World leaders gather for G7 summit in France - Aljazeera.com

World leaders are gathering in France for the G7 summit, a meeting that European Council President Donald Tusk said will be a "difficult test of unity and solidarity" due to deep divisions over a range of issues including trade and climate change. 

The annual gathering of the G7 nations, some of the world's key industrial countries, kicked off on Saturday in the French coastal town of Biarritz. 

Thousands of anti-G7 protesters rallied in the nearby town of Hendaye as the leaders from Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States descended on Biarritz. 

The three-day summit is taking place against the backdrop of an escalating trade war between the US and China, Britain's impending exit from the European Union, growing tensions between the US and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme and global concern over fires ravaging the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.

Speaking before the summit, Tusk appealed for unity.

"It is increasingly difficult, for all of us, to find common language and the world needs more of our cooperation, not less," he said.

"This may be the last moment to restore our political community."

French President Emmanuel Macron, the host of this year's summit, said he wants the heads of G7 nations to focus on the defence of democracy, gender equality, education and the environment. He also invited Asian, African and Latin American leaders to join them for a global push on these issues.

In a televised speech before the summit, Macron said he hoped to find common ground with US President Donald Trump, who acrimoniously ended last year's G7 meeting in Canada, leaving the gathering and rejecting the final communique, an agreed-upon statement released by all members. 

Shortly after Trump's arrival, Macron hosted the US leader for a two-hour unscheduled lunch. 

"So far, so good," Trump told reporters, hailing his friendship with Macron. "We'll accomplish a lot this weekend and I look forward to it."

Macron listed foreign policy issues the two would address, including Libya, Syria and North Korea, adding that they shared the same objective of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. 

Trade wars

Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Biarritz, said the working lunch was an attempt by Macron to get Trump "on the same page".

"To have him here first, before any of the other leaders, try to get him on the same page. President Macron has seen what's happened at previous G7 summits. He's seen what President Trump can do," he said.

Another reason could be the trade dispute between France and the US, said Bays. 

Hours before leaving for Biarritz, Trump had lashed out at France for what he said were "unfair" taxes on US tech companies like Google and Amazon, and threatened to tax French wine "like they've never seen before".

France currently imposes a three percent tax on digital revenues of large Internet-based firms and Macron plans to defend a proposal for a global tax law on big tech at the summit.

US President Donald Trump, left, sits to lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron on the first day of the annual G7 summit [Marin Ludovic/Pool via Reuters]

Trump also upped his trade fight with China by raising retaliatory tariffs and ordering US companies to consider alternatives to doing business there.

China's President Xi Jinping is not among the Asian leaders invited to Biarritz. China said on Saturday it strongly opposed Trump's decision to levy additional tariffs on $550bn worth of Chinese goods and warned the US of consequences if it did not end its "wrong actions". 

Attention will also be on Boris Johnson, who will be making his G7 debut as the prime minister of Britain. Johnson is under intense pressure to pull Britain out of the EU and many see his relationship with the US as key. 

"My message to G7 leaders this week is this: the Britain I lead will be an international, outward-looking, self-confident nation," Johnson said in prepared remarks released by Downing Street before his departure.

"We will be an energetic partner on the world stage. We will stand alongside our G7 allies to solve the most pressing international issues."

As he arrived in France, Johnson said that global trade, the environment and women's education will be his "three obsessions" over the days of meetings. 

Anti-G7 protests

Meanwhile, an estimated 9,000 protesters converged on Hendaye, about 35km from Biarritz, to demand accountability on various issues including the environment, globalisation, gay rights, Palestinian rights and independence for the Basque region in Spain.

Representatives from the more-local "yellow vest" movement, which began in France in November 2018 with mass demonstrations over government taxes on fuel, were also out in force to protest inequality.

"The top capitalist leaders are here and we have to show them that the fight continues," Alain Missana, 48, an electrician wearing a yellow vest, told the Reuters news agency.

"It's more money for the rich and nothing for the poor. We see the Amazonian forests burning and the arctic melting. The leaders will hear us," he said.

Protesters gathered in the French town of Hendaye to a Spanish town near to the G7 summit venue [Stephane Mahe/Reuters]

In the French town of Bayonne, police fired water cannons and tear gas at about 400 anti-capitalist protesters after some members of the group threw stones early Saturday evening. Besides that incident, the protests had been mostly peaceful. 

France mobilised more than 13,000 police officers, backed by soldiers, to guard the summit site.

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2019-08-24 18:28:00Z
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Trump meets with French President Macron - Fox News

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2019-08-24 13:24:59Z
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Hong Kong Erupts in Fresh Violence as Protesters, Riot Police Brawl - The Wall Street Journal

A protester sends a tear-gas canister flying back toward police during a clash in Hong Kong on Saturday, Photo: tyrone siu/Reuters

By

Steven Russolillo,

Steven Russolillo
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @srussolillo
• steve.russolillo
• Steven.Russolillo@wsj.com

Eun-Young Jeong and

Eun-Young Jeong
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @
• eun-young.jeong@wsj.com

Eli Binder

Updated Aug. 24, 2019 7:28 am ET

HONG KONG—Protesters in helmets and gas masks clashed with riot police Saturday, as the city’s pro-democracy movement took a confrontational turn after nearly two weeks of relatively peaceful turnouts.

Tear gas engulfed the industrial neighborhood of Kwun Tong as protesters were more aggressive, blocking roads, surrounding the local police station and sawing down at least one video-surveillance pole, which protesters said could be used to spy on people.

Protesters with poles fought face to face with the charging police, knocking some to the ground and sending others scrambling back. Some threw rocks at the police. A small firebomb exploded amid the melee. Officers made a handful of arrests.

The action in this 12th straight weekend of protests followed a massive peaceful demonstration a week earlier and comments from the city’s leader, Carrie Lam, that she’d be open to talking to the community. In a post on her official Instagram account on Saturday—ahead of the latest violence—she said everyone was tired after months of protests and asked if “we can sit down and talk about it?” after a calmer week.

Saturday’s clashes were the latest in a campaign of demonstrations initially sparked in June by concerns over a bill that would have legalized extradition to China. They have since ballooned into a full-blown antigovernment protest movement. There have been divergences among the protest camp, with a hard-core group of campaigners more willing to directly confront police on the front lines.

“I’m not saying I support violence,” said one of the protesters Saturday, a 34-year-old freelance videographer who identified himself as Fung. “I support fighting back to protect.”

He showed two tattoos on his arm, one with the Chinese characters for “safe” and another in English: “Be strong to be useful.”

Riot police detain a man at Kwun Tong in Hong Kong on Saturday. Photo: lillian suwanrumpha/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

The latest clash came a day after thousands of Hong Kongers formed human chains throughout the city in a peaceful pledge of solidarity.

It was a much different scene on Saturday. Adding to the turbulence: The city’s subway operator stopped services at multiple stations. The MTR system has been the lifeblood of the protest movement, allowing demonstrators to move around the city with relative ease. But Chinese state media has criticized the subway operator, MTR Corp., for being soft on protesters.

Carrie Ng, a Hong Kong resident, got a notification from her MTR app Saturday morning saying some subway stations near the protest site would be closed. With such short notice, she rushed to get the last available train to her destination. “It is the government who is doing the uncooperative movement today,” said the 33-year-old Ms. Ng. “This is so disturbing.”

She said she suspected the MTR’s decision was motivated by the government’s attempt to discourage people from protesting. “If Carrie Lam was meant to mend fences, why would the MTR stations be shut down today?” Ms. Ng said. “This is just her excuse.”

In Mrs. Lam’s Instagram post, she said her administration wanted to take the opportunity to start a dialogue without division between class, color or age. “We must continue to listen to views with our hearts,” she said.

On Saturday, protesters gathered in Kwun Tong—across the harbor from Hong Kong island on the east side of Kowloon—through the afternoon, setting up barricades, digging out paving stones for ammunition, and donning gas masks and other equipment. Around 4:30 p.m. police held up a sign reading: “Stop charging or we use force.”

Shortly after, a glass bottle flew into the air and smashed on the pavement near the police. Within minutes, the police rushed into the crowd, moving protesters further away from the Ngau Tau Kok Police station. A few minutes later, police raised another sign warning of tear gas.

As the sun was setting, protesters pointed blue and white lasers at police officers, who continued firing tear gas into the crowd. Protesters scattered momentarily but repeatedly returned to hold their ground.

Many protesters focused on the new program of installing surveillance light posts and the backlash that has ensued from it.

“If they keep monitoring us, there’s no difference from China, and we’re not yet China,” said Ms. Chow, a 20-year-old student who declined to give her first name.

The smell of burned electrical wires hung in the air on Sheung Yuet Road, where protesters sawed down a smart lamp post and tore out its insides, along with the contents of about another dozen. They also burned one lamp post.

Protesters build barriers as they block a road Saturday. Photo: lillian suwanrumpha/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A 29-year-old protester with a tool kit said he was looking for any of the pole’s sensors that had been exposed to take home and examine, to determine what the poles do with the data they collect. But he was too late—all of the sensors had already been taken by police walking the street with evidence bags, or perhaps other protesters.

Lok, a part-time teacher in her 40s, handed out aluminum foil to protesters advising them to wrap their wallets to avoid being identified by their local IDs, which contain contactless chips.

Ms. Lok said she read online about the foil and decided to come out to the protest with two 130-meter rolls. “Wrap your whole wallet,” she told protesters.

Kwun Tong resident Kelvin Lee marched with protesters in a face mask and badminton racket on his way to play a match. He said locals were concerned about the new lamp posts equipped with cameras and were glad protesters were bringing attention to the program.

“Before it starts is a good time to raise your hand and say we have a problem with it” said the 40-year-old IT worker. He said he didn’t want to see protesters destroy the public infrastructure without giving the government a chance to respond, but “maybe if it’s a last resort, it will have to happen.”

—Natasha Khan and Joyu Wang contributed to this article.

Write to Steven Russolillo at steven.russolillo@wsj.com and Eun-Young Jeong at Eun-Young.Jeong@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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2019-08-24 11:28:00Z
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The Amazon is burning because the world eats so much meat - CNN

The vast majority of the fires have been set by loggers and ranchers to clear land for cattle. The practice is on the rise, encouraged by Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's populist pro-business president, who is backed by the country's so-called "beef caucus."

While this may be business as usual for Brazil's beef farmers, the rest of the world is looking on in horror.

So, for those wondering how they could help save the rainforest, known as "the planet's lungs" for producing about 20% of the world's oxygen, the answer may be simple. Eat less meat.

Brazil is the world's largest exporter of beef, providing close to 20% of the total global exports, according the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) -- a figure that could rise in the coming years.

Last year the country shipped 1.64 million tonnes of beef, the highest volume in history, according to the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association (Abiec), an association of more than 30 Brazilian meat-packing companies.

The growth of Brazil's beef industry has been driven in part by strong demand from Asia -- mostly China and Hong Kong. These two markets alone accounted for nearly 44% of all beef exports from Brazil in 2018, according to the USDA.

And a trade deal struck in June between South America's Mercosur bloc of countries and the European Union could open up even more markets for Brazil's beef-packing industry.

Speaking after the agreement as announced, the head of Abiec, Antônio Camardelli, said the pact could help Brazil gain access to prospective new markets, like Indonesia and Thailand, while boosting sales with existing partners, like the EU. "A deal of this magnitude is like an invitation card for speaking with other countries and trade blocs," Camardelli told Reuters in July.

Once implemented, the deal will lift a 20% levy on beef imports into the EU.

But, on Friday, Ireland said it was ready to block the deal unless Brazil took action on the Amazon.

In a statement Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar described as "Orewellian" Bolsonaro's attempt to blame the fires on environmental groups. Varadkar said that Ireland will monitor Brazil's environmental actions to determine whether to block the Mercosur deal, which is two years away.

He added Irish and European farmers could not be told to use fewer pesticides and respect biodiversity when trade deals were being made with countries not subjected to "decent environmental, labor and product standards."

In June, before the furor over the rainforest began, the Irish Farmers Association called on Ireland not to ratify the deal, arguing its terms would disadvantage European beef farmers.

Deal or no deal, Brazil's beef industry is projected to continue expanding, buoyed by natural resources, grassland availability and global demand, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

And, with that growth, comes steep environmental costs.

Brazil's space research center (INPE) said this week that the number of fires in Brazil is 80% higher than last year. More than half are in the Amazon region, spelling disaster for the local environment and ecology.

Alberto Setzer, a senior scientist at INPE, told CNN that the burning can range from a small-scale agricultural practice, to new deforestation for mechanized and modern agribusiness projects.

Farmers wait until the dry season to start burning and clearing areas so their cattle can graze, but this year's destruction has been described as unprecedented. Environmental campaigners blame this uptick on Bolsonaro, who they say has encouraged ranchers, farmers, and loggers to exploit and burn the rainforest like never before with a sense of impunity.

Bolsonaro has dismissed accusations of responsibility for the fires, but a clear shift seems to be underway.

And if saving the rainforest isn't enough to convince carnivores to stop eating Brazilian beef -- the greenhouse gas emissions the cattle create may be.

Beef is responsible for 41% of livestock greenhouse gas emissions, and that livestock accounts for 14.5% of total global emissions. And methane -- the greenhouse gas cattle produce from both ends -- is 25 times more potent that carbon dioxide.

An alarming report released last year by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, said changing our diets could contribute 20% of the effort needed to keep global temperatures from rising 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Namely, eating less meat.

Still, global consumption of beef and veal is set to rise in the next decade according to projections from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

A joint report predicted global production would increase 16% between 2017 and 2027 to meet demand.

The majority of that expansion will be in developing countries, like Brazil.

CNN's Arnaud Siad contributed to this report from London.

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2019-08-23 14:30:00Z
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Fires are raging in the Amazon forest. Here's how you can help slow all rainforest loss - CNN

It's not the only major forest under assault. Nearly half of the world's forests that stood when humans started farming are now gone, and each year an additional 32 million acres are destroyed, according to the nonprofit Rainforest Alliance. The biggest reason is expansion of agriculture into forested areas. In Brazil it's cattle ranching, soy production and logging, according to Nigel Sizer, tropical forest ecologist and chief program officer with the Rainforest Alliance. "It is responsible for 80% to 90% of the loss of tropical forests around the world." Environmental groups say these activities can be slowed or done in a much more sustainable way.

"There has been a lot of analysis and satellite data that shows there is so much land already cleared - a lot abandoned or very poorly used and managed that we could use to grow food on," says Sizer. "We don't need to be clearing new forests to do this in Brazil."

Here's what you can do to help slow forest loss.

Help reforestation and slow deforestation

You can help reforest parts of the world through the Rainforest Trust and Rainforest Alliance. The Rainforest Trust allows you to restrict your donations to a specific project. The Rainforest Alliance says 100% of your donation will help stop deforestation in Brazil right now. They are working with local groups at the forefront of this fight. Part of the Alliance's work strives to make Brazil's current ranches and farms more productive.

The Arbor Day Foundation also has a program to help save tropical rain forests which provide habitat for some 50% of the world's plants and animals.

You can donate to any of these nonprofits by clicking on the button above, or clicking here.

Make sure products you buy are "rainforest safe"

Products featuring the "Rainforest Alliance Certified™" seal come from farms that passed audits and met standards for sustainability. Thousands of products have earned the seal -- including coffee, chocolate and bananas.

If you're buying tropical wood products, look for the label "Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)." That's the major certification system for forest and paper products, according to Sizer.

The nonprofit makes sure that the wood is not contributing to illegal logging and deforestation. You can also donate to the group. "Look out for that when you have that option," Sizer said.

Take steps to live sustainably

As major forests decrease in size, carbon and greenhouse gases have increased in the atmosphere. But you can help slow that trend.

"Think about greenhouse gas emissions -- driving less, buy a more fuel efficient car," Sizer says. He also recommends adjusting your thermostats by just a couple of degrees. "It makes a huge difference and saves money as well."

You can also buy carbon offsets. "If you have to fly for work often -- you can buy these offsets by making a small contribution to an organization that is planting trees, sucking up carbon that's being emitted when you fly. These things really add up."

About 20% of the Amazon has already been destroyed, and that's what scares Sizer. "The newest science now says if we deforest, if there's a clearing of more than about 30% to 40% of the Amazon rainforest, it will start to dry out. We'll pass an irreversible tipping point."

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2019-08-22 20:51:00Z
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Wildfires rage in the Amazon: Live updates - CNN

EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images

As images and news of the fire spread, many activists are demanding accountability from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Here's why: When Bolsonaro was running for president, he made campaign promises to restore the economy by exploring the Amazon's economic potential. Now, environmental organizations say he has encouraged ranchers, farmers and loggers to exploit and burn the rainforest like never before with a sense of impunity.

(Remember: Environmental organizations and researchers say these wildfires were set by cattle ranchers and loggers who wanted to clear and utilize the land.)

The pro-business Bolsonaro has hamstrung Brazil's environmental enforcement agency with budget cuts amounting to $23 million — official data sent to CNN by Observatorio do Clima shows the enforcement agency's operations have gone down since Bolsonaro was sworn in.

What Bolsonaro is saying: Bolsonaro has dismissed accusations of responsibility for the fires. On Wednesday, he speculated that the Amazon fires could have been caused by nonprofit organizations who are suffering from lack of funding, to "generate negative attention against me and against the Brazilian government."

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2019-08-22 18:59:00Z
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South Korea To End Intelligence-Sharing Agreement with Japan, Citing 'National Interest' - NPR

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South Korea has announced it will withdraw from a 2016 military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan. Here, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, center, and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, trailing at left, walk in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Thursday. HOW Hwee Young/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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HOW Hwee Young/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 11:35 a.m. ET

South Korea plans to terminate a military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, prompting concerns about security cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington as North Korea's nuclear and missile threat looms over the Korean Peninsula.

It's the latest breakdown between Seoul and Tokyo: Earlier this month, Japan removed South Korea from its "whitelist" of favored trade partners, prompting a retaliation in kind.

The Blue House, South Korea's presidential residence in Seoul, announced Thursday that it will end the General Security of Military Information Agreement – a pact pushed by the Obama administration and signed in 2016 as a way for the two countries to exchange valuable information on potential threats posed by North Korea, China and Russia.

"The government of the Republic of Korea decided that maintaining this Agreement, which was signed to facilitate the exchange of sensitive military information, does not serve our national interest," Kim You-geun, deputy director of the country's National Security Office, said in a statement.

Seoul's decision was made public before a Saturday deadline that would have automatically renewed the agreement for another year. South Korea appeared to be preparing for an extension, but that changed after Japan abruptly dropped the country from its list of preferred trade partners.

On Thursday, Kim blamed Tokyo for altering their relationship through the downgrade, providing "no concrete evidence" for the decision. Japan has also imposed export controls on products that are essential to South Korea's booming technology industry.

Tokyo said the move was made on national security grounds. But the two countries' disputes also trace back to Japan's colonial occupation of Korea between 1910 and 1945. A South Korean Supreme Court ruling last year allowed Korean victims of forced labor during World War II to seek compensation from Japanese firms. South Korea also shut down a Japanese-funded foundation that supported Korean comfort women who were forced into sexual slavery during the war. Both actions incensed the Japanese government.

Japan's downgrading of trade ties with South Korea escalated tensions between the countries and triggered protests outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed that "we will never again lose to Japan." And the prospect of pulling out of the military intelligence-sharing agreement began.

According to South Korea's Joongang Daily newspaper, Seoul and Tokyo have communicated about military intelligence matters at least seven times this year. That includes exchanges on the North's recent spate of short-range missile tests, even after Tokyo's decision to downgrade its trade relationship with Seoul.

Last month, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Tokyo would prefer to continue sharing intelligence, especially on North Korea. On Thursday, Taro said Seoul's decision "completely misreads the security situation in Northeast Asia," according to the Kyodo news agency.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters on Thursday that the decision amounted to a "trust issue." She said Seoul is preparing to explain the decision to both Japan and Washington — and that the decision is "a separate issue from the South Korea-U.S. alliance."

Washington has long sought to build accord between Seoul and Tokyo as another mechanism to confront North Korea and a burgeoning China.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn told NPR that the Department of Defense encourages Japan and South Korea to work together to resolve their differences, and he said he hoped it could be done "quickly."

"We are all stronger — and Northeast Asia is safer — when the United States, Japan, and Korea work together in solidarity and friendship," Eastburn said. "Intel sharing is key to developing our common defense policy and strategy."

Both Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and special envoy on North Korea Steve Biegun have reportedly nudged America's allies to patch up their differences. But critics accuse Washington of letting the bad blood boil between Tokyo and Seoul for too long before intervening.

Foreign policy experts also note that the U.S. faces a challenge in countering the deep veins of nationalism that both Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have mined for their own political gains.

Whether or not there is an immediate response from North Korea, China or Russia, those countries are likely pleased with the growing rift inside the U.S. web of alliances.

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2019-08-22 15:11:00Z
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