China-EU summit. China and the European Union (EU) pledged to show joint leadership on climate change at a Beijing summit today marking fifty years of diplomatic relations. They committed to releasing new emissions targets ahead of November’s UN climate summit and cooperating toward “ambitious” outcomes there. It was one of the few concrete results of today’s meeting, which showed tensions as EU leaders pressed for a more “balanced” trade relationship with more market access for their goods.
Warnings on Gaza starvation. More than one hundred aid organizations said mass starvation was spreading across Gaza in an open letter yesterday. They called on Israel to lift aid restrictions and for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. Separately, the World Health Organization director said Gazans are experiencing man-made “mass starvation.” The UN World Food Program said earlier this week that almost a third of Gazans were not eating for multiple days in a row, while the Associated Press, AFP, the BBC, and Reuters today said that their journalists in Gaza are “increasingly unable to feed themselves.” Israel’s foreign ministry said it rejected the aid groups’ assertions.
ICJ climate ruling. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in a unanimous advisory opinion yesterday that governments that fail to act against climate change might be violating international law and be required to pay financial reparations. The non-binding ruling is expected to serve as precedent for future climate lawsuits around the world. It derives from a lawsuit brought by the Pacific Island country of Vanuatu that was supported by more than 130 countries.
Russia-Ukraine talks. The two countries held their first round of peace negotiations in seven weeks yesterday. They agreed to keep working on humanitarian exchanges after a series of previous prisoner swaps. No breakthroughs were immediately apparent on a ceasefire or larger deal to end the war. The top Russian delegate at the talks appeared to dismiss a Ukrainian proposal for a leaders’ meeting next month.
Saudi investments in Syria. A top Saudi government official announced $6.4 billion in planned investments in Syria at a Damascus forum today, saying his visit confirmed Saudi Arabia’s “firm and supportive stance” toward Syria and its interim government. The deals span the real estate, infrastructure, and telecommunications sectors. Riyadh helped convince Washington to lift sanctions on Syria earlier this year.
Cambodia-Thailand clashes. Renewed fighting near the two countries’ border killed at least eleven people today, Thailand’s acting prime minister said. The clashes follow a mine explosion along the border yesterday that wounded five Thai government forces. Thailand withdrew its ambassador to Cambodia and expelled Cambodia’s envoy afterward, while Cambodia asked for an urgent UN Security Council meeting.
Details on U.S.-Japan deal. Japan will buy one hundred Boeing airplanes, increase purchases of U.S. rice by 75 percent, and buy $8 billion worth of U.S. agricultural and food products as part of its trade deal with the United States, the White House said in a fact sheet yesterday. The White House press secretary said that Trump would have discretion over how the U.S. government will spend the money in an unusual $550 billion fund from Japan.
Polish government shake-up. Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced yesterday that he is reducing his cabinet from twenty-six to twenty-one ministers and creating a new combined finance and economy ministry under the leadership of the current finance minister. Tusk fired both the health and justice ministers; the justice system had been criticized for acting slowly to address corruption. The changes follow Tusk’s liberal and pro-European political ally Rafał Trzaskowski’s loss in the country’s June presidential election.
