In complete contrast to the chaotic G7 summit, the SCO gathering proved successful, and the Bangladesh cricket team beat India to win the Women’s Asia Cup T20.
US President Trump and North Korea’s Kim to meet tomorrow
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have arrived in Singapore for their meeting Tuesday on Sentosa Island. “Mr Kim told Singapore’s PM ‘the entire world is watching’. Mr Trump has called it a ‘one-time shot’ at peace,” BBC reported.
The much-hyped meeting has gone through several periods of uncertainty. North Korea is largely expected to denuclearise in exchange for US guarantees on security and, provided Trump does not have any wild-card demands. However, in The New Yorker, Evan Osnos writes that the outcome of the summit “will rest largely on Kim’s conception of his own path to political survival”.
“A conceivable outcome would be a joint statement that establishes the ultimate goal of removing nuclear weapons from North Korea, in return for assurances against an American attack and steps toward a peace treaty that would, at last, end the Korean War. Kim’s goal is, of course, to insure the survival of his state,” he adds.
Trump attended the G7 Summit, but didn’t sign the agreement
“President Trump upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbors and deriding the Canada’s Prime Minister as ‘very dishonest and weak’,” reports The New York Times.
Just after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released the joint G7 statement, Trump tweeted that Trudeau was making “false statements” and that his government had been instructed not to endorse the agreement.
Trump has placed new tariffs on some of the United States’ biggest trade partners, like Canada and the United Kingdom, which has drawn harsh criticism from most global leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Trump of trying to remain “isolated” in the world.
The Guardian referred to the summit as a failure, and as the “moment when Donald Trump’s disruption of the international order moved from annoying threat to damaging reality”.
In contrast, China hosts a peaceful SCO summit
At the same time as the G7 summit in Quebec, China hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Qingdao, which Al Jazeera described as a “Beijing and Moscow-led bloc.”
Without mentioning the US,Chinese president Xi Jinping made a plea for free trade, rejecting ‘selfish, short-sighted’ policies and calling for the building of an ‘open global economy’”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, while criticising the US for pulling out of the Iran deal, said he would be willing to meet Trump.
India refused to endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while the other countries reaffirmed their support.
Bangladesh has won the Women’s Asia Cup for the first time
“Bangladesh created history Sunday after beating India by three wickets in the final of the Women’s Asia Cup T20 2018 in Kuala Lumpur,” reports The Dhaka Tribune.
India has won the cup six times, and was expected to win it this year as well. However, the Bangladesh team triumphed on the last ball of the match after chasing a target of 113 runs.
Residents of Kabul have resorted to online shopping to stay safe
People in Kabul have begun to increasingly shop online because of the increasing terror attacks in the Afghan capital.
Reuters reports about several startups in Kabul helping citizens go about their daily needs without putting themselves at the risk of bomb attacks or sexual harassment.
“The new e-retailers sell goods ranging from cosmetics and computers to kitchenware and cars, including foreign brands,” the report adds, “Suicide bombings and other attacks in Kabul have killed and wounded hundreds of people this year and security had been expected to deteriorate ahead of elections planned for October. Sexual harassment on the street is widespread,”
Saudi Arabia has arrested more women activists
Two more women rights activists have been arrested in Saudi Arabia over the last three days, reports Al Jazeera. The women were allegedly detained over some of their social media posts. One of them was arrested because of a post in support of an activist arrested earlier.
Sri Lanka’s second international airport shut down
“The Mattala airport, built at a high cost and opened with much fanfare in 2013, lost its only scheduled flight Thursday when Fly Dubai decided to terminate its services,” reports The Sunday Times in Sri Lanka.
The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is located five hours from Colombo, and was built by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Forbes had earlier called the airport “the world’s emptiest international airport”.