UK and allies to announce new sanctions against Russia
Britain and its allies at the G7 are expected to announce further sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, the British government said, stepping up pressure on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
'We are finalising a further sanctions package and I want to work with all our G7 partners to squeeze Russia's energy revenues and reduce the funds they are able to pour into their illegal war,' Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to say in the announcement.
Britain has already sanctioned more than 2,300 individuals, entities and ships as part of sanctions against Russia since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
'We should take this moment to increase economic pressure and show President [Vladimir] Putin it is in his — and Russia's interests — to demonstrate he is serious about peace,' Starmer is expected to say.
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IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
G7 leaders urge Trump to ease off trade war
At a summit where host Canada worked to avoid stoking Trump's anger, and with attention on events in the Middle East, leaders still urged the US president to reverse course on his plans to impose even steeper tariffs on countries across the globe as early as next month. Image: Brendan Smialowski/AFP World leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Monday pushed US President Donald Trump to back away from his punishing trade war, arguing that it poses a risk to global economic stability. At a summit where host Canada worked to avoid stoking Trump's anger, and with attention on events in the Middle East, leaders still urged the US president to reverse course on his plans to impose even steeper tariffs on countries across the globe as early as next month. Most countries represented at the G7 are already subject to a 10 percent baseline tariff imposed by Trump, with European countries and Japan also hit with additional levies on cars, steel, and aluminum. G7 leaders used the meeting to sit down with Trump one-on-one to make their case for the US leader to seal agreements that would eliminate the worse of the US tariff threat. In official sessions, the leaders also warned Trump that the tariffs could bring serious harm to the world economy. "Several participants asked to end the tariff dispute as soon as possible," a senior German official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading They argued that the dispute weakens the G7's economies and "in the end will only strengthen China," the official said. Trump used the meeting to officially sign a deal already announced in May with Britain, the first country to secure a trade pact with the US to avoid Trump's threat of the crushing levies. "I like them. That's the ultimate protection," Trump told reporters after a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the G7 sidelines. At a media conference marking the deal, Trump opened a folder to display the signed agreement, only for the paperwork to slide out and spread across the ground. "Oops, sorry about that," he said as Starmer scrambled to gather up the loose sheets and stuff them back in the folder. 'Get it done' The trade issue is of urgent interest to Canada after the Trump administration announced several additional levies on Canadian imports in recent months, throwing the economic future of America's northern neighbor into deep uncertainty. After a meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Canadian government indicated that the two sides could reach a trade truce deal within the next 30 days. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters in Canada that he spoke to Trump for 30 minutes and discussed ways they could find a solution "in a manner that is in line with Japan's national interests," according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. "As there are still some points where both sides disagree, we have not reached an agreement on the package as a whole," Ishiba said. There were hopes that non-G7 countries expected at the meeting on Tuesday would also have their time with Trump, but this was dashed by the US leader's decision to cut his attendance short due the Iran crisis. Leaders from South Korea, India, Brazil, and South Africa will arrive at the gathering at a resort in the Canadian Rockies with Trump already gone. Dozens of countries are locked in negotiations with Washington to clinch some sort of trade deal before the US imposes stinging reciprocal tariffs, threatened for July 9. Mexico, whose president Claudia Sheinbaum was also expected, is meanwhile seeking to renegotiate its three-way North American free trade agreement that also includes Canada. While there was little expectation that the summit would deliver a breakthrough in the trade negotiations between the US and the rest of the world, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was part of Trump's delegation. A source at the summit said that French President Emmanuel Macron urged the American leader to quickly end the trade conflict once and for all. The European Commission handles trade negotiations for the 27-country bloc, and the EU's trade chief Maros Sefcovic was also attending the summit, accompanying the delegation of EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. The EU institutions are official members of the G7, and during the morning session, von der Leyen argued to the leaders that "tariffs -- no matter who sets them -- are ultimately a tax paid by consumers and businesses at home."
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
Donald Trump leaves G7 summit early
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was aiming for a 'real end' to the conflict between arch-rivals Israel and Iran, and not just a ceasefire, after five days of back-and-forth strikes. 'I'm not looking for a ceasefire, we're looking at better than a ceasefire,' Trump told reporters on board Air Force One before arriving back prematurely in the United States from a G7 summit in Canada. The president said he was looking for 'an end, a real end, not a ceasefire,' adding that he wanted a 'complete give-up' by Iran. Donald Trump again warned Iran against targeting US troops and assets in the Middle East, saying 'we'll come down so hard, it'd be gloves off'. The US leader departed the G7 gathering a day early, as ally Israel and Iran traded fire for a fifth straight day, with Israel hitting Iranian nuclear and military sites, and Tehran responding with missile strikes. Trump has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he has said Washington was not involved in initial strikes and the White House said US forces remained in a defensive posture. On his way back to Washington, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he would be in the White House Situation Room early Tuesday morning. The Situation Room is where presidents convene their National Security Council in times of geopolitical crisis or when they order major military operations. Trump also said he had 'not reached out to Iran for 'Peace Talks' in any way, shape, or form,' in a later post on Truth Social. 'If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table – Would have saved a lot of lives!!!' Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not yet at levels to create an atomic bomb. The United States, Israel and Western allies have repeatedly said they will not allow Iran to have nuclear weapons. On Monday, Trump had said his early departure from the G7 summit had 'nothing to do' with a possible ceasefire between Israel and Iran, adding that France's leader had been 'wrong' to suggest otherwise. 'Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a 'cease fire' between Israel and Iran,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that.' Macron had suggested the United States was ready to make a diplomatic overture to Iran. 'There was an offer made for a meeting and an exchange,' Macron told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit. 'If the United States can obtain a ceasefire, it is a very good thing.' The leaders of the G7 industrial democracies on Monday called for 'de-escalation' in the Middle East starting with the Israel-Iran conflict, stressing that Israel 'has a right to defend itself' and that civilians needed to be protected on both sides. Trump had earlier sent an ominous warning to people in the Iranian capital to flee. 'Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!' he wrote on Truth Social. This developing news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
Eyewitness News
4 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
G7 urges Iran de-escalation as Trump makes hasty summit exit
KANANASKIS - G7 leaders on Monday called for "de-escalation" in the Middle East starting with the Israel-Iran conflict, even as US President Donald Trump hastily left the group's summit. Trump, who was making his return to the international diplomatic calendar, prepared to leave the gathering in the Canadian Rockies a day early as ally Israel pounds Iran. After a day of statements backing diplomacy, Trump ominously took to social media to sound a warning to the people of the Iranian capital Tehran, whose population is nearly 10 million. "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform. But after hesitating at backing a joint statement on the crisis, Trump relented during a dinner at the forested lodge under the snow-capped mountains in Kananaskis. "We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza," said the joint statement backed by Trump released by Canada. The statement also said that Israel "has a right to defend itself" and stressed "the importance of the protection of civilians," as the growing attacks kill civilians on both sides. The leaders of the club of industrial democracies - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - also stated their conviction that Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon." Trump for weeks said he favoured diplomacy, and his envoy Steve Witkoff met five times with Iranian envoys, but he quickly backed Israel's strikes and said that Tehran's clerical state should have agreed to his terms. At a group photo with fellow G7 leaders before the dinner, Trump said: "I have to be back as soon as I can. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff." The US president will miss a day of meetings that was expected to include discussions with the leaders of Ukraine and Mexico. He has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he says it was not involved in initial strikes and the White House said that US forces remained in a defensive posture late Monday. Trump told reporters before his decision was announced to leave early: "As soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something." He earlier said that Iran would be "foolish" not to agree to a negotiated settlement. "It's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. ONUS ON IRAN Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to reporters at the summit on Monday, pleaded with Israel and Iran both to spare civilians. He also voiced objections to what increasingly appeared to be Israel's goal - toppling the Islamist state that took power after the 1979 revolution toppled the pro-Western shah. "All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken," Macron said. Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not yet at levels to create an atomic bomb. Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly. TARIFF TALKS The summit comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Trump's return. Seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, Trump has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until 9 July. But Trump voiced optimism about a resolution with Canada and signed documents with Starmer to confirm an agreement with Britain. Trump has previously mocked host Canada, stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state. But Trump has appeared to show more respect to Canada since Carney, a staid former central banker, took over from the more flamboyant Justin Trudeau in March. Trump had taken office seeking diplomacy both on Iran and Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022. He has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire. Trump said Monday that Putin was "very insulted" by Russia's 2014 expulsion from the G8 and that if Russia were still a member, "you wouldn't have a war right now."
