Iran, Russia, trade and Amazon dominate G7
As the G7 meeting of leaders in Biarritz draws to a close, it can be described as one of the strangest of recent summits. As Politico suggests, host Emmanuel Macron appeared to be fully in control of the meeting, as the French president added the raging fires in the Amazon to the agenda and then invited Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for a surprise sideline visit, as reported by the BBC and Reuters. Alongside Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel and Donald Tusk, Macron also “pushed back firmly” against US president Donald Trump’s demand that Russia be readmitted to the group, according to The Guardian. Trump and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe did meet on the sidelines to agree on the core of a new trade deal, says The Japan Times. Trump and UK prime minister Boris Johnson enjoyed what The Sun called a “love-in”. The New York Times suggested that the other G7 leaders had learned their lesson on how to deal with Trump--seeking to “nudge him toward their views on the pressing issues of the day...while making sure to wrap them in a French crepe of flattery”.
Violent clashes in Hong Kong
The BBC reports that police deployed water cannon and one officer fired a live round as they faced protestors in Hong Kong on Sunday. In an insightful look at the protestors’ tactics, NPR says that moderate and more extreme camps are trying to maintain unity in an effort to wait out authorities and wear them down. Reuters says police arrested 36 people, the youngest aged 12, after protestors hurled Molotov cocktails. Meanwhile, big international business located in Hong Kong are facing a choice, according to The Wall Street Journal (paywall) as their early support for their workers’ desire to protest has started to shift under pressure from Beijing.
Trump response on China “misinterpreted”
CNBC reports that the White House has said that president Donald Trump’s response that “Yup…I have second thoughts about everything” when asked about the trade dispute with China have been “greatly misinterpreted. “President Trump responded in the affirmative - because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher,” White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham wrote. But, as Reuters reports, China Daily said in an editorial that Washington would “never be allowed to control China’s fate” and The Global Times said that leaving the Chinese market would be “suicide” for US companies.
Johnson says no deal can be smooth
UK prime minister Boris Johnson has again played down reports that chaos will follow a no-deal Brexit, according to The Guardian. Speaking at the G7, Johnson said that if a no deal was forced upon the UK “by the obduracy by our European friends”, food shortages were unlikely, and he even offered a guarantee that patients would be able to access medicines unhindered. Claiming a deal was now touch and go, the prime minister also suggested the UK would not have to pay back all of the £39bn financial settlement, the BBC reports.
Drone strikes raise Middle East tensions
Reuters reports that Hezbollah is preparing an imminent response to a “suicide drone” attack on Hezbollah’s media centre in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday. In a separate incident, Israeli drones targeted a convoy of Iraqi Shiite militia, The Times Of Israel reports. The Jerusalem Post says that Hezbollah has denied reports it was planning a military response, and also that the Israeli military said it foiled an Iranian drone attack against northern Israel from Syria.
Seven dead in Mallorca air crash
The BBC reports that at least seven people, including to minors, died when a helicopter and an ultralight plane collided in mid-air over Mallorca.
Barcelona police give bathers emergency clothing kits
Police in Barcelona have been handing out “robbery kits”, made up of a T-shirt bearing the city council logo, shorts, flip-flops and a metro ticket, to bathers whose clothes have been stolen while the swim in the sea, The Guardian reports. They are “particularly appreciated by swimmers on the city’s nudist beaches.”
Cricket: England celebrate amazing comeback
The Guardian has a nice roundup of media reaction to what it has hailed as the greatest ever comeback in the history of the “Ashes” test matches against Australia.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts