Saudi Crown Prince MBS will not attend G7 Summit in Canada
DUBAI: Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto leader, will not attend next week's Group of Seven summit in Canada, a senior diplomat briefed on plans told Reuters on Thursday.
The crown prince, widely known as MBS, did not give a reason for declining Canada's invitation to the annual gathering, the diplomat said.
Saudi Arabia is not a G7 member but can be invited as a guest to its annual gathering, which will be held this year in Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies, from June 15-17.
MBS has rarely travelled internationally in recent years, and declined an invitation to the G7 Summit in Italy last year.
He postponed a planned trip to Japan last year, citing concerns over the health of his father, King Salman.
Indian PM Modi says he will go to Canada for G7 summit
Saudi Arabia's government media office did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, which first reported that MBS would not join this year's gathering, said the development may ease tensions within Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberal party, where some members of parliament were upset that an invitation had been extended to MBS.
The Saudi crown prince has come under heavy criticism for his country's human rights record. The kingdom denies accusations of human rights abuses.
Leaders from Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil are expected to join for parts of the G7 Summit. U.S. President Donald Trump will also be in attendance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
PM Shehbaz condemns ‘unprovoked' attack on Iran by Israel
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned on Friday the unprovoked attack on Iran by Israel. 'I convey my deepest sympathies to the Iranian people on the loss of lives in this attack,' the PM wrote on X. He termed the grave and highly irresponsible act as deeply alarming and said that it risks further de-stabilising 'an already volatile region'. 'We urge the international community and the United Nations to take urgent steps to prevent any further escalation that could imperil regional and global peace.' His statement comes after Israel said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iranian state television reported that Hossein Salami, the chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards corps, had been killed and the unit's headquarters in Tehran had been hit. Several children had been killed in a strike on a residential area in the capital, it said. Iran said it was planning to 'give a harsh response' to the attack, an Iranian security source told Reuters. 'The response to the Israeli attack will be harsh and decisive,' the official said, adding that details of Iran's retaliation 'are being discussed at the highest levels' when asked whether the attack would be imminent. Moreover, in a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the Israeli military strikes violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran and clearly contravene the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law. 'Pakistan stands in resolute solidarity with the people of Iran and unequivocally denounces these blatant provocations, which constitute a grave danger and a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the entire region and beyond, with serious implications,' the statement said. Meanwhile, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari too condemned Israel's unprovoked attack. 'We call on all responsible nations and the United Nations to work collectively towards de-escalation and to uphold international law, so that peace and security may prevail over aggression and conflict,' he wrote on X.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Pope Leo XIV's surprising connection to Justin Bieber and Madonna revealed in new report on family ties
Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected head of the Catholic Church, has an unexpected connection to pop music legends Madonna and Justin Bieber. According to a report by The New York Times, the Pope shares a distant ancestor with these two stars, linking him to the world of pop culture. This family connection traces back to Louis Boucher de Grandpré, a Canadian-born ancestor from Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The Pope's shared lineage ties him not only to Madonna and Bieber but also to other notable figures, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, actress Angelina Jolie, and writer Jack Kerouac. The discovery came as part of a broader family tree research on Pope Leo XIV, who was elected following the death of Pope Francis in May 2025. Madonna's link to the Pope adds a layer of irony, as the Vatican has previously criticised her, especially after the release of her controversial 'Like a Prayer' music video in 1989. The video, which featured provocative imagery, sparked significant backlash from the Church. In contrast, Justin Bieber has long been open about his faith, frequently referencing his religious beliefs in public. The "Peaches" singer is a member of the Christian church Churchome and often shares his spiritual thoughts with his followers on social media.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Foxconn sends 97% of India iPhone exports to US as Apple tackles Trump's tariffs
NEW DELHI: Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn from India went to the United States between March and May, customs data showed, far above the 2024 average of 50% and a clear sign of Apple's efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to countries including the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Britain. During March-May, Foxconn exported iPhones worth $3.2 billion from India, with an average 97% shipped to the United States, compared to a 2024 average of 50.3%, according to commercially available customs data seen by Reuters. India iPhone shipments by Foxconn to the United States in May 2025 were worth nearly $1 billion, the second-highest ever after the record $1.3 billion worth of devices shipped in March, the data showed. Apple declined to comment, while Foxconn did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said China will face 55% tariffs after the two countries agreed on a plan, subject to both leaders' approval, to ease levies that had reached triple digits. India is subject, like most U.S trading partners, to a baseline 10% tariff and is trying to negotiate an agreement to avert a 26% 'reciprocal' levy that Trump announced and then paused in April. Apple's increased production in India drew a strong rebuke from Trump in May. 'We are not interested in you building in India, India can take care of themselves, they are doing very well, we want you to build here,' Trump recalled telling CEO Tim Cook. In the first five months of this year, Foxconn has already sent iPhones worth $4.4 billion to the US from India, compared to $3.7 billion in the whole of 2024. Apple has been taking steps to speed up production from India to bypass tariffs, which would make phones shipped from China to the US much more expensive. In March, it chartered planes to transport iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models worth roughly $2 billion to the United States. Apple has also lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu from 30 hours to six hours, Reuters has reported. The airport is a key hub for iPhone exports. Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1.5 billion in India unit 'We expect made-in-India iPhones to account for 25% to 30% of global iPhone shipments in 2025, as compared to 18% in 2024,' said Prachir Singh, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. Tata Electronics, the other smaller Apple iPhone supplier in India, on average shipped nearly 86% of its iPhone production to the US during March and April, customs data showed. Its May data was not available. The company, part of India's Tata Group, started exporting iPhones only in July 2024, and only 52% of its shipments went to US during 2024, the data showed. Tata declined to comment on the numbers. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in recent years promoted India as a smartphone manufacturing hub, but high duties on importing mobile phone components compared to many other countries means it is still expensive to produce the devices in India. Apple has historically sold more than 60 million iPhones in the US each year, with roughly 80% made in China.
