN General Assembly. If the economy of a partner is being targeted by an aggressive regime, we should act to support them all for one, and one for all.

Group of Seven leaders have unveiled an infrastructure plan meant to bolster the global economy and counter China. But crippling debt owed by poorer countries may get in the way. The thing about the G7 is they’re not legitimate, but they are immensely powerful and they can do very powerful things. Max Lawson’s demands are clear. As Germany, France, Canada, Japan, Italy, the US and the UK otherwise known as the Group of Seven gather with EU representatives for their annual meeting this year at the luxurious Schloss Elmau high in the Bavarian Alps, the head of the inequality policy program at Oxfam is calling on the leaders of these wealthy countries to cancel the debt crippling the globe’s poorest nations. It’s really dramatic, Stormy-Annika Mildner, executive director of the Aspen Institute Germany, a think tank, told DW. They’re paying almost more on servicing their debt than they’re getting in new aid. Countering China But debt cancellation isn’t on the group’s public agenda this year. Instead, on Sunday, the first day of the summit, the informal bloc of industrialized economies unveiled its Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, a commitment to raise $600 billion (€568 billion) in private and public funds over five years to finance needed infrastructure in developing countries. I want to be clear. This isn’t aid or charity. It’s an investment that will deliver returns for everyone, said US President Joe Biden on Sunday, adding that it would allow countries to see the concrete benefits of partnering with democracies. The initiative is meant to counter China’s influence and its ongoing, multitrillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure project across Asia and Africa. United over common values that include democracy, rule of law and a free market, combined the G7 countries account for around 45% of global gross domestic product, according to the World Bank. This gives them considerable economic influence; indeed, some critics have charged the group with having too much sway on global issues. Three crises at once Biden said the hundreds of billions of additional dollars could come from multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds and others. The news followed the group’s first session of the summit, which was focused on the state of the global economy. All members are concerned about the crisis we are confronting, falling growth rates in some countries, rising inflation, raw materials shortages, disrupted supply changes these aren’t small challenges, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a televised statement after the session. The world is effectively facing three crises fiscal, energy and food; at the same time, said Mildner. That’s on top of the ongoing climate and health crises. It hits those countries most that still haven’t recovered from the health crisis, she said. These countries spend a lot of money and their fiscal space has become very, very small.  Painful debt burden This is the situation many African countries find themselves in, said Edwin Ikhuoria, Africa executive director of ONE, an NGO fighting to end poverty and preventable disease. They simply don’t have the fiscal space to respond to their own people’s needs, he told reporters at the summit. This financial predicament is growing more dire as the world plunges ever deeper into a hunger crisis, worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine.   Nearly 193 million people experienced acute food insecurity in 2021, according to the World Food Program, 40 million more than the year before. Oxfam’s Lawson pointed fingers at private creditors, along with food and energy corporations, which have raked in record profits in recent months as consumers struggle to afford daily necessities. [Poor nations] are spending more repaying BlackRock than they are on health or education combined, he told reporters, calling out the world’s largest investment bank. Along with canceling the debts their countries hold, he called on the G7 leaders to compel private creditors to do the same. Last-mile delivery For Mildner, it’s a geopolitical matter. If we are serious about wanting to ensure that undecided countries are not moving towards China and Russia, then there needs to be financial contributions and there needs to be debt relief, she said. Sunday’s infrastructure announcement was a good step, she added, but cautioned that the group was essentially reworking a commitment it had already made last year, which hadn’t achieved much. Ikhuoria told DW that funds promised to poorer nations by richer countries and international organizations often received a lot of public hype, but much of the money failed to get where it’s needed most. When asked if the G7 is the appropriate mechanism to fight hunger and poverty, he said they will gather anyway, and they spend hundreds of millions every year together. So they can as well decide that this is the time to put in, not just the vision, but the resources and a plan to end the hunger crisis,  he said. Because they can, actually ... At least the hundreds of millions they spend should not be in vain.   

Food scarcity, including shortage of wheat a staple for nearly 2.5 billion people, has brought millions, particularly in Africa to the edge of starvation and malnutrition that could plague them for years. The United Nations is ringing loud alarm bells to warn of catastrophic hunger and deaths in the coming months but too little avail. Chair of the African Union and President of Senegal Macky Sall made an urgent trip to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in person last week to get nearly 20 million tons of wheat out of Ukraine by cargo vessels. But he had to come away without any concrete actions to ease the hunger. The US is accusing Putin of stealing Ukraine's wheat and subverting draconian financial sanctions to sell it cheaply to African countries stricken by drought. He is finding ready takers because wheat prices have shot up more than 60 percent this year mostly because Russia's invasion of Ukraine has blocked deliveries from those two countries. They usually provide nearly one-third of global wheat exports. UN chief Antonio Guterres, who also met Putin personally in April, said after a visit to Africa's poverty-stricken Sahel region, "Severe acute malnutrition - a wasting disease that can kill if left untreated - is rising. Farm animals are already dying of hunger." "Leaders told me that because of the war in Ukraine, on top of the other crises they face, they fear this dangerous situation could tip into catastrophe," he added. The response from the world's seven richest countries (G7) at meetings last month was disappointing mostly because their focus remains on blaming Putin in case widespread starvation deaths occur in Africa. However, India has promised to supply emergency shipments of wheat to countries requesting help to alleviate hunger. India is the world's second-largest wheat grower after China but the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that it accounted for only 4.1 percent of total global wheat exports in 2020-21. The world's largest wheat exporters are Russia, the EU, Australia, the US, Canada, Argentina, Ukraine, India and Kazakhstan. But the US and its allies are being slow in unblocking large supplies of wheat as humanitarian aid.   Worse, the high costs of helping Ukraine have reduced G7 humanitarian aid pledges to only USD 2.6 billion, well below promises they made in 2021 to commit USD 8.5 billion to end famine. In global trade negotiations, the US and EU strongly oppose the subsidies but Indian farming lobbies seem to be as politically potent as in those countries. More agricultural cooperation between the West and India as fellow democracies would be helpful since India is one of the few countries capable of efficiently increasing food supplies and exports to alleviate global hunger levels. The UN says that in just two years, the number of severely food insecure people has doubled to 276 million from 135 million before the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine. Almost 21 million children are one step away from starvation and about 811 million go to bed hungry each night because they do not get enough food. This is outrageous because there is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone. Another shocking symbol of entrenched inequalities is small farmers, herders and fisherman produce about 70 per cent of global food supply, yet poverty and hunger are most acute among them and other rural populations. Source: ANI  

G7 leaders will agree to expand global Covid vaccine manufacturing to provide at least one billion doses to the world through sharing and financing schemes, Britain said Thursday. The announcement came after the United States said it would donate 500 million jabs to 92 poor and lower-middle-income nations. The UK, which is hosting the big powers’ gathering in southwest England, added it would donate at least 100 million surplus doses within the next year, including five million beginning in the coming weeks. The commitments follow growing calls for richer countries to step up their efforts to share Covid-19 shots with less developed nations, with charities warning the current situation is leading to “vaccine apartheid”. Britain, which has orders for more than 400 million doses, has faced criticism for failing to begin making donations to poorer countries. But on the eve of welcoming world leaders from the group of seven wealthy nations to their first summit in almost two years, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed that would soon change. “As a result of the success of the UK’s vaccine programme we are now in a position to share some of our surplus doses with those who need them,” he said. “At the G7 Summit I hope my fellow leaders will make similar pledges”. A Downing Street statement said: “At the Summit world leaders are expected to announce they will provide at least one billion coronavirus vaccine doses to the world.. and set out a plan to expand vaccine manufacturing in order to achieve that goal.” – ‘Humanitarian obligation’ – Meanwhile EU members have agreed to donate at least 100 million doses by the end of 2021 — with France and Germany each committing to providing 30 million. French President Emmanuel Macron issued his own call for pharma groups producing vaccines to donate 10 percent of their production to poor nations. US President Joe Biden on Thursday saluted a “historic” moment in the fight against the pandemic after Washington announced its donation. “This is about our responsibility, our humanitarian obligation to save as many lives as we can,” Biden told reporters at the start of his first overseas trip as president. Biden said the move was also in the US interest because of the risk of variants while the White House said the decision would “supercharge the global fight against the pandemic”. The enduring challenge to defeat the virus was earlier laid bare by the World Health Organization which warned Europeans not to drop their guard because vaccination levels remain too low to stop another wave of infections. Although pockets of the rich world have scored successes against the disease, the gains are fragile and billions of mostly poor people remain unprotected. Over 100 million people in the 27-nation European Union, or 22.6 percent of its population, have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to an AFP count. The contrast with developing nations was further evidenced Thursday when South Africa’s National Institute For Communicable Diseases announced his country had technically entered a third wave with more than 9,000 cases over the past 24 hours. On Thursday, India reported a global record of more than 6,000 Covid-19 deaths in a day after one state dramatically revised its data upwards, fuelling concerns that the official tally of almost 360,000 deaths, the world’s third-highest toll, is woefully understated. – WHO warns against complacency – The United States has also faced criticism for sitting on huge stocks of unused vaccines. But with more than 60 percent of Americans having received at least one shot, Washington has moved to reclaim global leadership with its huge donation which will be channelled through the Covax program which aims to ensure equitable global vaccine distribution. The White House said the doses will start shipping in August. Dismissing suggestions that it is in a so-called vaccine diplomacy contest with Russia and China, Washington has described its initiatives as a return to multilateral action after the nationalist isolationism under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. In Europe, some lockdown restrictions have been eased of late notably ahead of the Euro football competition starting Friday. But Hans Kluge, the WHO’s regional director, said he feared complacency. “Vaccination coverage is far from sufficient to protect the region from a resurgence,” Kluge told reporters, warning against repeating the “mistake” of last summer by easing protective measures prematurely. Iran’s government meanwhile warned that recent success in containing the Middle East’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak risks being reversed should the public cease being diligent in their precautions amid a shortage of vaccines. The country saw total infections pass the three million mark on Thursday, adding to the global total of almost 174,350,990. The pandemic has claimed more than 3.7 million lives worldwide. Source: AFP/BSS AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday joined the outreach session of the G7 Summit 2018 for the third time. When Sheikh Hasina reached the venue at Manoir Richelieu Hotel in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed her. She attended the special outreach session as Trudeau invited 12 world leaders, including Sheikh Hasina, to take part in it.   Hasina for the third time joined such outreach program of the G7, the group of seven countries with advanced economies - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States- in the world.  She earlier took part in the outreach meeting of the G7 Summits held in Italy in 2001 and in Japan in 2016. This year, the special outreach session is focusing on healthy oceans and resilient coastal communities. Bangladesh is highlighting issues related to climate change, sustainable use of ocean resources, blue economy and its initiative on women empowerment at the G7 Forum. Heads of international organizations also joined the special outreach session. Sheikh Hasina arrived in Quebec on Friday (local time) on a four-day official visit to Canada. During her visit, she will have a bilateral meeting with her Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau in Quebec on Sunday morning and join a views-exchange meeting with Bangladesh expatriates in Toronto on Sunday evening. Besides, Hasina will hold a meeting with Canada’s special envoy on Rohingya crisis Bob Rae in Toronto on June 11. Trade, investment, cooperation in achieving SDGs, political consultations, cooperation in blue economy and Rohingya issue are expected to be discussed at the bilateral meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister. Source: UNB AH