Tokyo, 28 June, /AJMEDIA/
At least 13 die as Russian missile hits shopping mall in Ukraine
KYIV – At least 13 people died and more than 40 were injured Monday as a Russian missile hit a busy shopping mall in central Ukraine, a local governor said.
At the time of the missile attack, more than 1,000 people were reportedly at the shopping mall in Kremenchuk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video online showing what appeared to be the shopping mall engulfed in flames.
———-
G-7 seeking price cap on Russian oil amid energy cost surge
MUNICH – The Group of Seven countries are in final talks seeking a global price cap on Russian oil to pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine while planning to roll out more steps to support Kyiv, including with revenues from tariffs imposed on Russian products, a U.S. official said Monday.
As the war drives up energy and food prices worldwide, the G-7 leaders, meeting in southern Germany, are grappling with a food crisis that could hit developing nations hard, with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledging $200 million in financial aid.
———-
Biden, Xi to engage within next few weeks: White House official
MUNICH – U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to have a chance to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping within the next few weeks, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday.
The last time Biden held talks with Xi was in March through a video call, weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started.
———-
Gov’t urges energy saving in Tokyo as demand surges amid hot weather
TOKYO – The government called on households and businesses in Tokyo and surrounding areas to reduce their electricity usage Monday and will ask the same for Tuesday due to heightened demand as Japan braces for a lengthy and hot summer after an early end to the rainy season.
The industry ministry issued its first-ever power supply advisory a day earlier, urging people in Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s service area to take energy-saving steps between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, such as turning off lights that are not in use.
———-
Japan, EU leaders agree security of both regions inseparable
MUNICH – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and European Council President Charles Michel agreed Monday to continue close coordination over their responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine and realize a “free and open” Indo-Pacific as the security of both regions is inseparable.
Michel told Kishida that he wants to work closely with him to make next year’s Group of Seven summit in the western Japanese city of Hiroshima a success, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said after the two leaders met in southern Germany.
———-
Japan PM Kishida, Biden to coordinate over Russian oil price cap, sanctions
MUNICH – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to coordinate closely over sanctions against Russia, including a price cap on Russian oil, a Japanese government official said Monday.
The G-7 leaders meeting in southern Germany has agreed on the importance of imposing a price cap on Russian oil exports to prevent Moscow from funneling revenue to keep on fighting its war against Ukraine, according to the official.
———-
Japan PM tells Senegal’s president Russia is to blame for food crisis
MUNICH – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday expressed concern in a meeting with Senegalese President Macky Sall over the suffering in Africa due to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, emphasizing the invasion’s role in causing a global food crisis.
During the bilateral talks in southern Germany on the fringes of the Group of Seven summit, Sall said dialogue is important to bring an early end to the war and measures are needed to address its negative impacts in Africa, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
———-
NYC’s annual LGBTQ rights march resumes in person with big turnout
NEW YORK – An estimated 30,000 people participated in New York City’s 53rd annual Pride March in late June, marking the return of the LGBTQ rights demonstration to a fully in-person format for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Held annually since 1970, the event originally commemorated the one-year anniversary of spontaneous protests and clashes with police following a June 1969 raid on a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. The march was initially called Christopher Street Liberation Day in honor of the area in lower Manhattan where the uprising occurred.
