Global Beat: G7 Feud, Trump-Kim Summit, and More
June 15, 2018
Global Beat is your weekly stop for news from around the world. Join us every Friday morning for important stories you should know about.
This week, the G7 Summit ends in a spat between Trump and Trudeau; Kim Jong-un and Trump hold a historic summit in Singapore; UK Prime Minister May shifts toward a soft Brexit; and more.
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Americas
The annual Group of Seven (G7) conference—a group of wealthy, advanced industrial democracies including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—took place on June 8 and 9 in Charlevoix, Quebec. The meeting was already expected to be tense due to the recently imposed U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum for national security measures, affecting these six close U.S. allies. After the conference concluded, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a press conference in which he said Canada will "not be pushed around" in reference to the tariffs. President Trump responded by lashing out at both Trudeau and the other G7 leaders, marking a bitter end to the gathering of allies. President Trump subsequently instructed his trade representatives to withhold the United States from being a signatory to the post-conference joint communique.
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- United States, Mexico, and Canada to host 2026 World Cup, and probably play in it, too – New York Magazine
Central & South Asia
The Taliban continues to launch offensives and attacks against the Afghan government and civilians, and control or threaten about 70 percent of the country. ISIL factions are also active in the country and have launched attacks against the government and civilians, and the United States plans to ramp up operations against the group. There are several wars being fought in Afghanistan, both hot and cold, and though peace may not be around the corner, "it is time for Washington to begin to think about what comes after peace arrives," argued a retired U.S. Army colonel.
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China & East Asia
President Trump met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in Singapore for a brief summit concerning North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which resulted in a joint agreement signed by both heads of state. This agreement, along with the tone of the summit, has received criticism from all sides for not accomplishing enough and being too vague, but President Trump declared North Korea’s nuclear threat over. The agreement explicitly states that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will lead the follow-up negotiations concerning four major themes: a commitment to establish new U.S.-DPRK relations; joint efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula; Pyongyang’s commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and a commitment to repatriate the remains of prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action from the Korean War. Notably, South Korea was surprised by Trump’s agreement to suspend all military exercises in the region.
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- The Trump administration expects to unveil tariffs on a list of between 800-900 Chinese exports – CNBC
Europe & Russia
Preference for a soft Brexit could be gaining ground in the British Parliament, as many anti-Brexit Conservative Party members of parliament forced a vote to give more power to parliament in negotiations with Europe, with no signs of the intra-party rebellion slowing. A soft Brexit refers to remaining close with Brussels—staying in the single market—without being a full member of the European Union. UK Prime Minister Theresa May gave this concession to parliament after members of her own Conservative Party started to resign from both her cabinet and parliament. The Labor Party also had a revolt of its own, with 75 Labor MPs voting against leader Jeremy Corbyn’s push to remain in the European Economic Area. Concerns on leaving the European Union are hurting both major parties, as are lingering concerns that a major donor to the Leave campaign had secret meetings with Russians in the lead-up to the vote in 2016.
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- Did Russia steal the World Cup? – The Guardian
Middle East & North Africa
A coalition of Arab states have launched an offensive in Yemen in support of the recognized government and against Iran-backed Houthi rebel fighters. Fighting started at the major port of Hodeidah, marking the first time the Arab coalition has gone after such a heavily-fortified, major city controlled by the Houthis. The UK has called an emergency UN Security Council meeting in regards to the escalation. Meanwhile, Yemen remains on the brink of famine, with 8 million Yemenis at risk. About 22 million Yemenis rely on outside aid, and much of the food aid comes through the port of Hodeidah. The Pentagon, though supporting the Saudis and Emiratis, has worked to distance itself from the conflict.
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Southeast Asia & Oceania
A new study from a group of 84 scientists reported that almost 220 billion tons of ice is melting off of Antarctica and pouring into the ocean annually. This rate is up from 73 billion tons annually between 1992 and 1997. So far, 3 trillion metric tons of ice have melted since 1992, leading to 0.76-centimeter of global sea rise. Antarctica has enough ice stored to raise global sea levels by 190 feet. These scientists believe that continued high greenhouse gas emissions could deliver massive sea level rise, but strict adherence to COP21 Paris Agreement guidelines could stop changes happening now, and help control how much worse they get. The entire scientific report is published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, available here.
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- As Cambodian democracy weakens, the United States imposes sanctions on a high-ranking Cambodian official – The Washington Post
Sub-Saharan Africa
One U.S. Army soldier was killed and four were wounded in Somalia during a firefight with militants from the al-Shabaab terrorist group. U.S. Special Forces from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were fighting alongside 800 Kenyan Defense Forces and Somali National Security Forces. The U.S. forces were providing advice, assistance, and aerial surveillance to the Kenyan and Somali forces. The United States has been providing support to those fighting al-Shabaab for years and currently has 500 troops stationed in Somalia. The deceased was identified by the Department of Defense as U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Conrad, 26, of Arizona. He was a Human Intelligence noncommissioned officer, and had previously served two tours in Iraq.
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