Category Archives: G7

‘History will remember who showed up’: Keir Starmer faces call to attend Cop30 summit

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Response from leaders and key climate figures comes after PM’s aides advised non-attendance over concerns Reform may attack him

Leading climate figures and Labour MPs have urged Keir Starmer to attend the crucial Cop30 climate summit this November, after aides advised him not to attend for fear of attracting the ire of the Reform party.

Simon Stiell, the UN’s climate chief, said: “Cop30 is where leaders are expected to come and roll up their sleeves, make deals to help their nation’s economy transition faster, creating more jobs, and guide the world on what next steps we take together.”

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Canada’s security operation for G7 summit faces unorthodox threat … bears

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Apex predators are one of several large and unpredictable animals concerning officials in foothills of Rockies

Security preparations for G7 summits normally involve the elite close protection afforded to world leaders, and then a series of of concentric defences against street demonstrations and protests.

Not in the Rockies.

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Iran threatens to leave nuclear weapons treaty as Israeli bombing enters fourth day

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Death toll in both countries continues to rise as Iran says it is preparing bill to withdraw from 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty

Iran has threatened to leave the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) as Israeli bombing raids enter a fourth day, underlining the conflict’s potential to trigger a broader war and Tehran’s race to construct a nuclear weapon.

The human cost of the war continued to escalate with both sides broadening their range of targets, as G7 leaders convened in the Canadian Rockies with no clear plan to end the conflict. As he left for the summit on Sunday, the US president, Donald Trump, told reporters: “Sometimes they have to fight it out.”

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UK moves jets to Middle East as Starmer refuses to rule out defending Israel

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Military assets to provide ‘contingency support’ as PM repeats call for de-escalation after Iran’s retaliatory strikes

The UK is moving jets and other military assets to the Middle East, Keir Starmer has said, refusing to rule out defending Israel from Iranian strikes despite Tehran’s threat that such an action could lead to British bases in the region being targeted.

Speaking to reporters on the plane to the G7 summit, Starmer reiterated his call for de-escalation, saying he had held a series of calls with other world leaders in the hours after Israel’s attack on Iran, including the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Donald Trump.

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Canada’s PM faces backlash for inviting India’s Narendra Modi for G7 summit

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Mark Carney declined to answer if he believed Indian PM had a role in murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has defended his decision to invite India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, to the upcoming G7 summit in Alberta, despite the conclusion of Canada’s federal police’s that the murder of a prominent Sikh activist in British Columbia was orchestrated by the “highest levels” of the Indian government.

Carney declined to answer reporters’ questions over whether he believed Modi had a role in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar – a killing on Canadian soil that shattered relations between the two countries.

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World’s seven wealthiest countries agree to counter China’s trade practices

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G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China

Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies have set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.

Ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors there had been doubt about whether there would be a final communique, given divisions over US tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal.

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Rubio says Trump’s ‘51st state’ plan not on G7 summit agenda in Canada

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Secretary of state’s visit has backdrop of trade war between US and allies and Trump’s threats to take over Canada

Marco Rubio has said he is not planning to discuss Donald Trump’s threat to “take over Canada” during a visit to Quebec, as Washington’s top diplomat arrives to the backdrop of a raging diplomatic crisis and trade war.

The US secretary of state is flying on Wednesday for a two-day summit with other foreign ministers from allied G7 countries at the river resort of La Malbaie, the first such gathering since Trump retook power with his “America first” agenda.

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US vetoes G7 proposal to combat Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers

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US pushes to remove references to sanctions and Russia’s war in Ukraine from a Canadian draft statement

The US has rejected a Canadian proposal to establish a task force that would tackle Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, according to reports last night.

Canada, which has the current Group of Seven presidency, proposed the measure ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Quebec later this week.

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UK awarded its lowest ranking for workplace gender equality in a decade

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‘Sluggish’ pace in tackling gender pay gap and worsening employment levels push UK back to 18th in PwC index of OECD countries

Women’s worsening unemployment and participation in the workforce has pulled the UK behind Canada to its lowest ranking for workplace equality among large economies in a decade.

The “sluggish” pace of change on women’s earnings relative to men’s – which means closing the gender pay gap could take more than 30 years at the current pace – has knocked the UK back one place to 18th in the Women in Work Index produced by advisory firm PwC.

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Trump has changed Ukraine debate ‘for the better’, says Downing Street

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Starmer’s spokesperson says US intervention ‘could bring lasting peace’ as No 10 treads carefully before White House visit

Donald Trump has changed the global conversation around Ukraine “for the better”, Downing Street has said, as the UK imposed further sanctions on Russia in an effort to force Vladimir Putin to make concessions.

As world leaders marked the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the US president had opened the door to talks that could bring lasting peace.

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G7 vows to clamp down on Russia’s oil sanctions evasion

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Group commits to unspecified measures to enforce price cap on Russian exports in response to Ukraine war

Finance ministers of the G7 nations vowed on Saturday to step up efforts to prevent Russia from evading sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.

“We remain committed to taking further initiatives in response to oil price cap violations,” the group said in a statement after a meeting in Washington. Those further steps were not spelled out in detail.

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Child ‘trampled’ to death among fatalities on Channel boat, says French minister

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Young child reportedly found on overcrowded boat trying to cross Channel, hours after G7 countries agree plan to combat smuggling gangs

A two-year-old child was crushed to death and three other people died in two attempts to cross the Channel from France on Saturday.

French authorities said the infant died after being trampled following a “wave of panic” among migrants trying to board a dinghy.

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Biden says US ‘discussing’ possible Israeli plans to attack Iran’s oil industry

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President’s off-the-cuff remark outside White House over possible retaliation triggers global oil price rise

Joe Biden has said that his administration has been “discussing” possible Israeli plans to attack Iran’s oil industry in retaliation for the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Tuesday.

Biden’s off-the-cuff remark did not make clear whether his administration was holding internal discussions or talking directly to Israel, nor did he clarify what his attitude was to such an attack.

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UK economy to grow faster than Japan, Italy and Germany this year, says OECD

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Forecast upgrades UK to joint second after US but it is still expected to have highest inflation among G7 countries

The global economy is “turning a corner”, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has upgraded the UK’s growth forecast for this year to faster than that of Japan, Italy and Germany.

The OECD’s latest outlook ranked Britain joint second among the G7 developed countries in its latest outlook for the world economy. However, the UK is still expected to have the highest inflation in the group.

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UK ready to build ‘closer, more mature’ trade links with EU

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New business secretary set to tell international counterparts at G7 meeting ‘Britain is back on world stage’

Britain is taking its first steps towards forging closer trading links with the EU in meetings between the new business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and international counterparts in Italy.

In his first overseas visit since Labour’s election landslide, Reynolds will tell a G7 meeting of trade ministers in the Italian city of Reggio Calabria that the new UK government wants to foster a “closer, more mature relationship with our friends in the EU”.

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Israel has fallen into Hamas trap in Gaza war, says Giorgia Meloni at G7

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The Italian prime minister also stated the EU will not directly contribute to a $50bn loan to Ukraine agreed at the summit

Israel is falling into a trap laid by Hamas in its war in Gaza, Giorgia Meloni said at a press conference closing the G7 summit in Bari that affirmed her role as a leading figure in Europe. The Italian prime minister also stated that the EU will not directly contribute to a $50bn loan to Ukraine agreed by the G7 leaders.

And she underlined her status by declaring that she will start talks on Monday about the allocation of top jobs in the EU on the basis that Europe has to accept the verdict of the people reflected in the results of last week’s European parliament elections.

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Sunak praises ‘fantastic’ Meloni as G7 launches bid to halt people-smuggling

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UK prime minister says he sees ‘eye-to-eye’ with his Italian counterpart on issue of migration

Rishi Sunak has praised his “fantastic” Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, as he announced the launch of a G7 coalition to tackle people-smuggling.

The prime minister, who is in Puglia in Italy for the G7 summit, said he and Meloni saw “eye-to-eye” on the issue and had spearheaded efforts to tackle it since they were elected.

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Russian ties and cheap tech: G7 leaders unequivocal in criticism of China

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Concerns set out over supply of materials with military applications, and impact of subsidies on global market

China’s role in providing assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine, and its “harmful overcapacity” in the production of cheap goods, have been targeted by G7 leaders despite misgivings from Germany.

On the second day of the annual summit, being held in Puglia under the Italian chair, the US drove home a 36-page communique that condemned Chinese subsidies for products such as solar panels and electric cars which it said were leading to “global spillovers, market distortions and harmful overcapacity … undermining our workers, industries, and economic resilience and security”.

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G7 summit live: Biden says lasting peace for Ukraine must be underwritten by Kyiv’s ability to defend itself

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Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy hold a joint press conference just over two hours behind schedule

Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni has just arrived at the venue.

This is the scene at the Borgo Egnazia resort as G7 leaders are scheduled to begin arriving.

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Rishi Sunak denies he is being snubbed after awkward start to G7 summit

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Giorgia Meloni appears to recoil from UK PM, who has no formal bilateral meetings with other G7 leaders on day one

Rishi Sunak has insisted he was not being snubbed by other leaders after his first day at the G7 summit ended without any bilateral meetings with his counterparts and he had an awkward encounter with Giorgia Meloni.

Meloni, the Italian prime minister who is one of Sunak’s closest international allies, appeared to recoil from him after they embraced on his arrival in Puglia for the G7 leaders’ summit on Thursday.

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