G7 nations ask China not to aid Russia, warn of Ukraine grain crisis
WEISSENHAUS, Germany — The Group of Seven leading economies warned Saturday that the war in Ukraine is stoking a global food and energy crisis which threatens poor countries, and urgent measures are needed to unblock stores of grain that Russia is preventing from leaving Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who hosted a meeting of top G-7 diplomats, said the war had become a “global crisis.”
She said up to 50 million people, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, would face hunger in the coming months unless ways are found to release Ukrainian grain, which accounts for a sizable share of the worldwide supply.
In statements released at the end of the three-day meeting on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, the G-7 pledged to provide further humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable.
“Russia’s war of aggression has generated one of the most severe food and energy crises in recent history which now threatens those most vulnerable across the globe,” the group said.
Canada’s foreign minister, Melanie Joly, said her country, another major agricultural exporter, stands ready to send ships to European ports so Ukrainian grain can be brought to those in need.
“We need to make sure that these cereals are sent to the world,” she told reporters. “If not, millions of people will be facing famine.”
Russia dismissed the claim that it was responsible for worsening global hunger and driving up food prices.
“Prices are rising because of sanctions imposed by the West under pressure of the USA,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “Failure to understand this is a sign either of stupidity or intentional misleading of the public.”
The G-7 nations also called on China not to help Russia, including by undermining international sanctions or justifying Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
The G-7 urged China “to desist from engaging in information manipulation, disinformation and other means to legitimize Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The grouping, which comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, also reiterated its stance that the territories seized by Russian forces need to be returned to Ukraine.
Virus surging: South Africa is experiencing a surge of new COVID-19 cases driven by two omicron sub-variants, according to health experts.
For about three weeks the country has seen increasing numbers of new cases and somewhat higher hospitalizations, but not increases in severe cases and deaths, said Professor Marta Nunes, a researcher at Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Analytics at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
“We’re still very early in
this increase period, so I don’t want to really call it a wave,” Nunes said. “We are seeing a slight, a small increase in hospitalizations and really very few deaths.”
South Africa’s new cases have gone from an average of 300 per day in early April to about 8,000 per day last week. Nunes says the actual number of new cases is probably much higher because the symptoms are mild and many who get sick are not getting tested.
New UAE leader: Rulers in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday unanimously appointed Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the autocratic nation’s president, signaling both unity and stability in this key energy-rich country that hosts Western militaries.
The ascension of Sheikh Mohammed, 61, had been
expected after the death Friday of his half-brother and the UAE’s president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the age of 73. The transition of power marks only the third time this U.S.-allied nation of seven sheikhdoms has selected a president since becoming an independent nation in 1971.
Under Sheikh Mohammed, who has been the nation’s de facto leader since Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke in 2014, the UAE had tried to project power militarily across the wider region as it joined a Saudiled war in Yemen.
But since the lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sheikh Mohammed and the wider UAE has tried to recalibrate its approach by largely pulling out of the war and seeking diplomatic detentes with rivals.
Transgender law blocked:
A federal judge on Friday blocked part of an Alabama law making it a felony to prescribe gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to transgender minors.
U.S. District Judge Liles Burke issued a preliminary injunction to stop the state
from enforcing the medication ban, which took effect May 8, while a lawsuit goes forward. The ruling was a victory for families and groups that challenged the first-of-its-kind law as an illegal intrusion into family and medical decisions.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called the ruling a “temporary legal roadblock.” The state’s attorney general indicated he will appeal.
Arrests after India fire:
Police arrested two owners of a company that manufactures and sells security cameras after a massive fire reportedly started in their office in a four-story commercial building in the Indian capital New Delhi, killing 27 people and injuring 12 others, police and fire officials said Saturday.
The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and a criminal conspiracy punishable with life imprisonment or 10 years in jail.
The building had no clearance from the fire department and it was not equipped with fire safety equipment, said Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services.
Garg said the fire started
on the first floor of the building Friday evening and spread quickly to other areas.
All 27 bodies were recovered from the second floor, where people attending a motivational meeting were engulfed in the flames, Garg said.
Oil spill settlement: The owner of an oil pipeline that spewed thousands of barrels of crude oil onto Southern California beaches in 2015 agreed Friday to pay $230 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by fishermen and property owners, court documents show.
Plains All American Pipeline agreed to pay $184 million to fishermen and fish processors and $46 million to coastal property owners, according to court documents.
The company didn’t admit liability in the agreement, which still needs federal court approval.
“This settlement should serve as a reminder that pollution just can’t be a cost of doing business, and that corporations will be held accountable for environmental damage they cause,” said Matthew Preusch, one of the attorneys who represented the plaintiffs.