The US and its G7 allies rolled out new sanctions against Russia’s “war machine” yesterday, targeting Moscow’s lucrative diamond trade and more entities linked to the invasion of Ukraine.
Leaders from the G7 wealthy democracies are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, with Russia’s US$4 billion to US$5 billion annual trade in diamonds in the crosshairs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago has prompted waves of sanctions that have helped plunge his country into recession and drained the Kremlin’s war chest.
Photo: Bloomberg
The G7 is looking to strengthen existing sanctions, closing loopholes and subjecting more Russian firms and their international partners to punitive restrictions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to address the summit by videoconference, with Japanese hosts tamping down speculation that he could make a last-minute, in-person appearance.
A senior US administration official yesterday said that 70 more entities from Russia and “other countries” would be placed on a US blacklist.
“And there will be upwards of 300 new sanctions against individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft,” the official said.
As the G7 weighs how to collectively choke Russia’s trade in diamonds — including high-tech methods of tracing — the UK announced its own “ban on Russian diamonds.”
“As today’s sanctions announcements demonstrate, the G7 remains unified in the face of the threat from Russia, and steadfast in our support for Ukraine,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
“Russian diamonds are not forever,” European Council President Charles Michel said. “We will restrict trade in Russian diamonds.”
EU member state Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with India and the United Arab Emirates.
Economists are divided about how much G7 and other sanctions have hurt the Russian war effort. The Russian economy contracted 2.1 percent last year, a trend that continued early this year.
However, Moscow has adapted quickly, introducing strict capital controls, diverting trade to allies such as China and reportedly borrowing evasion techniques from sanctioned countries like Iran.
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
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,”
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
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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