Day: September 10, 2023

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chastised China’s premier on Sunday for “unacceptable” interference in British democracy, after a newspaper reported that a researcher in Parliament was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of spying for Beijing. 

Sunak said he raised the issue with Premier LI Qiang when the two met at a Group of 20 summit in India. He told British broadcasters in New Delhi that he’d expressed “my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable.” 

The two men met after the Metropolitan Police force confirmed that a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s were arrested in March under the Official Secrets Act. Neither has been charged and both were bailed until October pending further inquiries. 

The Sunday Times reported that the younger man was a parliamentary researcher who worked with senior lawmakers from the governing Conservatives, including Alicia Kearns, who now heads the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, and her predecessor in that role, Tom Tugendhat, who is now security minister. The newspaper said the suspect held a pass that allows full access to the Parliament buildings, issued to lawmakers, staff and journalists after security vetting. 

Tensions between Britain and China have risen in recent years over accusations of economic subterfuge, human rights abuses and Beijing’s crackdown on civil liberties in the former British colony of Hong Kong. 

Britain’s Conservatives are divided on how tough a line to take with Beijing and on how much access Chinese firms should have to the U.K. economy. More hawkish Tories want Beijing declared a threat, but Sunak has referred to China’s growing power as a “challenge.” 

Former U.K. Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said news of the March arrests “gives the lie to the government’s attempt not to see China as a systemic threat.” 

U.K. spy services have sounded ever-louder warnings about Beijing’s covert activities. In November, the head of the MI5 domestic intelligence agency, Ken McCallum, said “the activities of the Chinese Communist Party pose the most game-changing strategic challenge to the U.K.” Foreign intelligence chief Richard Moore of MI6 said in July that China was his agency’s “single most important strategic focus.” 

In January 2022, MI5 issued a rare public alert, saying a London-based lawyer was trying to “covertly interfere in U.K. politics” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. It alleged attorney Christine Lee was acting in coordination with the Chinese ruling party’s United Front Work Department, an organization known to exert Chinese influence abroad. 

An opposition Labour Party lawmaker, Barry Gardiner, received more than $685,000 from Lee between 2015 and 2020, mostly for office costs, and her son worked in Gardiner’s office. Lee and the Chinese government both deny wrongdoing. 

China has repeatedly criticized what it calls British interference in its internal affairs and denied meddling in the politics of foreign nations. 

Sunak and Li met days after Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited Beijing, the highest-level trip by a British politician to China for several years. Chinese President Xi Jinping did not attend the G20 meeting in India 

Sunak defended his approach of cautious engagement, saying “there’s no point carping from the sidelines – I’d rather be in there directly expressing my concerns, and that’s what I did today.” 

The G20 summit in New Delhi ended on Sunday as India handed over the bloc presidency to Brazil, while both the U.S. and Russia praised a consensus that did not condemn Moscow for the war in Ukraine but called on members to shun the use of force.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the group’s leaders to hold a virtual meeting in November to review progress on policy suggestions and goals announced at the weekend.

“It is our responsibility to look at the suggestions that have been made to see how progress can be accelerated,” he said in a statement.

On Saturday, the group adopted a Leaders’ Declaration that avoided condemning Russia for the war but highlighted the human suffering the conflict had caused and called on all states not to use force to grab territory.

The consensus came as a surprise. In the weeks leading to the summit, sharply differing views on the war had threatened to derail the meeting, with Western nations demanding members call out Moscow for the invasion and Russia saying it would block any resolution that did not reflect its position.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the head of the Russian delegation, said the summit was a success for India as well as the Global South, the world’s developing countries.

The Global South’s position in the talks helped prevent the G20 agenda from being overshadowed by Ukraine, he told a press conference. “India has truly consolidated G20 members from the Global South.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters the summit declaration “does a very good job of standing up for the principle that states cannot use force to seek territorial acquisition or to violate the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of other states”.

Germany and Britain have also praised the resolution, but Ukraine said “it was nothing to be proud of”.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that the G20, which was founded to solve international economic issues, was not necessarily the place to expect diplomatic progress on the war in Ukraine.

However, he said the G20 declaration was not a diplomatic victory for Russia.

“This G20 confirms once again the isolation of Russia. Today, an overwhelming majority of G20 members condemn the war in Ukraine and its impact,” Macron told a press conference after the closing ceremony of the summit.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is something that could shake the foundation of cooperation at G20.

“Also, that is having a major impact on the global economy through such developments as continued increases in food and energy prices.”

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands dead, displaced millions and sown economic turmoil across the world. Moscow, which says it is conducting a “special military operation” there, denies committing any atrocities.

The summit also admitted the African Union, which includes 55 member states, as a permanent member of the G20, underlining the bloc’s inclusivity of more developing countries.

Addressing food security concerns, Lavrov said Russia would return to the Black Sea deal that lets Ukraine export grain if Moscow’s demands were met. Moscow pulled out of the agreement in July over what it called a failure to meet its demands to implement a parallel agreement easing rules for its own food and fertiliser export.

The summit document had called for the safe flow of grain, food and fertiliser from both Ukraine and Russia.

Russia, Ukraine and Turkey are going to continue to discuss the grain deal, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, saying that reviving the agreement was “not hopeless”.

On Sunday, world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, German Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japan’s Fumio Kishida, visited the memorial of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

Most of the leaders were barefoot as they walked to the site where Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948 by a Hindu extremist.

Biden later left for Vietnam, missing the last session of the summit. The White House said it was not aware of him having any talks with Lavrov or Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who led their country’s delegations at the summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin both skipped the summit.

“This was one of the most difficult G20 summits in the almost twenty-year history of the forum … it took almost 20 days to agree on the declaration before the summit and five days here on the spot,” Svetlana Lukash, the Russian G20 government negotiator, was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Interfax.

“This was not only due to some disagreements on the Ukraine subject, but also due to differences in positions on all key issues, primarily the issues of climate change and the transition to low-carbon energy systems…”

A European Union official, who did not want to be identified, said on Sunday the Ukraine war was the most contentious issue in the negotiations.

“Without India’s leadership it would not have been possible,” the official said, adding that Brazil and South Africa also played a crucial role in bridging differences.

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Canada bagged their first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup podium finish at the expense of undermanned United States 127-118 in overtime in a riveting, record-setting bronze medal game on Sunday in Manila.

Hot-shooting Dillon Brooks, who will play for the Houston Rockets next season, powered the Canadians with his tournament-high 39 points, hitting seven of eight 3-pointers, along with four rebounds and five assists. It was the most points scored for a player in a medal-winning game in tournament history.

Brooks earned MVP chants from the crowd with his all-time performance, a far cry from the loudest of boos in Canada’s previous games.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada’s leading scorer, rebounder and passer, finished with 31 points, six rebounds and 12 assists. “It was fun trying to take what the defense gives me,” he told reporters.

Team USA’s NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr, and forward Brandon Ingram were sidelined due to illness.

Team USA’s leading scorer, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, recorded 24 points, five rebounds and three assists. Fan favourite Austin Reaves sparked U.S. off the bench with 23 points, while three more U.S. players scored in double-digits.

Canada capitalised on a characteristically lethargic U.S. start to take a 34-21 lead in the first quarter, before Team USA stormed back in a see-saw second quarter to trim their deficit to 56-58 by halftime.

Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges sent the game into overtime by rebounding his own missed free throw and then hitting a corner three with 0.6 seconds to go. Canada’s Kelly Olynyk missed potentially game-winning three at the buzzer, ending the fourth quarter at 111 each.

Team USA, previously unbeaten in their four bronze medal matches, recorded the most points they have conceded in a World Cup game.

Canada achieved multiple milestones in the tournament, including semi-final debut, while qualifying for the Summer Olympics for the first time since 2000.

Despite the defeat, the United States finished better than their seventh spot in 2019, their worst-ever major international tournament result. The U.S. have won the tournament a record five times.

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Russia launched about three dozen drones over Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, Sunday. The early-morning attack lasted about two hours, with debris falling over the city.

Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday Russia’s Pskov oblast, near the Estonian border, has organized “volunteer security patrols” to bring a stop to drone attacks against Kresty Air Base.  

The ministry said, due to the limited range of quadcopter drones, the attacks on Kresty were almost certainly launched from Russia.  The volunteer patrols will “likely” serve as a deterrence, according to the ministry.

The use of volunteers indicates that it is “highly likely” that there is a shortage of trained security personnel within Russia,” the ministry said.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces will continue in the coming months, regardless of inclement weather when fighting would be harder to conduct, Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Saturday.

“Combat actions will continue in one way or another. In the cold, wet and mud, it is more difficult to fight. Fighting will continue. The counteroffensive will continue,” Budanov said.

Ukraine’s much-vaunted counteroffensive has seen some success in the south where Ukrainian forces have retaken a dozen villages over the past three months.

Ukraine’s armed forces are making “gradual tactical advances” against Russia’s defensive line east of the town of Robotyne, the British  ministry said Saturday in its daily intelligence update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Ukraine’s military operation has been slower than anticipated because of hurdles that include vast minefields and heavily entrenched Russian forces.

Budanov’s comments, made during a news conference in Kyiv, indicate Ukraine does not intend to halt its push when the weather turns harsher later this year.

The slow progress of the counteroffensive has sparked concerns among Kyiv’s supporters that the West could face an uphill battle to maintain its support and the military aid needed to keep Ukraine battling at the same intensity level.

Ukraine’s advances in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, now centered around Robotyne and Verbove, are seen as a crucial part of an operation that seeks to split Russia’s occupying forces in half in the south but remains far from that goal.

“Our counteroffensive is happening in several directions,” Budanov said, acknowledging that progress had been slower than he wanted and describing the situation as difficult.

Apart from the huge concentration of Russian mines, he identified the large number of small Russian “kamikadze” drones as a key factor in slowing Ukraine’s progress so far.

Russian air defense says it shot down three Ukrainian drones over Crimea on Saturday, one in the northwest and two in the west of the peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of the local administration, said on a post on Telegram.

Reuters could not verify the claims, and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

G20 summit

The leaders of the world’s 20 wealthiest countries adopted a consensus declaration Saturday at the G20 summit, calling on all states to refrain from the use of force to seize territory but stopped short of condemning Russia for its war on Ukraine.

Despite the consensus declaration, the group remains deeply divided over the war. Western nations were pushing for a strong denunciation of Russia in the Leaders’ Declaration, while other countries demanded a focus on broader economic issues.

On the war in Ukraine, the declaration says that all states must refrain from threats or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. It also called the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons “inadmissible” and urged for peaceful resolution of conflicts using diplomacy and dialog.

The G20 noted “different views and assessments of the situation,” regarding the war in Ukraine.

They called on Russia and Ukraine to ensure immediate and unimpeded deliveries of grain, foodstuffs, and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine for the sake of global food and energy security and asked for the end of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure.

VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell  contributed to this story.

Canada bagged their first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup podium finish at the expense of undermanned United States 127-118 in overtime in a riveting bronze medal game on Sunday in Manila.

NBA players Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks took control in overtime, scoring a combined 11 points for Canada.

Brooks, who will play for the Houston Rockets next season, powered the Canadians with his tournament-high 39 points, along with four rebounds and five assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada’s leading scorer, rebounder and passer, finished with 31 points, six rebounds and 12 assists.

Team USA’s NBA Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr, and forward Brandon Ingram were sidelined due to illness.

Team USA’s leading scorer, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, recorded 24 points, five rebounds and three assists. Fan favourite Austin Reaves sparked U.S. off the bench with 23 points, while three more U.S. players scored in double-digits.

Canada achieved multiple milestones in the tournament, including semi-final debut, while qualifying for the Summer Olympics for the first time since 2000.

Despite the defeat, the United States finished better than their seventh spot in 2019, their worst-ever major international tournament result. The U.S. have won the tournament a record five times.

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