Biden has an eye on China as he heads to South Korea, Japan

 President Joe Biden departs on a six-day trip to South Korea and Japan aiming to build rapport with the two nations’ leaders while also sending an unmistakable message to China: Russia’s faltering invasion of Ukraine should give Beijing pause about its own saber-rattling in the Pacific.

Biden departs Thursday and is set to meet newly elected South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Their talks will touch on trade, increasing resilience in the global supply chain, growing concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program and the explosive spread of COVID-19 in that country.

While in Japan, Biden will also meet with fellow leaders of the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance known as the Quad, a group that includes Australia, India and Japan.

The U.S. under Biden has forged a united front with democratic allies that has combined their economic heft to make Russia pay a price for its invasion of Ukraine. That alliance includes South Korea and Japan. But even as Biden is to be feted by Yoon at a state dinner and hold intimate conversations with Kishida, the U.S. president knows those relationships need to be deepened if they’re to serve as a counterweight to China’s ambitions.

“We think this trip is going to put on full display President Biden’s Indo-Pacific strategy and then it will show in living color, the United States can at once lead the free world in responding to Russia’s war in Ukraine, and that at the same time chart a course for effective, principled American leadership and engagement in a region that will define much of the future of the 21st century,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

The war in eastern Europe has created a sense of urgency about China among major U.S. allies in the Pacific. Many have come to see the moment as their own existential crisis — one in which it’s critical to show China it should not try to seize contested territory through military action.

Biden’s overseas travel comes as he faces strong domestic headwinds: an infant formula shortage, budget-busting inflation, a rising number of COVID-19 infections, and increasing impatience among a Democratic base bracing for a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that is likely to result in a roll back of abortion rights.

The conundrums Biden faces in Asia are no less daunting.

China’s military assertiveness has grown over the course of Biden’s presidency, with its provocative actions frequently putting the region on edge.

Last month, China held military drills around Taiwan after a group of U.S. lawmakers arrived for talks on the self-governed island. Late last year China stepped up sorties into Taiwan’s air space. Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state, but Beijing views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve unification.

Japan has reported frequent intrusions by China’s military vessels into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The uninhabited islets are controlled by Japan but claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

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Turkey threatens to block Finnish and Swedish NATO membership as tensions rise

 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO, urged the alliance’s members on Wednesday to “respect” Ankara’s concerns about the two countries, which Turkey accuses of harbouring terrorists.

Erdogan was due to meet with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken today.

Before the meeting, Erdogan accused Stockholm of providing safe haven to members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) designated as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

For the United States and its NATO partners, there is a lot at stake: the opportunity to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by strengthening and expanding the alliance.

Finland and Sweden on Wednesday submitted a joint application to join NATO as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forces a dramatic reappraisal of security in Europe.

“We asked them to extradite 30 terrorists but they refused to do so,” Erdogan claimed.

“You will not send back the terrorists to us and then ask our support for your NATO membership … We cannot say ‘yes’ to make this security organisation being lacking in security.”

Sweden has also imposed embargoes on arms sales to Turkey since 2019 over Ankara’s invasion of Syria.

“We are sensitive about protecting our borders against attacks from terror organisations,” Erdogan added, calling on NATO allies to support Turkey’s “legitimate” Syria operations,  or at least not to stand in Turkey’s way.

The Turkish leader also said he was not convinced by Swedish or Finnish delegations’ request to visit Ankara for consultations.

In an opinion piece in the hardline Daily Sabah newspaper, Director of Foreign Policy Studies at SETA Foundation, Muhittin Ataman, wrote that the issue of Sweden and Finland refusing to extradite PKK members is not the only issue.

Initially, Turkey didn’t oppose NATO’s eastward expansion, he explained.

As well as sheltering members of the Kurdish PKK group, designated by Ankara as ‘terrorists,’ Sweden and Finland also house several members of the Gülen movement, led by religious leader Muhammed Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish Islamic scholar and preacher whom Erdogan accuses of attempting to stage the 2016 military coup.

Meanwhile, the 1980 entry  of Ankara’s arch enemy Greece into NATO in 1980 was always difficult for Turkey.

“If NATO’s policies begin to create a negative atmosphere for Turkey, Ankara will feel obliged to take necessary measures. Other NATO members should understand Turkey’s concern and position,” says Ataman.

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G7 finance meeting set to be dominated by reconstruction of Ukraine

 G7 finance ministers are meeting in Germany on how to help Ukraine pay its bills, with reconstruction after the war, surging global inflation, climate change, supply chains and the impending food crisis high on the agenda.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, Germany, France and Italy – the G7 – will hold talks in Germany this Thursday and Friday as Ukraine struggles to fend off Russia’s invasion, launched on 24 February.

The Ukraine war is a game-changer for Western powers because it forces them to rethink decades-old relations with Russia – not only in terms of security – but also in energy, food and global supply alliances.

According to one source: “Ukraine is overshadowing these meetings. But there are other issues that must be discussed,” adding that debt, international taxation, climate change and global health were also up for debate.

Ukraine estimates its needs €4.7billion a month to keep public employees’ salaries paid and the administration working despite the daily destruction wrought by Russia.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that it maintains is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its southern neighbor’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists.

The short-term financing package to be agreed by the G7 would cover three months of Ukraine’s needs.

On Wednesday, the European Commission offered to provide up to €9billion in loans to Ukraine, financed from EU borrowing guaranteed by EU governments, to cover Kyiv’s needs until the end of June.

The Commission also proposed to set up a fund of unspecified size of grants and loans for Ukraine – possibly jointly borrowed by the EU – to pay for the reconstruction of the country after the war ends.

Some economists estimate the financial need for such a project to be between €500billion euros and €2trillion, with estimates frequently changing depending on the length of the conflict and the scope of destruction.

With sums of that magnitude coming into play, the EU is considering not only a new joint borrowing project, modelled on the pandemic recovery fund, but also the confiscation of the now frozen Russian assets in the EU, as sources of financing.

Some countries like Germany, however, say that the idea, though politically interesting, would be on shaky legal grounds.

U.S. officials emphasise it is too soon to map out financing for a massive rebuilding plan for Ukraine.

Washington wants the discussions to focus on meeting Kyiv’s immediate budget needs over the next three months.

“After all, these rebuilding needs are mostly a bit in the future,” a U.S. Treasury official said. “This is why we’re focused more on the budget needs of Ukraine in the next three months than about reconstruction, Marshall Plans and asset confiscation.”

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Ukraine invasion could cause global food crisis, UN warns

 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could soon cause a global food crisis that may last for years, the UN has warned.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war had worsened food insecurity in poorer nations due to rising prices.

Some countries could face long-term famines if Ukraine’s exports are not restored to pre-war levels, he added.

The conflict has cut-off supplies from Ukraine’s ports, which once exported vast amounts of cooking oil as well as cereals such as maize and wheat.

This has reduced the global supply and caused the price of alternatives to soar. Global food prices are almost 30% higher than the same time last year, according to the UN.

Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Mr Guterres said the conflict – combined with the effects of climate change and the pandemic – “threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine”.

“There is enough food in our world now if we act together. But unless we solve this problem today, we face the spectre of global food shortage in the coming months,” he added.

He warned that the only effective solution to the crisis was reintegrating Ukraine’s food production, as well as fertilizer produced by both Russia and Belarus, back into the global market.

Mr. Guterres also said he was in “intense contact” with Russia and Ukraine, as well as the US and the EU, in an effort to restore food exports to normal levels.

“The complex security, economic and financial implications require goodwill on all sides,” he said.

His comments came on the same day the World Bank announced extra funding worth $12bn (£9.7bn) for projects addressing food insecurity.

The move will bring the total amount available for such projects to more than £30bn over the next 15 months.

Russia and Ukraine produce 30% of the world’s wheat supply and – prior to the war – Ukraine was seen as the world’s bread basket, exporting 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports.

But since Russia launched its invasion in February, exports have collapsed and prices have skyrocketed. They climbed even further after India banned wheat exports on Saturday.

The UN says around 20 million tonnes of grain are currently stuck in Ukraine from the previous harvest which, if released, could ease pressure on global markets.

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Navjot Singh Sidhu: India’s cricketer-turned-politician jailed for road rage death

 India’s top court has sentenced cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu to one year in prison in a decades-old road rage case.

The Supreme Court ruled that Sidhu “intentionally caused hurt” to an elderly man in 1988, resulting in his death.

However, the former MP’s acquittal in a more serious charge of manslaughter remains.

The sentencing is a serious setback for his political career.

Sidhu recently resigned as the Congress party’s chief in Punjab after his party was wiped out in recent state assembly elections.

He has limited legal options left as he can appeal against the ruling only once in the form of a curative petition.

The case timeline

Sidhu was first accused of manslaughter in 1988 when a 65-year-old man died hours after an argument with him in Patiala. The case continued to be heard in a trial court as India’s opening batsman kept doing well in his fledging international cricket career. In 1999, the court acquitted Sidhu.

The state appealed against the acquittal in the high court, which convicted him for manslaughter in 2006. This forced him to resign from his parliamentary seat of Amritsar as Indian laws do not allow convicted individuals to be public representatives.

He appealed against the verdict in the Supreme Court which stayed the conviction, allowing him to retake his seat in a by-election. In 2018, the top court acquitted him in the manslaughter case, but found him guilty of “hurting the victim” and asked him to pay 1,000 rupees ($13; £10) as fine.

The victim’s family appealed against the ruling and on Thursday, the Supreme Court added a one-year sentence to the fine.

 

Sidhu is one of India’s most successful Test cricketers. Known for his stylish and powerful stroke play, he specially thrived against fast bowlers, but also held equal command over playing spin skillfully.

He scored 3,202 runs at an average of 42 in 51 Test matches. He also played 136 ODIs and scored 4,413 runs. He retired from all forms of cricket in 1999 and after four years, he joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and became an MP. Over the years, he rose to become a prominent party leader and a star campaigner.

In the next decade, he also managed to launch a successful career as a cricket commentator and also as a TV personality on popular comedy shows. His witty and sharp style made him popular as a commentator.

But he became disgruntled with the BJP after reportedly not getting any important job in the government despite the party’s landslide win in the 2014 general elections.

He quit the BJP in 2016 and joined the Congress where he rose to become the chief of its state unit in Punjab.

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U.S. Reopens Embassy In Ukrainian Capital, Kyiv

 Employees of the U.S. embassy in Ukraine have raised the U.S. national flag at the embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital three months after shutting down the embassy over Russia’s invasion.

The decision to send a small contingent of U.S. diplomats back to Kyiv as part of a soft reopening of the embassy is a signal that the United States stands with Ukraine against Russia.

The US says the embassy reopening is a move U.S. lawmakers from both parties, as well as Ukrainians, have been asking for. But was delayed by Joe Biden’s administration over security concerns.

The American embassy’s reopening was confirmed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on Wednesday, May 18 after the U.S. flag was once again raised at the facility.

He called it a “momentous step.”

“The Ukrainian people, with our security assistance, have defended their homeland in the face of Russia’s unconscionable invasion, and, as a result, the Stars and Stripes are flying over the Embassy once again,” Blinken said. “We stand proudly with, and continue to support, the government and people of Ukraine as they defend their country from the Kremlin’s brutal war of aggression.”

Blinken said the Biden administration has “put forward additional measures to increase the safety of our colleagues who are returning to Kyiv and have enhanced our security measures and protocols.”

According to reports, the Embassy would resume functioning only in a limited capacity and that consular services will not be offered.

Chargé d’affaires Kristina Kvien, currently on leave, was not present at the reopening ceremony, where a small contingent of diplomats raised the American flag over the embassy’s gated compound.

Also U.S. Marines are reportedly not present at the embassy rather the compound is being guarded by diplomatic security and Ukrainian national guard and police forces.

Ever since the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Diplomatic security has been a hot-button issue in the United States.

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Samira Bawumia Receives Top Global Humanitarian Award In Atlanta, U.S.A.

 The Second Lady, Hajia Samira Bawumia, has been highly honoured with several accolades in the U.S. for her stellar interventions in maternal and child health, education and women empowerment.

She was the recipient of the Ghanaian Women Association of Georgia (GWAG) Global Humanitarian Award for her “outstanding and life-transforming contribution towards the empowerment of women and children, through initiatives that align with GWAG’s causes in healthcare and education”.

Mrs Bawumia was the Special Guest of Honour at the 7th Annual Maternity Fundraising Gala of GWAG held at the Atlanta City Hall, Georgia, where she picked up the award over the weekend.

Hajia Samira Bawumia gracefully received a specially-designed plaque at the programme attended by many dignitaries of the State of Atlanta and several Ghanaians.

Mrs Bawumia will be one of few remarkable Ghanaian achievers to receive the special award.

Her night of glory continued with another honour from the Atlanta City Council.

In a citation bearing the signatures of all members and the seal of the Atlanta City Council, she was singled out for “her tireless work on the many issues that impact families across the globe”.

It didn’t end there as the Macon-Bibb County recognised her tremendous efforts in various sectors.

Mayor of Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, Lester M. Miller, proclaimed and urged the county “to commend her in her efforts to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment.”

Adding her own applause was Senator Donzella James, a Member of the Georgia State Senate.

“Be it resolved that H.E Hajia Samira Bawumia is recognised and commended for her many wonderful accomplishments and extended sincere best wishes for continued health, happiness and prosperity,” she said in a written resolution bearing her signature and seal.

GWAG, a global organisation with membership spanning America, Europe, Africa and Asia, and headquartered in Atlanta, U.S., praised Mrs Bawumia for her “selfless sacrifice and devotion to humanity, as well as the remarkable substance and philanthropic spirit you bring to the Office of the Second Lady”.

GWAG crowned Mrs Samira Bawumia out of over 100 personalities from more than 10 countries for her “unwavering and life-saving support for the vulnerable and underprivileged, through various social interventions that transcend the shores of Ghana”.

Through the Samira Empowerment & Humanitarian Projects (SEHP), the Second Lady has transformed the lives of uncountable marginalized women and deprived children and boosted girl child education.

Her ‘Safe Delivery Project’ aims to distribute 100,000 well-resourced birth kits to expectant mothers in deprived communities across Ghana.

Over 6,000 birth kits have been distributed to mothers in deprived and difficult-to-reach communities so far.

SEHP has also resourced 38 health facilities across Ghana.

She has also established the SEHP Skills and Entrepreneurial Development Initiative (SEDI), aimed at improving the socio-economic well-being of women generally through training, provision of capital, start-up kits and the establishment of micro-enterprise schemes.

Over 3,600 rural and urban women have benefitted from various vocational and entrepreneurial skills-sets.

A further 1,200 women have had their capacities enhanced through the Shea Empowerment Initiative, a women’s economic empowerment and rural enterprise project aimed at training 1,600 women in quality shea nut (a major cash crop in Ghana) collection and processing, with access to a ready market for finished shea products.

As part of the initiative, Her Excellency has also constructed four modern, environmentally friendly shea processing factories in the Northern, North East, Upper West and Upper East Regions of Ghana, which will provide about 300 direct and 1,500 indirect employment.

Her Excellency is an advocate for the ‘Combined Maternal and Child Health Record Book Project’ – a Ghana Health Service initiative, with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

She is also supporting the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the ‘Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development’, a project focused primarily on childcare.

Mrs Bawumia is spearheading a Coalition of People against Sexual and Gender-based Violence and Harmful Practices (CoPASH) in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The mandate of CoPASH is to bring together agencies, organisations and individuals who are passionate about the rights of women and girls to advocate for better case management for victims of “Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Harmful Practices” (SGBVs/HPs).

Hajia Samira Bawumia is determined to make Ghana a literary powerhouse.

She has so far distributed about one hundred thousand 100,000 books to over 200,000 pupils in 60 basic schools across Ghana as part of her ‘Get Ghana Reading Campaign’.

She is also the Patron of the Samira Bawumia Literature Prize, a launchpad for aspiring Ghanaian writers to share their art with the world.

Mrs Bawumia is the Chief Trustee of the SEHP Educational Trust Fund, a fund set up to provide scholarships to brilliant but needy students in tertiary institutions.

In October 2017, She was appointed as a Global Ambassador for the Clean Cooking Alliance, a public-private partnership hosted by the United Nations Foundation to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment.

Hajia Samira Bawumia was named the first of seven global honorees by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), in partnership with Ashden.

She uses her influence to raise awareness on issues of clean cooking and advocates for the adoption of clean energy solutions on the global stage.

Hajia Samira Bawumia advocates clean cooking solutions at several international conferences and fora as part of her global mandate.

Source: Peacefmonline.com

DNT News

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