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Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Insider spoke to three experts about why it happened, and the motives behind President Putin's move. AP Photo/Evgeniy MaloletkaPutin blamed the WestTaylor said the invasion of Ukraine reflects Putin's "grievances that have been brewing for a long time." For Putin, "Russia has a right to rule Ukraine. At the start of the invasion, Putin blamed NATO's expansion into eastern Europe for forcing his hand, echoing a criticism he has made for years. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with war correspondents in Moscow, June 13, 2023.
Persons: Putin's, , Vladimir Putin, Putin, Felipe Dana, it's, George W, Bush, Stephen Hall, Hall, Alexander Ermochenko, Brian Taylor, Thomas Graham, Graham, Evgeniy Maloletka Putin, West Taylor, Taylor, Lithuania — Taylor, NATO didn't, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Omar Marques, They've, Russia's, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Stalin, Zelenskyy, Viktor Medvedchuk, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, GAVRIIL Organizations: Service, AP, University of Bath, Kyiv, REUTERS, Slavic, of, West, Syracuse University, Yale, NATO, NATO doesn't, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Getty, Nazis, Nazism, Putin, SPUTNIK Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bucha, Kyiv, Russian Ukraine, Soviet Union, USSR, Russian, Moscow, Luhansk, Belarus, Asia, of Russia, East, Avdiivka, Europe, Ryazan, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Zelenskyy, Afghanistan, Germany
Editor’s Note: Monthly Ticket is a CNN Travel series that spotlights some of the most fascinating topics in the travel world. CNN —He set off on a two-year cycling trip around the world with a friend shortly after graduating from high school in 2021. But just a few months into the journey, Adam Swanson from Minnesota, who was 17 at the time, found himself traveling solo. Long-held dreamSwanson has spent the past two years riding around 20 countries around the world, including Nepal. It’s been really easy.”Swanson spent around three months riding through Thailand waiting for the borders to open so that he could explore more of Southeast Asia.
Persons: we’re, Adam Swanson, Swanson, , I’ll, , Adam Swanson “, we’ve, Henry, he’d, He’d, ” Swanson, I’m, It’s, Swanson’s, exhaustedly, ’ Swanson, Adam Swanson Swanson, ” He’s, he’s, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, University of Minnesota, CNN Travel, UPS, Annapurna Circuit, Locations: Minnesota, Nepal, Eastern Europe, Minneapolis, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Europe, India, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Pokhara, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Asia, Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Pakistan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, South America, Chile, Argentina, Los Angeles, East Asia, Marrakesh, California
Putin spoke to Modi in a call last week to discuss the aftermath of the quashed mercenary mutiny. The summit on Tuesday will also see Modi sharing the virtual stage with Xi for the first time since November when the two leaders were present for the G20 summit in Indonesia. It will also bring Modi face to face online with his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif, 10 months after they both attended the SCO summit in Uzbekistan. New Delhi announced last month that the summit will be held virtually, without providing any justification. SCO member nations are expected to discuss Afghanistan, terrorism, regional security, climate change and digital inclusion, among other topics.
Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden, Putin, Modi, Uzbekistan Modi, Xi, Biden, Shehbaz Sharif, Krishn Kaushik, William Maclean Organizations: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Belarus, China’s, SCO, Indian, U.S, Foreign, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, Iran, China, Russia, Soviet, Pakistan, Eurasia, Belarus, Moscow, Europe, Asia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, New Delhi, Indonesia, Uzbekistan . New Delhi, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Goa, Kashmir
CNN —Elena Milashina, a prominent Russian journalist who uncovered the horrific crackdown on gay men in Chechnya, was severely beaten alongside a lawyer in an attack in the southern Russian republic, according to her employer Novaya Gazeta. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, “agreed to intervene in the situation on the request of the editorial office,” Novaya Gazeta said. Moskalkova also said she asked the Commissioner for Human Rights in Chechnya to ensure the safety of the journalist. Following her reporting on a crackdown on gay men in Chechnya in 2017, Muslim clerics in Chechnya called for “retribution” against her and other journalists. The country has a checkered record on gay rights, breaking up gay pride marches and passing anti-gay propaganda laws.
Persons: CNN — Elena Milashina, Alexander Nemov, Elena, Alexander, ” “ Elena Milashina, , Nemov, Milashina, Musaeva, Ramzan Kadyrov, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Tatyana Moskalkova, Moskalkova, , Sergey Babinets, , Marie Struthers, Kadyrov Organizations: CNN, Novaya Gazeta, Milashina, Human, Novosti, Human Rights, Amnesty Locations: Russian, Chechnya, Grozny, Novaya, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Russia
CNN —All eyes will be on Vladimir Putin this week, with the Russian president expected to make his first appearance on the world stage since the Wagner insurrection threatened his steel grip on power. In the brief, chaotic insurrection, Wagner – a private mercenary group led by warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin – took control of key military facilities in two Russian cities. Participants of the 22nd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders' summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. By contrast, Putin managed to end the Wagner insurrection before it reached the capital, without bloodshed. Modi made headlines at last year’s in-person SCO summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, when he told Putin that now is not the time for war, appearing to directly rebuff the invasion.
Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, Wagner –, Yevgeny Prigozhin –, Prigozhin, Xi, India’s Narendra Modi –, , they’re, , Derek Grossman, Grossman, ” Grossman, Murat Kula, , Yasuhiro Matsuda, Matsuda, ” Matsuda, “ Xi Jinping, Alexander Korolev, That’s, won’t, Korolev, India’s Modi, Modi, Joe Biden, RAND’s Grossman, India’s Organizations: CNN, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO, Kremlin, RAND Corporation, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Russia, NATO, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Tokyo, “ Russia, China –, Kazakhstan, University of New Locations: Russian, Beijing, Moscow, Belarus, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, US, Russia, China, Samarkand, Central Asia, Iran, Ukraine, Europe, Asia, University of New South Wales, Australia, India, Washington, Indian, Goa, Delhi
CHISINAU, July 1 (Reuters) - The chief suspect in a shootout in Moldova's main international airport remained in a coma on Saturday and was wanted in his native Tajikistan in connection with the abduction of a bank officer, Moldovan authorities said. The 43-year-old man grabbed a gun and shot dead two security officers and wounded a civilian on Friday after being denied entry to ex-Soviet Moldova, they said. Musteata said the suspect would be tried in Moldova and face an aggravated murder charge "if he survives". Moldova, lying between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, has been severely buffeted by the war in Ukraine. President Maia Sandu has denounced Russia's invasion and set EU membership of her country as the top foreign policy priority.
Persons: Ion Musteata, Dragos Galbur, Musteata, Maia Sandu, Ron Popeski, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Moldova, Officials, European Union, Romania, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Tajikistan, Soviet Moldova, Istanbul, Moldovan, Moldova, Soviet, Central Asia, Dushanbe, Chisinau, Ukraine
CHISINAU, June 30 (Reuters) - A 43-year-old Tajik man grabbed a gun, shot dead two security officers and wounded a civilian at Moldova's main international airport on Friday after being denied entry to the country, authorities said. The suspected assailant was himself wounded and apprehended, police said, in an incident that briefly grounded flights at Chisinau International Airport. Moldova's acting chief prosecutor, Ion Munteanu, said the shooting was being examined as a terrorist act. The two killed were a border guard and an airport security officer, President Maia Sandu said, offering condolences. It was only after we went far away from the airport that we were told there is someone who is shooting."
Persons: Ion Munteanu, Olena Shevelyova, Dorin Recean, Maia Sandu, Munteanu, Dragos Galbur, Alexander Tanas, Olena Harmash, Tom Balmforth, Cynthia Osterman, Ron Popeski, Grant McCool Organizations: Chisinau International Airport, European Union, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Chisinau, Tajikistan, Soviet, Asia, Istanbul, Moldova, Moldovan, Soviet Union, Ukrainian, Milan
BEIJING, June 30 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver a speech at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) via video link on July 4, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday. India, as the chair nation of this year's summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State, announced in May that it would hold the event in a virtual format. The SCO is a political and security union of countries spanning much of Eurasia, including China, India and Russia. Kazakhstan will take over the presidency of the SCO after the July summit. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Xi Jinping, Ryan Woo, Ethan Wang, Jacqueline Wong, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO Council, Heads, State, Defence, SCO, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, India, Eurasia, China, Russia, Soviet, Central Asia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan
BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) - About 90% of Boeing's (BA.N) China 737 MAX fleet have resumed commercial operation as of the end of June, the U.S. aircraft maker said on its official WeChat account on Wednesday. Some planes have been dispatched to regional international routes, Sherry Carbary, president of Boeing China, said in the article. China grounded its entire Boeing 737 MAX fleet after an air crash of one 737 MAX jet operated by Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019, the second deadly accident of the model in five months. State-owned China Southern Airlines (600029.SS) was the country's first carrier to resume the flying of the 737 MAX in January, after the plane was grounded for nearly four years. Chinese airlines then has been gradually reintroducing the model back to operation and in April Boeing estimated that half of the country's MAX fleet was in operation.
Persons: Sherry Carbary, Carbary, Louise Heavens Organizations: U.S, Boeing, MAX, Ethiopian Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Boeing China, Central Asia, Southeast Asia
It comes as Russia's military is tied down in Ukraine and less able to respond to crises elsewhere. Those questions come as a Ukrainian offensive bears down on Russia's military, which since late last year has been replenishing its forces in Ukraine with aging equipment and under-trained personnel. These efforts have bolstered Russian units in Ukraine but left the Russian military more vulnerable elsewhere and undermined its ability to respond to other crises, experts say. Russia's military has tried to show it still has muscles to flex, mostly with air and naval forces that are largely undamaged by the war. Russian troops board a military aircraft on their way to Kazakhstan in January 2022.
Persons: Wagner, it's, Putin, , Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Russia's, Dara Massicot, Maxym, I've, there's, Massicot, Gorshkov, Kassym, Tokayev, Mark Galeotti, Galeotti, It's, Prigozhin, SERGEI GUNEYEV, Angela, John Kirby, Kirby Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Rand Corporation, Georgetown University, Getty, Russia's, Fleet, Northern Fleet, Iranian Army, Anadolu Agency, Moscow, Russian Defense Ministry Press, Kremlin, SPUTNIK, Center for, East European Studies, Brookings Institution, National Security Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Siberia, Norway, Georgia, Central Asia, Russia, Syria, Kazakhstan, Russia's, Armenia, Tajikistan
At the current rate, it will take 131 years to close the global gender gap, according to the World Economic Forum. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesIt could now take 131 years to close the global gender gap after an "entire generation" of progress was lost to Covid-19, according to the World Economic Forum. European countries lead on gender equalityThe Global Gender Gap Report, now in its 17th year, benchmarks gender-based gaps in fours areas: economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment. While no country has yet achieved full gender parity, the top nine ranking countries have closed at least 80% of their gap. watch nowOn a regional level, Europe has the highest gender parity at 76.3%, overtaking North America, where 75% of the gap is closed.
Persons: WEF, Saadia Zahidi, Zahidi, CNBC's Joumanna, there's Organizations: Economic, U.S, Pacific, Getty Locations: Iceland, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Nicaragua, Namibia, Lithuania, Belgium, Europe, North America, United States, Latin America, Caribbean, Eurasia, Central Asia, East Asia, Saharan Africa, Southern Asia, East, North Africa
watch nowSaudi Arabia sees China as a key partner in a multipolar world — with the two countries expected to only come closer as their common interests grow, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih told CNBC. "And we believe that economic cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), and the entire Arab region, will be a significant part of that." The U.S. has military installments in Saudi Arabia, selling it advanced weaponry and providing training and joint operations with the Saudi military. Chinese President, Xi Jinping (L) is welcomed by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (R) at the Palace of Yamamah in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 8, 2022. But we would see, going forward, more global champions from Saudi Arabia going to China to access a growing market of 1.4 billion high-consumption individuals."
Persons: Investment Khalid Al, Falih, — it's, CNBC's Dan Murphy, it's, Biden, Xi Jinping, Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Faisal bin Farhan, Antony Blinken, Fayez Nureldine Organizations: Saudi, Investment, CNBC, China Business Conference, GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council, U.S ., Anadolu Agency, Getty, Technology, Saudi Crown, Beijing, GCC Ministers, AFP Locations: Saudi Arabia, China, Riyadh, Africa, Central Asia, United States, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, U.S, Saudi, we're, Washington, Yamamah, Beijing
Abortion rights activists have said that there were at least five cases of pregnant women dying whose families came out to the media, blaming the restrictions on abortion for their deaths. Last month, Dorota died of septic shock in a hospital after her water broke in the 20th week of pregnancy. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party leader said that by law women could have abortions if there was any threat to their life or health. "I hope the law will change and I will not be afraid to get pregnant in Poland," said Joanna Jędrasiak, 36, an economist. Reporting by Karol Badohal, Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Mateusz Morawiecki, Dorota, We've, Izabela, Agnieszka Czerederecka, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, It's, IBRiS, Joanna Jędrasiak, Karol Badohal, Agnieszka Pikulicka, Anna Wlodarczak, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Justice, Radio, Thomson Locations: Europe, Warsaw, Poland, WARSAW
Summary Kazakhstan plans selective mining tax increasesWants to raise VAT rates, cut fuel subsidiesWill borrow to finance China-EU shipping route bypassing RussiaASTANA, June 9 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan plans to raise taxes on mining companies and cut fuel subsidies to balance its budget, while borrowing to develop the shipping route between China and Europe bypassing Russia, Economy Minister Alibek Kuantyrov told Reuters. Kazakhstan has already hiked the mineral extraction tax rate for exchange-traded metals by 50% and other solid minerals by 30% this year, but Kuantyrov said there was room for further increases in the new tax code the cabinet is drafting. "Our minerals extraction tax rates are among the lowest in the world," he said in an interview. The government also wants to raise the VAT rate for most sectors from the current 12%, while cutting it for "socially important" ones such as food staples and medicines. The government wants to tax banks more heavily and will continue cutting car fuel subsidies, a move announced earlier this year.
Persons: Alibek Kuantyrov, Kassym, Jomart Tokayev, Kuantyrov, Mariya Gordeyeva, Tamara Vaal, Olzhas Auyezov, Toby Chopra, Kim Coghill Organizations: EU, Russia ASTANA, Reuters, RUSSIA Kazakhstan, European Bank for Reconstruction, European, Thomson Locations: Kazakhstan, China, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Soviet, Caucasus, Moscow, Central Asia
CNN —Dozens of heat records have fallen in Siberia, as temperatures climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius). Last Saturday, temperatures reached 37.9 degrees Celsius (100.2 Fahrenheit) in Jalturovosk, its hottest day in history, according to the climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, who tracks extreme temperatures across the globe. Several all-time heat records were broken on Wednesday, including in Baevo, which reached 39.6 degrees Celsius (103.3 Fahrenheit), and Barnaul, which hit 38.5 degrees Celsius (101.3 Fahrenheit). Some of these stations have between five and seven decades of temperature recordings, Herrera told CNN. On Wednesday, temperatures of more than 45 degrees Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) were recorded in China, 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 Fahrenheit) in Uzbekistan and 41 degrees Celsius (105.8) in Kazakhstan.
Persons: Maximiliano Herrera, Herrera, , ” Herrera, ” Omar Baddour, Samantha Burgess, Canada –, It’s Organizations: CNN, Twitter, “ Records, Tomsk, World Meteorological Organization, Northern Locations: Siberia, Jalturovosk, Baevo, Asia, China, India, Northern Hemisphere, Canada, Central Asia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan
Changing trade patterns in the region are an opportunity, but also a risk. Georgian public support for EU membership has resurged over recent months, with four-fifths (81%) of the population currently in favor joining the bloc, according to a recent poll from U.S.-founded non-profit the National Democratic Institute. Armenia, meanwhile, has never submitted an application for either membership, and other Central Asian countries would not be eligible to join the EU. The geopolitical context with which we [Georgia] are now thought of is with other Central Asia countries. But they don't have EU membership as a target — we do," Kukava said.
Persons: Armenia's, haven't, Mikheil Kukava, Subir Lall, , Kukava, they're, Ursula von der Leyen, Armen Nurbekyan, Nurbekyan Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty, International Monetary Fund, Institute for Development of, CNBC, Russia Western, European Bank for Reconstruction, Development, European Union, Georgia's National Statistics Office, European Commission, of Seven, Central Bank of, EU, NATO, of Information, U.S, National Democratic Institute, Central Locations: Tbilisi, Russian, Moscow, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Russia, Soviet, Russia's, Caucasus, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, East, Central Bank of Armenia, Armenia's, U.S, of Information Georgia
Turkey at a crossroads: Will it turn to the East or West?
  + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Idil Karsit | ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: +2 min
Turkey joined NATO in 1952, formally cementing its place in the free world and within the Western fold. The two countries doubled their trade to $68 billion in 2022, despite sanctions on the Russian economy by Turkey's NATO allies. "This creates a system in which midsize players have more space to conduct partially independent foreign policies from the United States," she explained. "As the United States is less interested to play the regional politics, I think Turkey becomes an important actor — a stabilizing actor," he added. As Erdogan secures a third term in office, Turkey is at a crossroads: will it pivot to the East or West?
Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, China —, Senem Aydin, Talha Kose, Erdogan Organizations: NATO, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, China, United, Sabanci University, Foundation for Political, Social Research Locations: Turkey, Ottoman, Russia, United States, China, India, Turkish
BEIRUT, June 4 (Reuters) - Lebanon's disparate opposition, independent and main Christian parties said on Sunday they had nominated IMF official Jihad Azour for the presidency in a challenge to Hezbollah-backed candidate Suleiman Franjieh. A meeting of the parties endorsed the nomination of Azour, currently director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and also a former Lebanese finance minister. Pro-Iranian Hezbollah, the country's main armed political force, and its Shi'ite ally Amal, had backed Franjieh, 56, heir of an old Lebanese Christian political dynasty and an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with strong ties to the ruling political establishment in Damascus. "This new candidate that was announced is for us a candidate for confrontation," Hezbollah deputy Hassan Fadlallah said on Sunday, without naming Azour. Washington has warned that the administration was considering sanctions on Lebanese officials for their continued obstruction of the election of a new president and warned the paralysis could only worsen the country's crisis.
Persons: Azour, Suleiman Franjieh, Michel Aoun's, Amal, Bashar al, Assad, Michel Mouawad, Lebanon's, Beshara al, Rai, , Hassan Fadlallah, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Maya Geibeily, David Holmes Organizations: Central Asia Department, International Monetary Fund, Hezbollah, Lebanese Christian, Maronite, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, East, Lebanese, Lebanon, Damascus, Azour, Syria, Iran, Arab, Washington
Cuban immigrants in Russia are reportedly joining the army to fight in Ukraine. In exchange, the immigrants will be given Russian citizenship. The Russian military has been recruiting immigrants, hoping to avoid another mandatory mobilization. Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that foreigners who enlisted in the Russian army to fight in the war would be entitled to get Russian citizenship along with their families. It has previously been reported that Russian authorities were also trying to recruit Central Asian migrant workers to fight in Ukraine to avoid another mandatory mobilization.
Russia's Wagner claims Bakhmut; Kyiv says situation critical
  + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +6 min
But meanwhile, to the north and south, they have made their most rapid gains for six months in the surrounding area, seizing swathes of territory from Russian troops. "Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap," Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, told troops at the Bakhmut front this week. The battle for Bakhmut has revealed a deepening split between Wagner, a mercenary force that has recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons, and the regular Russian military. For two weeks, Prigozhin has been issuing daily video and audio messages denouncing Russia's military leadership, often in expletive-laden rants. Moscow has long claimed that capturing Bakhmut would be a stepping stone towards advancing deeper into the Donbas region it claims to have annexed from Ukraine.
China's Xi calls for stable, secure central Asia
  + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
[1/2] Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the round table during the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, 19 May 2023. MARK CRISTINO/Pool via REUTERSXIAN, May 19 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping said on Friday that the security, independence and territorial integrity of central Asian nations must be safeguarded. Delivering the keynote speech at the China-Central Asia Summit in the historic city of Xian, Xi said the world needs "a central Asia that is stable, prosperous, harmonious, and well-connected", state media reported. Xi, who is hosting Asian leaders from five central Asian countries, characterized relations between China and its western neighbours as having great vigour and vitality. Leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan were on hand for meetings that cover trade and bilateral relations.
‘Economic coercion’Another important theme of the summit will be economic security, including how to counter China’s economic pressure tactics. As the G7 summit gets underway, Chinese officials will be closely watching from Beijing and will not hide their displeasure, experts say. In the lead-up to the summit, Beijing has already berated a statement by G7 foreign ministers. Similarly, Beijing also lashed out at accusations of its “economic coercion,” claiming it is the “victim of US economic coercion” rather than a perpetrator. And while China is not invited to Hiroshima, it is hosting its own summit with Central Asia countries, experts noted.
The inaugural China-Central Asia summit is part of China’s broader aim to strengthen economic and political partnerships with like-minded countries, to counter what it sees as a U.S.-dominated world order that is trying to contain and suppress China. Notably, Mr. Xi’s summit was scheduled on the eve of the annual Group of 7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, which begins Friday and will be attended by leaders of the world’s wealthiest large democracies, including President Biden. A major topic for the G7 leaders will be how to address what the United States describes as China’s growing assertiveness. Mr. Xi has sought to deepen China’s influence in Central Asia, part of his efforts to burnish his image as a global statesman. China greeted the leaders of five former Soviet republics — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — on the tarmac with a huge crowd of dancers and jumping children chanting: “Welcome, welcome!
LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - More than half of the world's large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. Climate scientists generally think that the world's arid areas will become drier under climate change, and wet areas will get wetter, but the study found significant water loss even in humid regions. Scientists assessed almost 2,000 large lakes using satellite measurements combined with climate and hydrological models. Scientists and campaigners have long said it is necessary to prevent global warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celisus (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. Water levels rose in a quarter of the lakes, often as a result of dam construction in remote areas such as the Inner Tibetan Plateau.
Xi will present visiting Central Asian leaders with “a series of proposals” on the long-term development of ties and sign agreements, Chinese officials said this week. It is “of great interest to Central Asia nowadays to cooperate with China as one of its important alternative markets,” he added. However, Khitakhunov said, Central Asian leaders would be just as keen to have discussions about trade, investment and joint projects with Western players like the European Union. Central Asian countries have also seen and cracked down on popular protests and unrest in recent years. Like China, Central Asia leaders have typically avoided condemning Russia in forums like the UN, for example abstaining on major General Assembly resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops.
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