HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with some of his biggest backers as the Group of Seven summit closed in Hiroshima on Sunday, building momentum for his country’s war effort even as Russia claimed a battlefield victory that was quickly disputed by Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader’s in-person appearance in his trademark olive drab underscored the centrality of the war for the G7 bloc of rich democracies. It also stole much of the limelight from other priorities, including security challenges in Asia and outreach to the developing world, that the leaders focused on at the three-day gathering. Hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the group was committed to “strong backing for Ukraine from every possible dimension.” Zelenskyy held two major rounds of meetings Sunday, one with G7 leaders and a second with them and a host of invited guests including India and South Korea.
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s last-minute participation Sunday in the Group of Seven summit has brought intense global attention to Russia’s invasion of his nation. But it has also worried atomic bomb survivors who said the high-profile visit overshadowed a rare chance to push world leaders to focus on nuclear abolishment. Zelenskyy’s inclusion at the G7 gathering of the richest democracies — and his pursuit of more weapons and other support for Ukraine, rather than a diplomatic pursuit to end the war — sends the wrong message, activists and victims said. “Zelenskyy’s visit is not appropriate for Hiroshima, which is a peace-loving city,” said Etsuko Nakatani, an activist whose parents survived the Hiroshima atomic bombing in 1945.
HIROSHIMA (AP) — 8:15 on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945. It’s a big reason leaders from the world’s most powerful democracies descended on Hiroshima for this weekend’s Group of Seven summit: Part commemoration, part effort to confront the continuing consequences of the moment a U.S. B-29 Superfortress released what the Americans named “Little Boy” over the city in the first wartime use of a nuclear bomb. It also presents Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the driving force behind Hiroshima’s selection for the G7 venue, with a unique dilemma. On the one hand, he is keen to promote the vision of a world without nuclear weapons that has long been a cornerstone of his political rhetoric.
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol prayed together Sunday at a memorial for Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit, as they continued efforts to mend ties repeatedly hurt by disputes stemming from Japan’s wartime brutality. Yoon was in Hiroshima with leaders from seven other guest nations and G7 countries for “outreach” sessions on Sunday, the last day of the three-day summit. Kishida and Yoon held talks after laying flowers, and joined U.S. President Joe Biden later Sunday for discussions about further deepening security cooperation, including ways to strengthen U.S.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The leaders of South Korea and Germany on Sunday pledged more cooperation in building stable industrial supply chains and addressing the challenges posed by nuclear-armed North Korea as they met in Seoul after flying in from the Group of Seven meetings in Japan. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, pointed to the similarities between the two major manufacturing nations that are dependent on foreign trade and said a stronger supply chain partnership would help them cope with “intensifying global economic instability and geopolitical conflicts.” He said the countries in particular will work to advance trade relations in high-tech industries and clean energy, including semiconductors and hydrogen projects, and pursue further opportunities in defense cooperation.
DILI, East Timor (AP) — Vote counting was underway in East Timor’s parliamentary election Sunday with two former independence fighters considered for the post of prime minister. Two main political parties — the incumbent Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, or Fretilin, and opposition National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, or CNRT — are believed to be in a close race for the 65-seat National Parliament. A total of 17 parties were running. No parties have formed any pre-election coalitions, but analysts said CNRT, a party led by former prime minister and independence leader Xanana Gusmao, is favored to win following a successful presidential campaign in 2022 that saw its candidate, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, back in office.
BEIJING (AP) — Stepping up a feud with Washington over technology and security, China’s government on Sunday told users of computer equipment deemed sensitive to stop buying products from the biggest U.S. memory chipmaker, Micron Technology Inc. Micron products have unspecified “serious network security risks” that pose hazards to China’s information infrastructure and affect national security, the Cyberspace Administration of China said on its website. Its six-sentence statement gave no details. “Operators of critical information infrastructure in China should stop purchasing products from Micron Co.,” the agency said. The United States, Europe and Japan are reducing Chinese access to advanced chipmaking and other technology they say might be used in weapons at a time when President Xi Jinping’s government has threatened to attack Taiwan and is increasingly assertive toward Japan and other neighbors.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — An Afghan military helicopter crashed in the country’s north Sunday after hitting a power line base, killing at least two crewmembers, the Defense Ministry said. The MD-530 chopper was patrolling in the area after it took off from northern Balkh province and crashed in the Kholim district in Samangan province, a ministry statement said. Officials said the chopper hit the base of a high voltage power line before crashing. It’s unclear how many helicopters, including U.S. choppers, are in the hands of the Taliban-run government. As the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed in mid-August 2021, dozens of Afghan pilots fled to Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
BEIJING (AP) — The collapse of a nine-story building in central China that killed 54 people last year was caused by shoddy, illegal construction and local officials’ failure to enforce standards, according to an official report released Sunday. At least nine people including the building owner were reported arrested following the April 2022 disaster in Changsha, which trapped survivors under rubble for up to five days. Nine people were injured. The report by investigators appointed by the ruling Communist Party said the collapse of the “self-built” structure was due by “illegal and irregular construction” and additions by residents, according to state TV.
HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — The Group of Seven wealthy democracies united in urging China to pressure its strategic partner Russia to end its war on Ukraine and resolve territorial disputes peacefully, and China lashed back. In a joint statement, the G7 leaders emphasized they did not want to harm China and were seeking “constructive and stable relations” with Beijing, “recognizing the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China.” “We call on China to press Russia to stop its military aggression, and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine,” said the statement Saturday. “We encourage China to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on territorial integrity and the principles and purposes of the U.N.
