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Britain's Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wearing face masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pose for a photograph before a bilateral meeting ahead of the G7 foreign ministers summit in Liverpool, Britain, Dec 10, 2021. (Photo: Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERS) - 

The world's wealthiest democracies on Saturday (Dec 11) sought to present a united front against Russian aggression toward Ukraine as Britain hosted a meeting of foreign ministers in the northern English city of Liverpool.

The G7 meeting, attended in person by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Canada, comes amid international concern that Russia could invade Ukraine. Russia denies planning any attack.

British foreign minister Liz Truss met Blinken on Friday night where they expressed deep concern about the build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine's border, the foreign office in London said in a statement.

Any incursion by Russia "would be a strategic mistake for which there would be serious consequences," it said.

"We need to defend ourselves against the growing threats from hostile actors and we need to come together strongly to stand up to aggressors who are seeking to limit the bounds of freedom and democracy," Truss told foreign ministers at the start of the meeting.

"To do this, we need to have a stronger united voice"

Ukraine is at the centre of a crisis in East-West relations as it accuses Russia of massing tens of thousands of troops in preparation for a possible large-scale military offensive.

Russia accuses Ukraine and the United States of destabilising behaviour, and has said it needs security guarantees for its own protection.

Washington is sending its top diplomat for Europe, Assistant Secretary Karen Donfried, to Ukraine and Russia on Dec 13 to Dec 15 to meet with senior government officials.

"Assistant Secretary Donfried will emphasise that we can make diplomatic progress on ending the conflict in the Donbas through implementation of the Minsk agreements in support of the Normandy Format," the US State Department said in a statement.

Ministers arrived at the Museum of Liverpool to a brass band playing Christmas carols, before convening the first formal meeting session which will look at geopolitical issues including nuclear talks with Iran and the military buildup in Iran.

The G7 meeting "is about a show of unity between like-minded major economies, that we are going to absolutely be strong in our stance against aggression, against aggression with respect to Ukraine," Truss told reporters ahead of the talks.

Britain, as current chair of the G7, is calling for its members to be more strident in their defence of what it calls "the free world".

Earlier this week, Truss said the "age of introspection" for the West was over and it needed to wake up to the dangers of rival ideologies. She has highlighted the economic risks of Europe's dependence on Russian gas and the wider security threat posed by Chinese technology as examples.

The G7 meeting is also expected to result in a joint call for Iran to moderate its nuclear programme and grasp the opportunity of ongoing talks in Vienna to revive a multilateral agreement on its nuclear development.

Both Truss and Blinken stressed the need for Iran to engage in the talks, according to the foreign office statement.

Germany, which takes over the rotating G7 leadership from Britain next year, is expected to set out its programme for 2022 at the meeting.

Ministers from the European Union, Australia, South Korea and India will take part in some sessions as guests of the G7, along with representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations//CNA

A storm ripped through a massive Amazon warehouse in the state of Illinois where about 100 workers were left trapped inside (Photo: AFP/Getty Images North America/Michael Thomas) - 

At least 50 people were killed after tornadoes tore through the southeastern US state of Kentucky, its governor told reporters early Saturday (Dec 11), as several storms ravaged swathes of the country.

A number of counties in Kentucky were left devastated with the strongest tornado tearing through 320km of the state, Governor Andy Beshear said.

On the same night, a storm ripped through a massive Amazon warehouse in the state of Illinois where about 100 workers were left trapped inside, local media reported.

"I fear that there are more than 50 dead ... probably closer to somewhere between 70 and 100, it's devastating," Beshear said, adding that it was the "most severe tornado event in Kentucky's history".

In one incident, the roof of a candle factory collapsed, resulting in "mass casualties" in the city of Mayfield, the governor added.

Pictures and videos shared on social media from Mayfield showed buildings ripped apart by the storm, with bent metal, trees and dislodged bricks scattered across the streets and only the remnants of houses left behind.

Images of the tornadoes from US news channels showed a black cylinder sweeping across the ground, illuminated by intermittent blasts of lightning.

"Before midnight I declared a state of emergency," Beshear said.

He added that scores of search and rescue officials had been deployed to save lives as power outages continued to hit the area.

The tornado came as storms wreaked havoc in multiple US states.

Hundreds of officials were working through the early hours of Saturday to rescue employees at the Amazon warehouse - a third of which was reduced to rubble - who were on the night shift processing orders ahead of the Christmas holidays.

The Collinsville Emergency Management Agency described it as a "mass casualty incident" with "multiple subjects trapped at Amazon Warehouse".

A tornado warning had been in effect in the area at the time.

Footage shared across US news channels and social media of the Amazon warehouse in the city of Edwardsville showed a large part of the facility's roof ripped off, while one of the walls had collapsed into the building, with rubble strewn across the site.

Edwardsville police said in a statement there were "confirmed fatalities".

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said: "My prayers are with the people of Edwardsville tonight."

"Our Illinois State Police and Illinois Emergency Management Agency are both coordinating closely with local officials and I will continue to monitor the situation," he added.

In a statement sent to local media, Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha said: "The safety and well-being of our employees and partners is our top priority right now. We're assessing the situation and will share additional information when it's available."

In Arkansas, one person was killed and 20 others were trapped after a tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home, US media reported, with another person killed elsewhere in the state.

Craighead county official Marvin Day told local news channels that rescuers had successfully pulled out those trapped in the building and the structure was "pretty much destroyed".

In Tennessee, the severe weather killed at least three people, Dean Flener, spokesman for the state's Emergency Management Agency, said in comments reported by the Washington Post according to Reuters.

The storms caused a CSX company freight train to derail in western Kentucky, although it said no injuries were reported, the New York Times said, based on a Reuters report. 

Bill Bunting, operations chief at the Storm Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service, said at least five states were hit by the tornadoes, naming them as Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas, the Times reported according to Reuters.

Scientists have warned that climate change is making storms more powerful and increasing their frequency, posing a growing threat to areas where extreme weather events are already common//CNA

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani at the 3rd Indonesia Fintech Summit 2021, Saturday (December 11, 2021). (ANTARA/Youtube Jasa Keuangan) - 

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani reminded the public of the consequences and risks of using digital technology, especially financial technology (fintech), ranging from personal data breaches, potential losses, and fraud to exclusion.

During the period from 2018 to 2021, the Investment Alert Task Force suspended the operations of as many as 3,365 illegal online lenders in Indonesia.

“This data reflects the challenges for fintech industry's players that are committed to continuing to maintain a good industry and the regulators,” the minister stated at the 3rd Indonesia Fintech Summit 2021 monitored online here, Saturday.

To this end, Sri Mulyani assessed that adequate regulations and supervision must complement the various conveniences offered by digital technology that protect consumers whilst not dwarfing the fintech industry itself.

Earlier, at the opening of the 2018 IMF-World Bank Annual Meeting in Bali, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had expressed concerns regarding fintech.

The minister said that the Bali Agenda was issued in the fintech sector that included 12 elements to regulate the digital economy.

The 12 elements encompassed the strengthening of fintech from the government and regulators' sides, activating new technology to improve financial services, keeping the market open and accessible, and encouraging fintech to promote financial inclusion.

The other elements entail adapting the regulatory framework and supervisory practices that are part of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), maintaining financial system integrity, modernizing the legal framework, ensuring stability of the monetary system and financial markets and data to maintain fintech sustainability, as well as encouraging international cooperation.

“The government understands that fintech provides opportunities for more democratic and equitable development,” Mulyani remarked.

However, the minister noted that more democratic and equitable development cannot be realized if there are still sections of society that cannot yet access technology and the internet//ANT

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (centre) during his visit to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Banten, on Saturday (Dec 11, 2021). ANTARA/HO-Transportation MInistry - 

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi instructed aviation industry's stakeholders to boost health protocol enforcement and perform ramp checks for aircraft and airmen to handle a surge in passengers during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

"There is a tendency of passenger ridership increasing during the Christmas and New Year holiday period," Sumadi stated in a statement here on Saturday.

The minister noted that 700 flights were operating and four thousand foreign passengers arrived in Indonesia on a daily basis.

The minister urged aviation industry stakeholders, including airport operators and authorities, airline companies, flight navigation agencies, customs and excise offices, immigration offices, quarantine offices, port health offices, and other relevant institutions to ensure the enforcement of health protocols to prevent COVID-19 cases from surging during the holiday period.

"We must ensure that passengers have completed their second vaccine doses and have shown the COVID-19 test certificate with a negative result in addition to using the contact tracing mobile application PeduliLindungi, wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and following health protocols," Sumadi stated.

The minister also suggested authorities to designate more quarantine locations to cater to international passengers arriving in Indonesia and prevent the facilities from becoming overloaded.

Moreover, he instructed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to perform ramp inspections of flight apparatus serving passengers at airports.

"The ramp inspection activity is our effort to ensure aviation safety since it is paramount in transportation," the minister affirmed.

During his inspection of the airport, Sumadi had observed a ramp check procedure performed on an Airbus A330 aircraft bound for Bali. Officials performing the check determined the aircraft's airworthiness for serving passengers for the day, he added//ANT