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July
U.S. wants to end dependence on China rare earths, Yellen says
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States wants to end its "undue dependence" on rare earths, solar panels and other key goods from China to prevent Beijing from cutting off supplies as it has done to other countries, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
Yellen, who arrived in Seoul late on Monday, told Reuters she was pushing for increased trade ties with South Korea and other trusted allies to improve the resilience of supply chains and avert possible manipulation by geopolitical rivals.
"Resilient supply chains mean a diversity of sources of supply and eliminating to the extent we can the possibility that geopolitical rivals will be able to manipulate us and threaten our security," she said in an interview en route to Seoul.
Yellen will map out her concerns in a major policy address in Seoul on Tuesday after touring the facilities of South Korean tech heavyweight LG Corp (003550.KS) during the final leg of an 11-day visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
According to excerpts of her remarks, Yellen will make a strong pitch for "friend-shoring" or diversifying U.S. supply chains to rely more on trusted trading partners, a move she said would also combat inflation and help counter China's "unfair trade practices."
Yellen said South Korea had “tremendous strengths in terms of resources, technology, abilities” and its companies, including LG, were already investing in the United States.
"They have substantial capacity to produce advanced semiconductors," was particularly important given the United States' "huge dependence" on Taiwan Semiconductor, she said.
It was critical to reduce U.S. dependence on certain Chinese exports since Beijing had cut off supplies to countries such as Japan in the past, while applying pressure in other ways to Australia and Lithuania, a senior Treasury official said.
"They have used coercion to pressure a number of countries whose behavior they have disapproved of," Yellen said. "We know that’s a reason we don’t want to be dependent on China."
Despite her strong words, Yellen said the relationship with China was not "totally negative or escalating into tremendously hostile territory."
She said China was listening to U.S. concerns in other areas and that it had now made some constructive moves on restructuring the debt of low-income countries.
"We have real concerns with respect to China and we’re pressing them, but I don’t want to convey a picture of purely escalating hostilities with China,” she said. (Reuters)
July
Russian shelling kills six in east Ukrainian town, emergency service says
Written by Nur Yasmin
A Russian shell smashed into a two-storey building in the eastern Ukrainian town of Toretsk on Monday, killing six civilians who were sheltering there, the State Emergency Service said.
It said on Facebook that rescuers found five bodies in the rubble and pulled three people out alive, but one later died in hospital.
"The town of Toretsk was under fire today from early in this morning. A two-storey building sheltering people was destroyed as a shell slammed into it," the State Emergency Service said.
It posted photographs on its Facebook page of rescue workers digging through rubble and what was left of the devastated building, and said the search for survivors had been abandoned.
Reuters could not immediately check details of the report independently. Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, denies deliberately targeting civilians but cities have been flattened and millions have fled the fighting. (Reuters)
July
Shanghai enforces new COVID testing, some areas in China extend lockdowns
Written by Nur Yasmin
Several large Chinese cities including Shanghai are rolling out new mass testing or extending lockdowns on millions of residents to counter new clusters of COVID-19 infections, with some measures being criticised on the internet.
China has reported an average of around 390 local daily infections in the seven days ending on Sunday, higher than about 340 seven days earlier, according to Reuters calculations based on official data as of Monday.
While that is tiny compared with a resurgence in other parts of Asia, China is adamant about implementing its dynamic zero COVID policy of eliminating outbreaks as soon as they emerge. Previously when a flare-up became a major outbreak, local officials had been compelled to take tougher measures such as month-long lockdowns, even at the cost of economic growth.
Persistent outbreaks and more closures could add pressure on the world's second-largest economy, which contracted sharply in the second quarter from the first after widespread COVID lockdowns jolted industrial production and consumer spending.
The commercial hub of Shanghai, yet to fully recover from the harsh two-month lockdown in spring and still reporting daily sporadic cases, plans to hold mass testing in many of its 16 districts and in some smaller areas where new infections had been reported recently, after similar testing last week.
"There is still an epidemic risk at the community level so far," the city government said in a statement.
Shanghai reported more than a dozen new cases but none was found outside quarantined areas, local government data showed on Monday.
"I'm speechless," said a Shanghai resident surnamed Wang, already subject to testing every weekend at her residential compound. "It sounds like a waste of resources that doesn't address the real problem."
The northern city of Tianjin, which launched multiple rounds of mass testing in recent months to curb earlier outbreaks, said on Monday it is again testing its more than 12 million residents, after two local infections were found.
In the northwestern city of Lanzhou, a lockdown in four major districts with around 3 million residents that started last week has been extended to July 24.
In the central Chinese city of Zhumadian, lockdowns for several million people in a few towns under its jurisdiction have been extended for a few days until Monday or Tuesday.
The southwestern city of Chengdu said on Monday it suspended various entertainment and cultural venues, widening such curbs over the weekend that had been limited to a few districts.
The capital Beijing, after a week of zero local infections, found two cases on Monday - one international flight crew member and the person's roommate. Authorities have sealed affected buildings.
'NO HUMANITY'
Authorities in the southern region of Guangxi said late on Sunday they removed two officials in the city of Beihai from their jobs for acting poorly in their COVID response.
Beihai, with a population of 1.9 million and currently clocking over 500 infections, has launched multiple rounds of mass testing and locked down some areas.
As of Sunday, over 2,000 tourists were stuck in the city.
In the southern city of Guangzhou, COVID control staffers broke down the locks of apartment doors without residents' consent, stirring an outcry on social media over the weekend.
Authorities in one district in Guangzhou on Monday apologised to residents.
The issue was among the top trending topics on China's Twitter-like social media Weibo.
"It's too horrifying, too ridiculous," wrote a Weibo user. "No humanity, no law."
In the northeastern city of Changchun, subway passengers were told to wear N95 masks throughout their rides. Many cities including Beijing only mandate surgical masks.
Changchun has been clear of local cases since mid-May, while a smaller nearby town under its jurisdiction has reported fewer than 20 cases since July 15.
Jin Dong-yan, a virology professor at the University of Hong Kong, said N95 respirators are able to offer better protection than surgical masks during major outbreaks, but could be of low cost-efficiency in areas of low COVID risk.
"In a city without cases, N95 mask mandate would be painful and inconvenient." (Reuters)
July
Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa ousted; 'We are the real power' says protester
Written by Nur Yasmin
The speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament formally accepted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation on Friday after he fled to Singapore to escape a popular uprising brought about by his country's worst economic crisis in seven decades.
After suffered from crippling shortages of petrol and diesel and runaway prices of basic items like vegetables and bread for months, Sri Lankans are now waiting for lawmakers to elect a new president on Wednesday.
Until then, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the interim president although protesters want him gone too. His private residence was set ablaze by protesters last weekend and his office stormed this week.
"From this point, we will move to constitutionally appoint a new president," the speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, told reporters after receiving Rajapaksa's resignation letter the previous night.
"It will happen quickly and successfully. I request everyone to support this process."
Rajapaksa landed in Singapore on Thursday, having fled to the Maldives early on Wednesday on a military jet along with his wife and two security guards. Protesters occupied his home and office last weekend after surging past armed guards.
"We are so happy today that he resigned and we feel that when we, the people, come together, we can do everything," said Arunanandan, 34, a school teacher who had been camping at the main protest site opposite the presidential secretariat for the past three months.
"We are the real power in this country."
Speaker Abeywardena said he hoped to complete the process of selecting a new president in seven days and that parliament will reconvene on Saturday, when lawmakers would be formally told about the vacancy at the top. Parliament will vote for a new president on July 20.
Wickremesinghe is the first choice of the ruling party to take over full time, although no decision has been taken. The opposition's nominee is Sajith Premadasa, while the potential dark horse is senior lawmaker Dullas Alahapperuma.
PRESIDENTIAL POWERS
After he was sworn in by the chief justice, Wickremesinghe said he would follow the constitutional process and establish law and order in the country.
He also vowed to start the process of increasing parliament's powers and reducing the president's, as demanded by protesters.
"This change can be completed by the new president once he is elected by parliament next week," Wickremesinghe said.
Street protests against Sri Lanka's economic crisis simmered for months before coming to a head last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over government buildings in Colombo, blaming the Rajapaksa family and allies for runaway inflation, shortages of basic goods, and corruption.
Serpentine queues outside fuel pumps have become common, while the government has closed schools and enforced work-from-home for office workers to conserve fuel. The country of 22 million has nearly run out of dollars for imports and defaulted on foreign loans.
Headline inflation hit 54.6% last month and the central bank has warned that it could rise to 70% in coming months.
Sri Lanka had begun preliminary discussions with the International Monetary Fund about a potential bailout loan, but these have been interrupted by the latest government chaos.
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters on Thursday that Fund staff were still in contact with technical-level government officials but hoped to resume high-level dialogue "as soon as possible."
Sri Lanka has received billions of dollars in aid from neighbour India in recent months and has also sought help from its fourth-biggest lender, China. Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China told Bloomberg Television that the country was in negotiations with Beijing for as much as $4 billion in aid and was confident of receiving "at some point". (Reuters)
July
Sri Lanka PM Wickremesinghe sworn in as acting president - govt official
Written by Nur Yasmin
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country's acting president on Friday, a government official said.
Wickremesinghe had already taken on the role after former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country on Wednesday following months of anti-government protests. (Reuters)
July
S.Korea seeks to kickstart talks to resolve historical feuds with Japan
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea hopes a high-level visit to Tokyo next week will kickstart talks aimed at a breakthrough in historical disputes despite concerns the death of former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe could disrupt efforts to mend ties, Seoul officials said.
Relations between the two North Asian U.S. allies have been strained over disputes dating to Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea. Washington has been pressing Tokyo and Seoul to mend fences in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat and the rising influence of China.
Officials in the administration of new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May vowing to improve ties with Japan, told Reuters they feel emboldened by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's recent election victory which could give him more scope to advance his policy agenda for another three years.
Foreign Minister Park Jin will visit Tokyo as early as next week, a trip which a senior official handling Japan policy said is aimed at "turning on the tap" for serious negotiations on issues relating to forced labour, which stalled under Yoon's predecessor.
Park will visit Tokyo on July 18, Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday. South Korea did not immediately confirm the report.
Another official said Yoon would send a high-level delegation led by the prime minister when Japan holds a public memorial service for Abe, who was shot and killed last week while on the campaign trail.
Yoon would also likely use his Aug. 15 Liberation Day speech marking Korea's independence from Japan as a chance to send a reconciliatory message to Tokyo, the official added.
"What we're trying to do is to open the door for real talks," the senior official said.
The assassination of Abe, who was a defining leader in Japanese politics and a divisive figure in Korea, has raised new doubts about the outlook for relations with South Korea, where bitter wartime memories run deep.
Some analysts say Korea might be put on the back burner while Kishida presses to achieve Abe's unrealised dreams, including constitutional reform aimed at allowing Japanese troops to fight overseas.
But some Korean officials see Japan as more willing to talk now, with pressure by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration also playing a potential role.
"We see great potential in stronger trilateral relationships," Derek Chollet, Counsellor of the U.S. State Department, told Reuters this week.
COOPERATION 'INEVITABLE'
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Friday that cooperation with Seoul and Washington is "inevitable" for responding to North Korea's threat and other regional issues.
"Although relations between Japan and South Korea are in a very severe state ... we don't think it can be left as it is," he told a news conference, adding Tokyo would work together to resolve history issues and restore ties.
Yoon and Kishida met Biden on the sidelines of the recent NATO summit for their first trilateral talks, and Chollet said Washington stands ready to facilitate strong ties between its two allies.
At home, the Yoon government is gathering opinions from victims of forced labour, lawyers and experts via a newly launched public-private panel, which held its second hearing on Thursday.
At stake are South Korean court orders for a seizure of assets of Japanese companies accused of not compensating some of their colonial-era labourers. Tokyo has warned of serious repercussions if the orders are enforced. read more
The first official said the Yoon administration was seeking a "realistic, feasible proposal" that can win consent from both victims and the Japanese government.
A third official was more cautious, saying the compensation issue should be resolved alongside trade and other rows, which could make a compromise more difficult.
Yuko Nakano, a fellow at the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said any compromise would require patience and commitment from both Yoon and Kishida.
"High-level visits and meetings often attract attention, but equally important is to continue building on efforts that are happening below the surface," she said. (Reuters)
July
G20 talks overshadowed by Ukraine war as host Indonesia seeks consensus
Written by Nur Yasmin
G20 finance leaders meeting in Bali must make progress tackling the global economic threats sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine or the humanitarian consequences would be catastrophic, host Indonesia said on Friday.
Some Western ministers blasted Russian officials attending the talks, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying Russia's "brutal and unjust war" was solely responsible for the economic crisis the world now faced.
Finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies are meeting on the resort island, as host Indonesia tries to find common ground in a group frayed by the Ukraine war and rising economic pressures from soaring inflation.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation", has overshadowed recent G20 meetings, including last week's gathering of foreign ministers.
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the world had high hopes the group could find a solution to the threat of war, rising commodity prices and the spillover effects on the ability of low-income countries to repay debt.
"We are acutely aware that the cost of our failure to work together is more than we can afford. The humanitarian consequences for the world, and especially for many low income countries would be catastrophic," she said.
G20 members include Western countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia and accuse it of war crimes in Ukraine - which Moscow denies - as well as nations like China, India and South Africa, which have been more muted in their responses.
Sri Mulyani called for G20 members to talk less about politics and "build bridges between each other" to deliver more technical decisions and concrete action.
Yellen said Russian finance officials at the meeting shared responsibility for the "horrific consequences" of the war.
"By starting this war, Russia is solely responsible for negative spillovers to the global economy, particularly higher commodity prices," Yellen said.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov was attending the meetings in Bali, while Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was participating virtually at the time, a source familiar with the matter said.
Maksimov addressed the gathering and there was no walk out by other leaders, the source said.
Western countries have repeatedly said there cannot be "business as usual" at the G20 meetings due to Russia's presence.
Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told Russian officials that she held them personally responsible for "war crimes" committed during Russia's war, a Western official told Reuters.
Freeland, whose maternal grandparents were born in Ukraine, told the opening G20 session that the war was the "single biggest threat to the global economy right now," the official said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of one session of a G20 meeting with his counterparts in Bali last week, following what he called "frenzied criticism" of his country over the war.
That meeting ended without a communique nor any announcements of agreements.
Yellen said one of her key objectives was to push G20 creditors, including China, to finalise debt relief for countries in debt distress. (Reuters)
July
China willing to 'recalibrate' ties with Australia - Wang Yi
Written by Nur Yasmin
China-Australia relations are facing both challenges and opportunities at the present, and China is willing to "recalibrate" ties in the spirit of mutual respect, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
"The Chinese side is willing to take the pulse (on ties), recalibrate, and set sail again," Wang told Chinese media in the Guangxi region on Thursday, according to a foreign ministry statement on Friday.
But Australia must correct its understanding of China and not hype up differences, and refrain from joining in with others in trying to contain China, Wang said. (Reuters)
July
Ukraine denounces deadly missile strike as war overshadows G20 meeting
Written by Nur Yasmin
Western officials accused their Russian counterparts of war crimes on Friday after Russian missiles struck a Ukrainian city far behind the frontlines in an attack Kyiv officials said killed at least 23 people.
Ukraine said Thursday's strike on Vinnytsia, a city of 370,000 people about 200 km (125 miles) southwest of Kyiv, had been carried out with Kalibr cruise missiles launched from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea.
The attack was the latest in a series of Russian strikes in recent weeks using long-range missiles on crowded buildings in cities far from the front, each killing dozens of people.
Russia, which denies targeting civilians, said the building it struck on Thursday was used to train troops. Ukraine said it was an office building housing a cultural centre used by retired veterans.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Russia a terrorist state, urged more sanctions against the Kremlin and said the death toll in Vinnytsia could rise.
"Unfortunately, this is not the final number. Debris clearance continues. Dozens of people are reported missing. There are seriously injured (people) among those hospitalised,” he said in a video address.
Zelenskiy told an international conference aimed at prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine that the attack had been mounted on "an ordinary, peaceful city".
"No other state in the world poses such a terrorist threat as Russia,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine's state emergency service said three children, including a 4-year-old girl, were killed in Thursday's attack. Another 71 people were hospitalised and 29 people were missing.
It posted a photograph on its Telegram channel of a toy kitten, a toy dog and flowers lying in the grass. "The little girl Lisa, killed by the Russians today, has become a ray of sunshine," it said. Images of the girl, who had Down's Syndrome, pushing a pram like one found in the debris, went viral online.
Authorities in the southern city of Mykolaiv, closer to the frontlines, reported fresh Russian strikes on Friday morning, which wounded at least two people.
"This time, they hit Mykolaiv around 7:50 a.m., knowing full well that there were already many people on the streets at that time. Real terrorists!" Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Senkevych posted on social media.
G20 MEETING
The Vinnytsia attack overshadowed the start of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Indonesia on Friday, where the top U.S. and Canadian representatives accused Russian officials in attendance of culpability in atrocities.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a "special operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemned Russia's "brutal and unjust war" and said Russian finance officials shared responsibility.
"By starting this war, Russia is solely responsible for negative spillovers to the global economy, particularly higher commodity prices," she said.
Russian officials participating in the meeting were "adding to the horrific consequences of this war through their continued support of the Putin regime", she added.
"You share responsibility for the innocent lives lost and the ongoing human and economic toll that the war is causing around the world," she said, addressing the Russian officials.
Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told Russian officials at the meeting that she held them personally responsible for "war crimes", a Western official told Reuters.
As Russia pressed its offensive in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, the United States and more than 40 other countries agreed on Thursday to coordinate investigations into suspected war crimes.
GHOST TOWN
The stepped-up Russian attacks on cities far from the front comes at a time when momentum appears to be shifting in the near-five-month war after weeks of Russian gains.
After capturing the eastern industrial cities of Sievierodonetsk and Luhansk in huge battles that killed thousands of troops on both sides, Russia has paused its advance. A Ukrainian general said on Thursday Kyiv had not lost "a single metre" of territory in a week.
Ukraine has meanwhile unleashed new HIMARS rocket systems received from the United States, striking targets deep in Russian-held territory. It appears to have focused on Russian logistics, blowing up depots of ammunition that Moscow relies on for the massive artillery barrages that accompany its assaults.
Ukraine says it is preparing a counter-attack in coming weeks to recapture a swath of southern territory near the Black Sea coast, where authorities installed by Moscow say they are planning referendums on joining Russia.
The war in Ukraine has sent prices soaring for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertiliser, stoking a global food crisis. Negotiators hope a deal will be signed next week.
The United States took steps on Thursday to facilitate Russian food and fertiliser exports by reassuring banks, shipping and insurance companies that such transactions would not breach Washington's sanctions on Moscow.
Enabling those Russian exports is part of attempts by the United Nations and Turkey to broker a package deal with Moscow that would unlock a blockade on the Black Sea port of Odesa to allow for shipments of Ukrainian grain.
The eastern Ukrainian town of Popasna that fell to Russian forces two months ago is now a ghost town with little sign of life.
A Reuters reporter who visited the town on Thursday found it almost deserted, with nearly all apartment buildings destroyed or heavily damaged.
Former resident Vladimir Odarchenko stood inside his damaged home and surveyed the debris strewn across the floor.
"I have no idea what I'm going to do. Where to live? I don't know," he said. (Reuters)
July
Yellen says G20 must act to address short-term food insecurity crisis
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday urged Group of 20 major economies to take urgent action to address a short-term food insecurity crisis exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine, and avoid market-distorting export restrictions and stockpiling.
Yellen, speaking at a meeting of G20 finance officials in Indonesia, said countries should target fiscal support measures to help those most in need, rather than adopting costly and regressive blanket subsidies.
She also called on G20 members to boost their spending to address existing food security challenges linked to conflict, climate change, and economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic that had grown worse due to war-related increases in food, fertilizer and fuel prices.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was "using food as a weapon of war," she said, citing "the destruction of agricultural facilities, theft of grain and farm equipment, and the effective blockade of Black Sea ports."
Yellen said poor households in the poorest countries were the most directly affected, setting back development and undermining efforts to eradicate poverty.
"We must take action to address the short-term food insecurity crisis and, equally importantly, the longer-term drivers of food insecurity, including the nexus with climate change," she said. "The speed and wisdom of our decisions now will make the difference on whether we get the current crisis under control."
Yellen said G20 countries should leverage the existing food security and agriculture architecture, and insist that the multilateral development banks, the Rome-based food agencies and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) and others respond more urgently.
"We don’t need new institutions. We need robust coordination, knowledge sharing, research and development, financing, and action," she said, lauding creation of the Global Alliance for Food Security as a helpful move.
Washington last month said it would commit a further $2.76 billion to tackling food insecurity, on top of $2.8 billion already provided since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 27.
The United States was also providing funds to an initiative launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and would be contributing to the African Development Bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility and other initiatives, she said. (Reuters)