WORLD BRIEFING: September 9, 2023
Today marks 563 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
A powerful earthquake struck Morocco's High Atlas mountains late on Friday, killing at least 632 and injuring 329 people, destroying buildings and sending residents of major cities rushing from their homes. Most dead are in hard-to reach mountain areas, official says. Marrakech residents report damage in historic old city - Reuters
G20 leaders were unable to resolve differences over the wording of the summit declaration over the war in Ukraine, leaving that paragraph blank for now, according to Reuters. Earlier it was believed that the absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin would make it easier to achieve unanimity on such crucial issues. On Friday I told the India Today channel that given the global reunifications of the war, India should abandon its non-aligned stance and adopt a more supportive position on the war in Ukraine. “No country understands sovereignty & territorial integrity better than India,” I said.
But later Saturday we are hearing that the line in the Bali text from last year that said “most members strongly condemned the war” isn’t repeated in this year’s draft, which instead highlights areas of agreement including the tenets of the UN Charter against using force and in favor of territorial integrity. The new draft also welcomes efforts to reach a “comprehensive, just and durable peace in Ukraine.” Referring to U.N. charter principles is similar to wording used at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg
India’s biggest contribution as president of the Group of 20 (G-20) in 2023 is to give greater representation to the diverse developing nations of the Global South, say analysts, even though its efforts may have been repeatedly overshadowed by deepening fault lines over the Ukraine war. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal to invite the African Union, a grouping of 55 African countries, to the G-20 table has found widespread acceptability within the G-20, in what would be a boost for India’s aim to emerge as the voice of this diverse group of 134 countries stretching from the Pacific island nations to Africa and Asia - Straits Times
G20 is now G21 as African Union has became the official member announced by PM Modi.
PM Modi boasted of a productive morning, it’s worth noting that the Indian prime minister is mixing his G-20 agenda with some of his local political slogans. India, holding the G-20 presidency, calls on the world to convert a global trust deficit into an atmostphere of faith. And that is why the mantra of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayaas’ can be a beacon for us, Modi says, speaking in Hindi. That roughly translates as ‘everyone’s co-operation, everyone’s progress, everyone’s trust, and everyone’s effort’ -- and is a line Modi uses very often in his speeches to the nation. There’s also a clue in the G-20 logo itself, which contains a lotus flower similar to the symbol of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Read more about Modi’s not-so-subtle use of the G-20 in his quest for a third term - Bloomberg
Protest actions were held in key Asian cities on the eve of the G20 Leaders' Summit. In the Philippines, climate campaigners gathered in the financial district of Makati City to call for the phaseout of fossil fuel subsidies to give way to a "rapid, just, and equitable transition to renewable energy," among other urgent concerns. “We demand that the G20 governments commit to bolder measures to address the multiple crises, including mobilizing much-needed resources through inclusive debt cancellation, adoption of wealth taxes for spending on urgent economic and climate action, and the rechanneling of public funds away from fossil fuel subsidies towards renewable energy systems,” said Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of the non-profit Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD). Climate change is on the agenda of the two-day summit which will discuss pressing issues related to the global economy. Elsewhere in Asia, counterpart activist groups launched mass actions in Jakarta, Indonesia; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Kathmandu, Nepal; Colombo, Sri Lanka; as well as Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan. A wave of protests by street vendors in India is also scheduled on the day of the summit itself.
Facing a battle in the opinion polls, America’s oldest ever commander-in-chief is using his surprise trip to Kyiv in February to sell himself as a “true leader” ahead of the 2024 election. In a new 60-second campaign ad – which debuted on social media on Thursday and will air on TV in US battleground states during prime time on Saturday – draws a stark contrast with his Republican rivals over Russia’s war in Ukraine - Straits Times
Fires raging across forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan during 2023’s prolonged El Nino climate phenomenon have covered major cities in the Indonesian regions with haze, raising concerns that the smoke could cross international borders. In South Kalimantan, the situation worsened to the point that thick haze blanketed Syamsudin Noor International Airport in Banjarmasin city, and at least six flights due to depart on Friday morning had to be rescheduled.
Russia may be able to increase production of artillery in the next couple years to about 2 million shells annually, about double some previous Western expectations but still far short of Moscow's Ukraine war needs, a Western official said on Friday. The official estimates that Russia fired between 10 and 11 million rounds last year - Reuters
Ukrainian forces continue offensive operations in the Melitopol direction, making gains south of the village of Robotyne, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Sept. 8.
Romania will introduce new security measures to protect the civilian population near the Danube River in response to Russian strikes against Ukrainian ports, based on a document issued on Sept. 7 by Romania's National Committee for Emergency Situations - Kyiv Independent