World Politics

The G7 group of democratic states ended its foreign ministers summit in London calling on China to “respect human rights and fundamental freedoms”, but drawing back from any decisive action if that fails to take place. Economic considerations, as well as apprehension that even strong language could trigger retaliation by Beijing, led to some member states of the Group successfully limiting the scope of censure. One of the key points of the summit had been a projected alliance of democracies to counter autocratic regimes with China and Russia seen as the main adversaries. But a number of European states are said to have refused calls for a more robust stance by the US, Support for Taiwan, a country facing aggressive Chinese military exercises and threats of invasion, was also muted. The G7said it supported Taiwan’s participation in World Health Organisation (WHO) forums and the World Health Assembly, but there was no criticism of Beijing’s actions. The Group did, however, condemn the Chinese government for “human rights violations” in Xinjiang and Tibet as well as China’s pursuit of an expansionist strategy through “arbitrary, coercive economic policies”. The Chinese government has been accused of promoting debt dependency in the developing world through its ‘belt and road’ construction scheme, taking over territories at times when the borrowing countries fail to pay back loans. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “I think China is more likely to need to, rather than react in anger, it is more likely going to need to take a look in the mirror and understand that it needs to take into account this growing body of opinion, that thinks these basic international rules have got to be adhered to.” The UK, as the host, had invited Japan, India, Australia and South Korea, all countries involved in varying degrees of confrontation with China, to take part in the summit. In the event the Indian foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had to participated virtually after coming into contact with the suspected cases of covid in his country’s delegation, although he has not tested positive himself. A number of those taking part spoke of how refreshing this summit had been after the acrimony and unpleasantness introduced in previous years by Donald Trump. There was also widespread approval of Britain’s decision to hold an ‘in person’ conference rather than a virtual one.  More

A live debate across nine countries is taking place today by leading women across business and politics on whether more women leadership would help the world move faster out of the pandemic crisis.The founder and CEO of Athena40’s global conversation Elizabeth Filippouli leads the discussion by saying “we cannot ignore the fact that women have been affected disproportionately and in multiple ways:  financially, mentally, physically, professionally”.The former television journalist told those joining the debates today: “Paving the way for more women into leadership positions is our only chance to recover fast from social and financial setbacks and it is also critically important for the emotional and psychological balance of our societies.”HRH Princess Sumaya Bint El Hassan, president of the Royal Scientific Society, will open the global conversation.The speakers covering five continents include: Margery Kraus, Founder & Executive Chairman of APCO Worldwide; Mary Carlin Yates, former ambassador of the US Department of State; Ivana Gažić, President of the Management Board of Zagreb Stock Exchange; Tsitsi Mutendi, Co-founder of African Family Firms, May Chidiac Former Minister & President of May Chidiac Foundation; Tram Anh Nguyen, Co-founder of the Centre for Finance, Technology & Entrepreneurship (CFTE); Leonor Stjepic, CEO of the Montessori Group; Diana Moukalled, Editor of Daraj Media, Hajara Kabeer, Founder of the Girl in STEM Initiative.BBC’s news journalist and presenter Tim Wilcox will introduce and compere the global conversation.Mary Carlin Yates, Ambassador (ret.) of the US Department of State, said:“During my experience of 30 plus years as a diplomat, I witnessed civil wars and crises from Burundi to Liberia, Sudan to Somalia just to name a few. I can unequivocally testify that the contributions and leadership of women during such times was undeniably critical.”Catherine Bolzendahl, Director of the School of Public Policy, Oregon State University, said:“Women’s empowerment benefits everyone in society and continuing progress on gender equality cannot be abandoned in times of crisis.” More

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the World Health Organisation and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg have joined Donald Trump among a list of expected nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize, according to a survey of Norwegian MPs who are eligible to propose candidates and who have a track record of successfully guessing the winner.Ms Thunberg, Mr Navalny, and the WHO – for its Covax programme to secure fair access to Covid vaccines for poor countries – are likely frontrunners, research carried out by Reuters found. Nominations for the prestigious award close on Sunday.The climate activist, Russian opposition leader and global health body are backed by Norwegian lawmakers, who have nominated the eventual laureate every year since 2014, with the exception of 2019.Thousands of people, from members of parliaments worldwide to former winners, are eligible to propose candidates. A host of other figures including university professors and members of select international organisations can also put names forward.The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides who wins the award, does not comment on nominations, keeping secret for 50 years the names of nominators and unsuccessful nominees, while nominations do not imply an endorsement from the committee.But nominators can choose to reveal their picks. He said the now former president had “done more trying to create peace between nations than most other peace prize nominees”, citing Mr Trump’s role in brokering a peace deal between Israel and Middle Eastern nations. More

Attacks and harassment of female journalists around the world soared last month, a new report has found.The study, carried out by the Coalition For Women In Journalism, documented 87 cases of physical attacks, legal harassment, detainment, arrests and online attacks around the world in October. This constitutes a sharp rise from the 54 cases of such abuse that were reported in September.The Coalition For Women In Journalism, a New York-based non-profit organisation that helps journalists around the world, has recorded over 540 threats against women journalists in 2020 so far. Some 109 of them were physical attacks and obstructions on the field, three were murders, 63 were orchestrated trolling campaigns, and 15 were instances of sexual harassment. While 47 female journalists were arrested, 86 were detained and 67 were subjected to legal harassment.The organisation has called for female journalists who are threatened, attacked, and harassed to be properly protected via preventive measures that guarantee their safety.The prominent photographer, whose work has been in The New York Times and who had recently been covering Black Lives Matter demonstrations, can be seen being tackled to the ground in a video clip.“They didn’t care I was a photographer. They didn’t care I was press. People who know me were shouting out that I was press, and they didn’t care,” Ms Kihn told Hyperallergic.She added: “What did I do to deserve that? Walk in the road. I am a photographer documenting this movement. What about freedom of the press?”However, the NYPD sought to deny Ms Kihn’s arrest in a tweet, saying: “All arrested individuals from today’s protests have been verified to not be NYPD credentialed members of the press.”Coalition For Women In Journalism condemned her arrest and said it constituted an attack on freedom of the media. The organisation said: “Evidently, these arrests are assaults to press freedom and we continue to follow and monitor these events closely. “We have a great concern for the safety of women journalists; not only for their well-being but also for their freedom of expression. The Coalition For Women In Journalism will always stand on the side of protecting the rights to free expression and free press. “Additionally, we condemn the violence against women journalists. We stand with the photographer Chae Khin and all women journalists who are dealing with similar issues on the ground.” More

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was sent back to prison on Monday, four days after the country’s top court upheld his 17-year prison term for corruption crimes.South Korean television stations showed a convoy of black vehicles, including one carrying Lee, arriving at Seoul’s Dongbu Detention Center. Center officials later confirmed his imprisonment. Earlier Monday, Lee was taken from his home to a Seoul prosecutors’ office to be formally notified about his sentence and undergo identification checks there.Lee, 78, was convicted of taking bribes from big businesses including Samsung, embezzling corporate funds from a company that he owned and committing other corruption-related crimes before and when he served as president from 2008-13. A Seoul district court initially sentenced Lee to 15 years in prison in 2018. He was bailed out of prison several months later but was taken back into custody this February, after an appellate court handed down a 17-year term and canceled his bail. Days later, however, he was released again after he appealed the ruling on his bail cancellation. On Thursday, the Supreme Court confirmed the 17-year term. Lee, a former Hyundai CEO, won the 2007 presidential election on a promise to reinvigorate the country’s economy. But his five years in office were marred by the global financial crisis, massive public protests over the resumption of U.S. beef imports and military animosities with North Korea.Lee’s corruption case erupted after his successor, fellow conservative Park Geun-hye, was removed from the presidency and jailed over a separate corruption scandal in 2016 and 2017 that sparked one of the biggest anti-government protests in South Korea. More