China summons Japanese ambassador over actions at G7 - CNA

BEIJING: China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong has summoned the Japanese ambassador to register protests about the "hype around China-related issues" at the Group of Seven (G7) summit over the weekend, a ministry statement late on Sunday (May 21) said.

The heads of the world's leading democracies meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima expressed serious concerns about rising tensions in East and South China Seas as well as voicing concerns about the human rights situations in China, including in Tibet and Xinjiang.

Sun said Japan collaborated with the other countries at the G7 summit "in activities and joint declarations ... to smear and attack China, grossly interfering in China's internal affairs, violating the basic principles of international law and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan", referring to the China-Japan Joint Statement of 1972.

He said Japan's actions were detrimental to China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and that China is "strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes" them.

"Japan should correct its understanding of China, grasp strategic autonomy, adhere to the principles of the four political documents between China and Japan, and truly promote the stable development of bilateral relations with a constructive attitude," Sun said.

Hideo Tarumi, Japanese ambassador to China, rebutted that it is "natural" for the G7 to refer to issues of common concern as it has done in the past and will continue to do so in the future as long as China does not change its behaviour, according to a readout.

"China should first take positive steps to address those issues of concerns if China demands not to refer to them," Tarumi told Sun, according to the readout.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said during Monday morning briefing that the country's policy toward China has been consistent in that it will insist on matters that are needed and urge responsible behaviour, while taking steps to address concerns and cooperate on common issues.

China on Saturday expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with a communique issued by G7 leaders that took aim at Beijing on issues including the South China Sea, human rights and alleged interference in their democracies.

The bloc issued a statement calling on China "not to conduct interference activities" and expressed concerns about alleged human rights abuses in China, particularly in the far-western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.

They also said the G7 countries were "gravely concerned" about territorial disputes in the South China Sea, indirectly accusing China of "coercion".

Beijing was also urged by the G7 to use its influence to put pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.

The Chinese embassy in Britain had earlier asked London to stop slandering and smearing China to avoid further damage to China-UK relations.

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2023-05-22 02:31:00Z
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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy wins new diplomatic, military support from G7 - CNA

RUSSIA SLAMS "PROPAGANDA SHOW"

The White House earlier unveiled a US$375 million package of US aid that includes ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers, artillery shells, anti-tank guided missiles and thermal imaging systems.

It came after the United States lifted a veto on Ukrainian access to advanced US-made F-16 fighter jets, a significant upgrade from Kyiv's Cold War-era fleet of MiGs and Sukhois.

Beyond the promised supplies, the trip has been a major diplomatic coup for Zelenskyy.

It prompted an angry Moscow to denounce the entire G7 summit as a "propaganda show" that whipped up "hateful anti-Russian and also anti-Chinese messages".

Separately, the foreign ministry in Beijing said it had summoned G7 host Japan's ambassador on Sunday to protest against what it described as efforts to "smear and attack" China at the gathering.

Zelenskyy put his country and Russia's invasion firmly at the top of the agenda and secured firm backing for key elements of his 10-point peace plan, centred on the need for a Russian withdrawal.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the message from Ukraine and its allies was clear: "Russia must withdraw troops."

Any peace plan, he said, "can't simply be linked to a freeze of the conflict".

"Russia should not bet that if it holds out long enough, it will end up weakening support for Ukraine."

The summit also afforded Zelenskyy a rare opportunity to make his case to a handful of nations who have pointedly offered little or no condemnation of Russia's invasion.

Leaders from India, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia were among those invited to attend the summit as non-members.

After a one-to-one meeting, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Zelenskyy: "I understand your pain and the pain of Ukrainian citizens very well.

"I can assure you that to resolve this, India and, me personally, will do whatever we can do."

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2023-05-22 00:37:28Z
2019352481

Bakhmut: From 'city of wine and roses' to 'hell on Earth' - CNA

"ROAD OF LIFE"

The city is also known for its famous sparkling wine - whose production has now moved to the Odesa region.

It was called Artemovsk between 1924 and 2016 - a homage to a Soviet revolutionary nicknamed "Artem".

It was once known as the "city of wine and roses".

A city street nicknamed "Rose Alley" broke a Ukrainian record for having 5,000 roses along it.

For months, just a single road has linked Ukrainian units holding out in the western part of the city with the rest of their forces.

Strewn with burnt-out vehicles, it was has been nicknamed by soldiers the "Road of Life".

When the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow-backed separatists first started in 2014, pro-Russian fighters tried to take over Bakhmut but were pushed back by Ukraine's military in July of that year.

While some experts have questioned the strategic importance of Bakhmut, Zelenskyy said in March that its capture could leave an "open road" for Russian troops to attack the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

When AFP journalists visited the city last month, they found artillery-scarred buildings whose courtyards were littered with twisted metal from bombed playgrounds, glass shards and makeshift crosses over graves of hastily buried civilians.

Some civilians - often elderly ones - have refused to leave even though they have been living in basements without water or electricity.

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2023-05-21 17:25:04Z
2019352481

Zelenskyy has promised Ukraine will not use F-16 planes to go into Russia, says Biden - CNA

HIROSHIMA, Japan: US President Joe Biden on Sunday (May 21) said he had received a "flat assurance" from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he would not use Western-provided F-16 fighter jets to go into Russian territory.

Biden told reporters in Hiroshima, Japan, at the conclusion of a meeting of world leaders that F-16 warplanes could be used "wherever Russian troops are within Ukraine and the area".

He said it was "highly unlikely" the planes would be used in any Ukrainian offensive in the coming weeks, but that Ukrainian troops could need such weapons to defend themselves against Russian forces beyond their current reach.

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) richest democracies on Sunday said they would not back down from supporting Ukraine, in a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he claimed to have taken the eastern city of Bakhmut, something Kyiv denied.

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2023-05-21 12:33:00Z
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Zelenskyy says Bakhmut still in Ukraine's hands - CNA

HIROSHIMA, Japan: Ukraine said on Sunday (May 21) that it was still fighting for control of the eastern city of Bakhmut, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said earlier that the city remained "only in our hearts".

Asked before a meeting with United States President Joe Biden in Japan if the city was still in Ukraine's hands after the Russians said they had seized it in its entirety, Zelenskyy told reporters, "I think no."

He added: "For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts."

Zelenskyy's press secretary later clarified that the leader was responding to a different part of the question.

"Reporter's question: Russians said they have taken Bakhmut," Sergii Nykyforov wrote on Facebook. "President's reply: I think no."

He added in Ukrainian: "In this way, the president denied the capture of Bakhmut."

Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured the smashed eastern Ukrainian city, which if true would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war.

"It is tragedy," Zelenskyy said. "There is nothing on this place."

The assault on the largely levelled city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier in the day that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.

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2023-05-21 07:30:00Z
2019352481

G7 stiffens resolve to thwart Russia, gives Zelenskyy chance to win over fence sitters - CNA

HIROSHIMA: The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations signalled to Russia their readiness to stand by Ukraine for the long haul while giving President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a chance to win over countries such as Brazil and India on the last day of a summit in Japan.

Distrust of China as a trading partner and determination to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion were the key messages delivered by the world's leading democracies at the gathering in the city of Hiroshima.

But even as the G7 leaders began wrapping up their three-day meeting on Sunday, Russia claimed to have finally captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, following a months-long siege that marked the bloodiest battle of the war.

The heads of the G7 - the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada - have debated how to respond as the conflict that began in February last year drags on.

Potential joint allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 warplanes was a message to Russia that it should not expect to succeed in its invasion by prolonging the conflict, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday.

Ukraine has not yet won commitments for delivery of the planes, but senior US officials said US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders Washington supports joint allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, said the summit was an opportunity to convince big emerging states such as India and Brazil to come off the fence and put their support behind Ukraine.

Macron made the comment to reporters a day after calling Zelenskyy's surprise visit at the summit a "game changer".

Shortly after Zelenskyy arrived in Japan, Russia claimed victory in Bakhmut. Hours before the claims from Moscow, Ukraine had rejected a claim by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin that his Wagner fighters had completed the capture of the city.

NO "FROZEN CONFLICT" IN UKRAINE

During the first day of the summit on Friday, US President Joe Biden endorsed training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets for the first time as leaders announced new sanctions on Russia.

Biden is planning to roll out a US$375 million military aid package for Ukraine in Japan as well, according to a US official. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the package will include artillery, ammunition and HIMARS rocket launchers.

Zelenskyy has pushed the countries to go further on both economic and military measures.

Scholz said that while the immediate priority was supporting Ukraine's defence, security guarantees for Ukraine needed to be established once the war was over.

The German leader said it was important for Zelenskyy to meet leaders of the Global South - a term encompassing major emerging economies like Brazil, India and Indonesia - to convey the message that any proposals for peace talks could not be with the aim of creating a "frozen conflict" and should involve the withdrawal of Russian troops.

As Moscow's 15-month-old invasion has dragged on, several analysts and diplomats have floated the idea that it could become a frozen conflict like the Korean Peninsula. North and South Korea remain technically at war their 1950-53 conflict ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty.

Macron struck a similar theme, saying: "Peace should not make Ukraine a frozen conflict because that would lead to a war in the future. It needs to resolve the problem."

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2023-05-21 04:38:00Z
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Black panther dies after being hit by car in Malaysia - CNA

SEREMBAN: An adult male panther died after being hit by a car at Simpang Pertang in Malaysia on Saturday (May 20) afternoon.

Jelebu district police chief Maslan Udin said a multi-purpose vehicle hit the 40kg animal at 2pm. The car was driven by a 38-year-old man, who was travelling from Seremban to Kuala Klawang with his family.

"As the vehicle was making a right turn down the hill, a panther suddenly crossed from the right side of the road, causing the man to hit the animal as he had no time to swerve.

"As a result, the panther managed to make its way to a nearby drain about 4m away but died at that location. The man and his family did not suffer any injuries," the police chief said in a statement.

He said the panther’s remains were handed over to the Negeri Sembilan Department of Wildlife Protection and National Parks for further action.

The Malay Peninsula is home to the largest population of black panthers in the world, according to Panthera, an organisation devoted to the conservation of wild cats.

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2023-05-21 05:25:00Z
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