The G7 leaders pose for the 'family photo' at the start of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. AFP
The G7 leaders attend a working session in Carbis Bay. AFP
The G7 leaders arrive for the family photo. EPA
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel look on as they arrive for the G7 summit. AFP
Boris Johnson welcomes France's President Emmanuel Macron to the G7 summit. AFP
The G7 leaders make their way to the beach. EPA
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill approach Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie, as they arrive for the G7 summit in Carbis Bay. Reuters
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie walk on the beach during the G7 summit in Carbis Bay. Reuters
Carrie Johnson greet Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Reuters
France's President Emmanuel Macron chats to Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi as they make their way to an EU co-ordination meeting. AFP
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau elbow bump before a bilateral meeting in Carbis Bay. Reuters
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, France's President Emmanuel Macron, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi take part in an EU meeting. AFP
Boris Johnson and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi elbow bump. Reuters
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his way through the resort in Carbis Bay. AFP
If the world is looking for a pivot-point to propel its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, participants in the Group of Seven summit in the UK must hope this weekend will provide it.
On the opening night in Cornwall on Friday, US President Joe Biden held the elite set of leaders in his thrall, according to one participant. The setting was the Eden Project, a large man-made rainforest – a symbolic place where Mr Biden addressed the threats of climate change. The pandemic has changed many things, but Mr Biden's discussion of the issue was in the tone of a father to an extended family. His words made "the hairs raise" on the back of the neck for some attendees.
Cornwall, as the venue for the G7 meeting, lends itself to epic thinking. “Is this Land's End?” asked Mario Draghi, the Italian Prime Minister, as he exchanged small talk with his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, at the family photo. While there is a nearby landmark with just that name, an alternative, cataclysmic interpretation of the remark seems appropriate.
The test set by Covid-19 has saturated this G7. The group is determined to show that it still holds the ring of the global economic and political landscape.
Under Mr Johnson's leadership, this year's G7 is looking for a new departure. Timing is on the British leader's side. He has not only brought the group to Cornwall to show that Global Britain can be a real force in the world, but the US is also asserting itself under its new leader.
Mr Biden has set out to put flesh on the bones of his international pledge that "America is back". While departing for the UK, he said he wanted the countries present to show they were “tight” with America.
Mr Biden is delivering the gift of physical presence to the summit, stressing the need for multilateralism after the go-it-alone isolationist approach of the previous president, Donald Trump.
The Biden team is on an eight-day trip to Europe, culminating in a showdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday. A week is a long time for the leader of the US and this one is an investment for the rest of the presidency. The question is whether or not the rest of us will gain a future dividend from this weekend of discussions.
By seizing on the urgency of the pandemic, the G7 can hope to trail-blaze the global recovery. The hosts are hoping that by defining the themes of the recovery, the group overcomes its relative historic slide in importance. With clarity of leadership, there is an opening for the western countries and Japan to show the rest of the world that they are a vital forum for recovery.
This is why G7 is setting a new standard on vaccine distribution. Up to one billion doses will be made available. The global need is probably somewhere nearer seven billion doses but the summiteers hope their announcement represents a good start.
The meeting is addressing what both Mr Biden and Mr Johnson call the "build back better" agenda. There is a new push on development finance, in effect to push stimulus wider and longer from the richest economies to the developing and middle-income countries. The last big theme for the meeting, of course, is the climate agenda.
G7 is determined to show that it still holds the ring of the global economic and political landscape
In all three areas, the real question is if the G7 can tee up transformative change to be delivered before the end of 2021.
The declaration, when it comes later on Sunday, will have relatively little to say on the traditional pillars of G7 foreign and security policy. In those terms, strands such as the Middle East Peace Process have been effectively eclipsed from the agenda. Clearly, the pandemic has set a new baseline for diplomacy while the climate agenda is now firmly rooted at the heart of global politics.
Communiques are a work of politics and Mr Biden wants to ensure that poorer countries can see a big offer from the rich. The failures of the post-2008 approach to recovery from the global financial crisis have been felt in domestic politics in his country and around the world. The current crisis is, therefore, an opportunity for a policy reset – as if to say austerity is a sin, not a virtue.
The group isn't on the same page on one particular issue, though.
The White House briefings on the fringes of the summit make clear how much they want to draw a recovery contrast with China. But for some of the participants, this is a divisive message. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that keeping channels open with Beijing is key to the global recovery. French President Emmanuel Macron is also not interested in falling in line, although he has sought to show that he is broadly on board with Mr Biden.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden have presented an opportunity to reset the G7. Getty
Using the reserves of the global institutions, where G7 countries hold many of the voting rights, Washington wants to make $100 billion available to recovery programmes. That is not only helping out with vaccine rollout but also backing new infrastructure with an emphasis on addressing climate challenges.
The US agenda is to “enable greener, more robust economic recoveries in vulnerable countries, and promote a more balanced, sustained, and inclusive global recovery”.
With the initiative to set a global minimum corporate tax, the G7 has sought to provide revenue streams to pay for the pandemic deficits. It will also provide words that marry this vision to its efforts to involve business and the private sector in the climate drive.
This is a summit with an unabashedly retro ideal of asserting the West and Japan. Given the stakes, it is a last chance to prove that the group can mobilise the resources to match its words.
Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief at The National
People watch from the beach as two giant balloons, depicting US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, float on a dock in the harbour of Falmouth, Cornwall. AP Photo
Freshly baked G7 Cornish pasties are placed in the window of a pastry shop in St Ives. AFP
Climate activists dress in blue costumes as they demonstrate in St. Ives. AP Photo
Protesters dressed as Pikachu characters demonstrate on Gyllyngvase Beach, calling on the Japanese government to stop burning coal by 2030, in Falmouth. Getty Images
Members of the public visit the 'Mount Recyclemore' sculpture depicting G7 leaders at Sandy Acres, St Ives. EPA
Extinction Rebellion protesters stage a "Stop Rearranging the Deckchairs" Titanic theatrical beach action in St Ives. Getty Images
Members of the media work at desks screened-off due to Covid-19, in the media centre at Falmouth, Cornwall. AFP
Oxfam activists with 'Big Head' caricatures of G7 leaders, during a protest at a beach near Falmouth. Reuters
Officers from Britain's Metropolitan Police force sit on their jet ski as they patrol on the sea in St Ives. AFP
Extinction Rebellion activists stage a "Wake-up Call" theatrical action in St Ives. Getty Images
An incoming tide washes away a part of a giant beach sand artwork depicting the faces of the G7 leaders at Watergate Bay Beach, Newquay. Reuters
An RAF Giraffe Agile Multi Beam Radar looks down on Gwithian Bay from its location in a car park near St Ives, England. The radar is a coastal surveillance and tracking radar which can monitor air targets and warn against incoming rocket, artillery and mortar rounds. Getty Images
The motorcade of President Joe Biden is driven through Carbis Bay, Cornwall. AFP
A caricature of Boris Johnson is pictured between the handle bars of a motorbike in Carbis Bay. AFP
A local resident dressed as a chick, protests against the G7 summit in St Ives. AFP
HMS The Prince of Wales aircraft carrier patrolling the waters off of St Ives. EPA
Extinction Rebellion stage a protest on the beach of St Ives. Getty Images
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Key facilities
Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Profile of Tarabut Gateway
Founder: Abdulla Almoayed
Based: UAE
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 35
Sector: FinTech
Raised: $13 million
Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
