The G7 are considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Kyodo news agency reported yesterday, citing Japanese government sources.
Bloomberg a day earlier also reported that the US and Ukraine’s allies were considering “an outright ban on most exports to Russia.”
That report said officials from G7 nations were discussing the idea before a summit meeting in Japan next month.
Photo: AFP
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the government was aware of it, but refrained from commenting on exchanges among G7 countries and like-minded nations about possible further sanctions against Russia.
“What is important for ending Russian aggression as soon as possible is that G7 remains united for severe sanctions against Russia and strong support for Ukraine,” he told a news briefing.
Separately, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that all members of the alliance agreed that Ukraine would eventually become a member, but the main focus is to ensure the country prevails against the Russian invasion.
Stoltenberg made the remark at a meeting of Ukraine’s allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
International backing for Ukraine holds “strong and true,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in his opening remarks at the meeting.
On the eve of the talks gathering representatives from 50 countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Western allies to send more fighter jets and long-range missiles to help repel Russian troops.
“Our support for the forces of freedom in Ukraine holds strong and true,” Austin said, as he began the discussions, a year after the format of talks between defense leaders began to coordinate aid for Ukraine.
“At today’s contact group meeting, we’ll focus on three key issues — air defense, ammunition and enablers,” Austin said.
Stoltenberg acknowledged the need to discuss “new platforms” of support with the battle now in its second year.
However, he also underlined the need to ensure that already supplied weapons continued to work.
“This is now a battle of attrition, and a battle of attrition becomes a war of logistics,” Stoltenberg said. “Maybe it’s also a bit more boring, but the logistics is extremely important.”
Additional reporting by AFP
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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