Explained: what is the G7 and why is the 2021 summit in Cornwall?
G7 leaders agreed to maintain the global fiscal stimulus launched during the pandemic on Saturday and put at the heart of it a US-backed infrastructure initiative dubbed the ‘Build Back Better for the World’ plan.
US President Joe Biden pushed his fellow leaders to show that the elite group can act as the engine of recovery for countries suffering the Covid-19 induced pandemic downturn.
The offer for high quality financing for vital infrastructure, from railways in Africa to wind farms in Asia is part of a White House vision that leading democracies can retake their role leading multilateral cooperation.
Emmanuel Macron, the French President, emphasised support for a new era in international co-operation in a bilateral meeting with the US president at the Carbis Bay summit in south-west England.
"What we need is co-operation and I think its great to have a US president part of the club and very willing to co-operation," he said. "What you demonstrate is that leadership is partnership."
Mr Biden responded with his pledge to demonstrate "America is back" a point that reinforces his China policy and sets the stage for his first presidential meeting with Vladimir Putin next week.
Officials said that in the round table meeting the US pushed for strong language in the final communique on Russia, supported by the host Boris Johnson and the Canadian leader Justin Trudeau.
Germany's Angel Merkel argues that the pressures of the pandemic means keeping links alive with Beijing and that specific "action-oriented" measures are not helpful. In that the German leader got support from Mario Draghi, the Italian leader.
The influence on the global economy by the perceived rivals to the Western nations has been the great preoccupation of the meeting. The likely outcome is a joint task force to target areas that the US can build cooperation on policies with its allies over time.
As democratic nations we have a responsibility to help developing countries reap the benefits of clean growth through a fair and transparent system
The infrastructure initiative not only provides additional funding for developing countries in embracing a "greener recovery" but also represents a counterweight to China's Belt and Road initiative as a source of diplomatic leverage. Chinese diplomats retort that the "time is over" for a small elite group of countries to marshal global development.
While the framework lacks a firm budget, again as a result of German opposition, backers belief it can support sustainable development and green transitions in developing countries.
UK officials said the proposal would grant developing countries access to more finance to accelerate a global shift to renewable energy and sustainable technology. The initiative would form part of the Cop26 Summit in November also in the UK.
“As democratic nations we have a responsibility to help developing countries reap the benefits of clean growth through a fair and transparent system," Mr Johnson said. "The G7 has an unprecedented opportunity to drive a global Green Industrial Revolution, with the potential to transform the way we live.”
The British host of the gathering had a tough Saturday morning as the meetings got under way in earnest. He was pressed by European leaders to live up to the terms of the Brexit deal that London now says cannot be implemented for Northern Ireland trade.
Northern Ireland protocol fallout isolates UK
The UK prime minister lashed out at his European guests and warned he may soon be forced to suspend a key part of the Brexit deal agreed just last year.
He said the EU leaders needed to "get it into their heads" the protocol was interfering with the UK's national markets. "I think that to be fair there's quite a lot of misunderstanding around the EU about the situation in Northern Ireland, the balance of the Good Friday Agreement, the peace process," he said.
"I was just, in a gentle way, getting across what that means and I think that we'll have some pragmatic solutions."
The leaders of the G7 – the US, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Japan – view the gathering at Carbis Bay as a chance to show the world that the richest democracies can offer help to a recovering global economy. Pledging to help vaccinate the rest of the world is the most pressing plank of this recovery.
Director general of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Saturday welcomed the sharing sentiments but said “we need more, and we need them faster.”
“The challenge, I said to the G7 leaders, was that to truly end the pandemic, our goal must be to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the world’s population by the time the G7 meets again in Germany next year.”
At the opening session, the members were joined by South Korean, Indian, Australia and South African leaders as well as Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General.
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
- The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.
World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The years Ramadan fell in May
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What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
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Wed, Aug 29:
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Thu, Aug 30: UAE v Nepal; Hong Kong v Singapore; Malaysia v Oman
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
The Details
Article 15
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Our rating: 4/5
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