Alek Sigley: Facebook page of Australian missing in North Korea briefly reappears

Scott Morrison says world leaders at G20 summit have offered assistance to help find Sigley

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, says Australian authorities are still attempting to establish what happened to Perth student Alek Sigley, who disappeared in North Korea several days ago.

Morrison told reporters at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday evening that he had been in contact with Sigley’s family. He said world leaders at the summit had offered their assistance in attempts to locate the young man.

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison wins G20 support to root out terrorist content on the internet

Australian prime minister convinces world leaders to take action following the Christchurch massacre

The world’s leaders have pushed social media giants to root out terrorism and violent extremist content on the internet.

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, earned a victory at the G20 summit by convincing all leaders of the world’s major economies to agree to take action, inspired by the live-streamed Christchurch massacre.

Continue reading...

Opec weighs up the risks if Russia goes it alone on prices

Vladimir Putin may relish his place at the table in Vienna but he will be tempted to cash in on rising prices

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will meet this week in Vienna under a familiar pretext: to act as stewards of oil market stability. In practice, oil ministers from the world’s most powerful oil-producing nations will thrash out a deal to limit the amount of oil flowing into the global market and avoid an oil price collapse.

The latest pact is expected to extend a milestone deal first struck between Opec and a Russian-led alliance of nations outside the cartel in the wake of the oil price crash.

Continue reading...

US-China trade talks back on track, says Trump

President says US will not impose further tariffs after meeting with Xi Jinping at G20

Donald Trump has declared US trade negotiations with China to be “right back on track” after a highly anticipated meeting with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka.

Trump said the US would not impose further tariffs in a trade war that other world leaders have warned could threaten the global economy, and added that the world’s two biggest economies would restart negotiations on a trade deal.

Continue reading...

G20: May asks Saudi prince for transparency in Khashoggi case

Prime minister urges open legal process over murder and raises Yemen concerns

Theresa May has raised concerns about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the humanitarian cost of the conflict in Yemen during a face-to-face meeting with the Saudi crown prince at the G20 summit in Osaka.

The prime minister held a bilateral meeting with Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday at what will be May’s final global summit before she steps down in July.

Continue reading...

‘Despicable act’: May confronts Putin over Salisbury poisoning

PM addresses Russian leader at G20 over ‘wider pattern of unacceptable behaviour’


Theresa May has upbraided Vladimir Putin for the Salisbury poisoning, calling it a “truly despicable act”, during a frosty one-to-one meeting at the G20 summit in Osaka that is likely to be their last encounter.

After exchanging a handshake, during which May appeared stern, the pair held the first half of their 80-minute meeting alone, with only translators in the room.

Continue reading...

Smirking Trump jokes to Putin: don’t meddle in US election

US president appears to make light of 2016 scandal before meeting at G20 summit

Donald Trump has sardonically asked Vladimir Putin not to meddle in the 2020 US election, smirking and pointing his finger as he did so and appearing to make light of a scandal that led to an investigation of his campaign’s contact with the Kremlin during the 2016 election.

The US president and his Russian counterpart were heading into talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan’s western city of Osaka, their first formal face-to-face meeting since a high-profile summit in Helsinki last July.

Continue reading...

Trump tells Putin: don’t meddle in the US presidential election – video

Asked by a reporter at the G20 summit in Japan whether he would raise the issue of electoral interference during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, the US president says: 'Yes, of course I will.' He then points his finger at Putin and gives the directive twice while pointing at him and smiling, appearing to make light of a scandal that led to a two-year investigation into his campaign's contact with the Kremlin in 2016. Putin smiles without comment throughout

Continue reading...

Scott Morrison says quick resolution of US-China trade dispute ‘unrealistic’

PM says ‘substantial and difficult’ issues to be resolved in standoff after speaking with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the G20 in Osaka

Scott Morrison says it is “unrealistic” to expect a quick resolution of the damaging trade dispute between the United States and China on Saturday at the G20 meeting in Osaka.

After conversations with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, Morrison told travelling reporters on Friday there was a determination to resolve the standoff but he was not “naive” about how quickly the two countries would come to terms because there were “real, substantial and difficult issues to be resolved”.

Continue reading...

Theresa May to meet Vladimir Putin at G20 summit in Japan

Russian president aiming to improve relations with Britain, Kremlin says

Vladimir Putin will meet Theresa May at this week’s G20 summit in Japan with a view to seeking improved relations between the countries, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

The outgoing UK prime minister’s spokesman stressed that the meeting with the Russian president did not represent a normalisation of ties.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong protesters hold noisy rally outside police headquarters

About a thousand people wearing masks and hats build barricades and obscure cameras with umbrellas

About a thousand people have held a noisy rally outside the police headquarters in downtown Hong Kong, calling for the release of protesters arrested during this month’s wave of political unrest, following a peaceful demonstration earlier on Wednesday.

The protesters, mostly dressed in black and many covering their faces with masks and wearing hard hats, occupied the streets around the police headquarters in Wan Chai after 10pm and chanted loudly “Shame on you” and “Release the righteous fighters” to the beating of drums.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong protesters call on foreign leaders to raise crisis at G20

Demonstrators march on consulates to petition overseas governments to assist in fight against ‘authoritarian regime’

Hundreds have gathered at a rally in Hong Kong and marched to foreign consulates to lobby international governments about the city’s political crisis during the G20 summit this week.

President Xi Jinping of China and the US president, Donald Trump, are expected to meet at the summit in Japan amid heightened trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Continue reading...

Super funds and investors with $34tn urge leaders to speed up climate action

Fund managers call on world leaders to bring in carbon pricing and phase out coal power ahead of G20

Superannuation funds and investors representing US$34tn in assets – nearly half of the total under management across the globe – have called on world leaders to bring in carbon pricing and phase out coal power to limit global heating to 1.5C.

Released ahead of a G20 leaders meeting in Osaka, Japan, the statement by 477 institutional investors urges world leaders to accelerate their response to the climate crisis to ensure the goals of the 2015 Paris climate deal can be met.

Continue reading...

UK has biggest fossil fuel subsidies in the EU, finds commission

Subsidies for coal, oil and gas are not falling despite EU pledges to tackle climate change

The UK leads the European Union in giving subsidies to fossil fuels, according to a report from the European commission. It found €12bn (£10.5bn) a year in support for fossil fuels in the UK, significantly more than the €8.3bn spent on renewable energy.

The commission report warned that the total subsidies for coal, oil and gas across the EU remained at the same level as 2008. This is despite both the EU and G20 having long pledged to phase out the subsidies, which hamper the rapid transition to clean energy needed to fight climate change.

Continue reading...