The biggest security operation in Northern Ireland’s history swung into action yesterday for the start of the G8 summit.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, the summit host, arrived on Sunday, and other leaders were flying into Belfast before catching helicopters to Lough Erne.
At the resort, campaigners launched two longboats flying sails emblazoned with the slogan “End Tax Dodging,” a reference to Cameron’s aim to make progress on curbing tax evasion at the talks.
PHOTO: EPA
The conflict in Syria was set to dominate the summit, with Russian President Vladimir Putin facing pressure to back away from supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Face-to-face talks between Putin and US President Barack Obama were set to be prickly, with the leaders now supporting opposing sides in the war.
Cameron will host Obama, Putin, French President Francois Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who represent just more than half of the US$71.7 trillion global economy.
The EU and US are due to announce the start of formal talks on a free-trade deal that could be worth more than US$100 billion a year to each economy.
Cameron may face some uncomfortable questions after leaked documents appeared to show that Britain spied on foreign delegates at the 2009 London G20 meetings.
Asked if he could guarantee his guests that no similar operation was in place at Lough Erne, Cameron said: “We never comment on security or intelligence issues and I am not about to start now.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from