The Amazon is not on fire. There are fires in the Amazon rainforest, as there are every year in July-September, because this is the dry season. There may be more fires than usual this year, and it may even be the fault of Jair Bolsonaro, the Donald Trump mini-me who became the president of Brazil last January, but that is not still clear.

Yet, there is a great outcry, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying that Bolsonaro lied to him about his stance on climate change. Macron is even threatening to withhold French ratification of the recently signed free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (of which Brazil is the biggest member).

Meanwhile, British prime minister Boris Johnson declares that it is “an international crisis”, and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel calls the fires “an acute emergency...for the whole world.” The Finnish foreign minister even suggests that the EU should boycott Brazilian beef. Concerted international action at last!

Well, no. They might have done it at the G7 summit of the world’s richest countries in Biarritz, but they all knew it would just prompt another Donald Trump walk-out like last year’s. And some of their advisers may be warning them by now that they are not on very safe grounds when they paint Bolsonaro as the sole culprit of the piece.

Bolsonaro is not a good person. He is an obtuse and obnoxious bully who doesn’t give a fig about the climate and advocates ‘developing’ the Amazon in ways that would ultimately destroy the rainforest.

When environmental activists claimed that farmers encouraged by Bolsonaro’s incendiary rhetoric were setting fires to clear Amazonian land for ranching, he blamed the activists themselves, saying that they were setting the fires to discredit him. He had no evidence, he admitted, but he had a “feeling” about it.

Of course, Brazilian farmers and the agribusiness interests behind them are setting fires to destroy bits of the forest, but this is not new with Bolsonaro. The amount of forest they destroyed annually went into steady decline after the Workers’ Party (PT) took power in 2003, but the damage has been trending back up again since the last PT president, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached by Congress in 2015.

Bolsonaro is definitely the icing on the cake, but it’s questionable how much impact he has had after less than eight months in power. The number of fines handed out for illegal burning has dropped by a third this year, but the great majority of illegal burns always went unpunished anyway.

When Brazil’s National Space Research Institute reported an 88% increase in deforestation in June compared with the same month a year ago, nobody except Bolsonaro questioned the data. But, that was before this year’s burning season (Queimada) began, and presumably referred to losses of forest due to illegal logging and land-clearing for mining operations, not to fires.

When the same Brazilian space institute claimed more recently that satellite data showed an 83% increase this year in forest fires, mainly in the Amazon region, Bolsonaro promptly fired its director, claiming that he was manipulating the data for political reasons.

Bolsonaro’s relationship with the truth is as distant as Trump’s, but it must be pointed out that NASA’s Earth Observatory — also relying on satellite data — reported on 22 August that “total fire activity across the Amazon basin this year has been close to the average in comparison to the past 15 years.”

There is, to be sure, a pall of smoke hanging over São Paulo — Brazil’s biggest city — at the moment. It’s as bad as Singapore six years ago or Vancouver last summer, and there’s no doubt that it comes from forest fires. They are, however, fires in the Bolivian part of the Amazon, not Brazil’s.

What the hell, you may say. Bolsonaro may not be guilty this time, but he’s guilty of lots of other things, so let’s hang him anyway. This is not a wise way of proceeding, even if you are doing it with the best of intentions. 
 
(This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the <a href="https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-bolsonaro-may-not-be-the-real-culprit-of-the-amazon-fire-2785439">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

The Amazon is not on fire. There are fires in the Amazon rainforest, as there are every year in July-September, because this is the dry season. There may be more fires than usual this year, and it may even be the fault of Jair Bolsonaro, the Donald Trump mini-me who became the president of Brazil last January, but that is not still clear.

The Amazon is not on fire. There are fires in the Amazon rainforest, as there are every year in July-September, because this is the dry season. There may be more fires than usual this year, and it may even be the fault of Jair Bolsonaro, the Donald Trump mini-me who became the president of Brazil last January, but that is not still clear. Yet, there is a great outcry, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying that Bolsonaro lied to him about his stance on climate change. Macron is even threatening to withhold French ratification of the recently signed free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (of which Brazil is the biggest member). Meanwhile, British prime minister Boris Johnson declares that it is “an international crisis”, and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel calls the fires “an acute emergency...for the whole world.” The Finnish foreign minister even suggests that the EU should boycott Brazilian beef. Concerted international action at last! Well, no. They might have done it at the G7 summit of the world’s richest countries in Biarritz, but they all knew it would just prompt another Donald Trump walk-out like last year’s. And some of their advisers may be warning them by now that they are not on very safe grounds when they paint Bolsonaro as the sole culprit of the piece. Bolsonaro is not a good person. He is an obtuse and obnoxious bully who doesn’t give a fig about the climate and advocates ‘developing’ the Amazon in ways that would ultimately destroy the rainforest. When environmental activists claimed that farmers encouraged by Bolsonaro’s incendiary rhetoric were setting fires to clear Amazonian land for ranching, he blamed the activists themselves, saying that they were setting the fires to discredit him. He had no evidence, he admitted, but he had a “feeling” about it. Of course, Brazilian farmers and the agribusiness interests behind them are setting fires to destroy bits of the forest, but this is not new with Bolsonaro. The amount of forest they destroyed annually went into steady decline after the Workers’ Party (PT) took power in 2003, but the damage has been trending back up again since the last PT president, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached by Congress in 2015. Bolsonaro is definitely the icing on the cake, but it’s questionable how much impact he has had after less than eight months in power. The number of fines handed out for illegal burning has dropped by a third this year, but the great majority of illegal burns always went unpunished anyway. When Brazil’s National Space Research Institute reported an 88% increase in deforestation in June compared with the same month a year ago, nobody except Bolsonaro questioned the data. But, that was before this year’s burning season (Queimada) began, and presumably referred to losses of forest due to illegal logging and land-clearing for mining operations, not to fires. When the same Brazilian space institute claimed more recently that satellite data showed an 83% increase this year in forest fires, mainly in the Amazon region, Bolsonaro promptly fired its director, claiming that he was manipulating the data for political reasons. Bolsonaro’s relationship with the truth is as distant as Trump’s, but it must be pointed out that NASA’s Earth Observatory — also relying on satellite data — reported on 22 August that “total fire activity across the Amazon basin this year has been close to the average in comparison to the past 15 years.” There is, to be sure, a pall of smoke hanging over São Paulo — Brazil’s biggest city — at the moment. It’s as bad as Singapore six years ago or Vancouver last summer, and there’s no doubt that it comes from forest fires. They are, however, fires in the Bolivian part of the Amazon, not Brazil’s. What the hell, you may say. Bolsonaro may not be guilty this time, but he’s guilty of lots of other things, so let’s hang him anyway. This is not a wise way of proceeding, even if you are doing it with the best of intentions. (This article was originally published on The DNA. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Jair Bolsonaro may not be the real culprit of the Amazon fires

By Susan Harris Rimmer 
&nbsp; 
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has had a busy fortnight of international diplomacy. Barely had the dust settled from his performance at the Pacific Island Forum in Tuvalu, then the prime minister announced troop commitments to the Straits of Hormuz, then fronted a delicate press conference in Vietnam speaking about the South China Sea, en route to France.

After a year in the top job, Morrison may be slowly understanding what it takes to make an impact at a global level in order to pursue Australia’s interests.

The Golden G7 Ticket

Morrison scored a rare and valuable invitation to the 45th Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Biarritz, France. The G7 membership consists of the industrialised economies of US, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, Italy and Canada, along with the Presidents of the European Union and European Commission, and usually Spain. The World Bank, IMF, OECD, African Union, ILO, African Development Bank and NEPAD are also usually invited, the UN Secretary-General was also there.

The G7 used to be the G8, but Russia is still suspended. On March 24 2014, the G7 members cancelled the planned G8 summit that was to be held in June that year in the Russian city of Sochi, and suspended Russia’s membership of the group, due to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. However, Russia has not been permanently expelled.

French President Emmanuel Macron used his invitations strategically to promote a “league of democracies” concept. He invited leaders from Australia, India, Chile and South Africa to join the outreach activities at the summit, in particular, to attend a Sunday night dinner to discuss environmental challenges.

Australia is a member of the G20, which includes India, Indonesia and China. But it has often cast a wistful eye to Canada’s participation in the G7/8, despite the relative similarity in economic strength between the two nations.

This year, the Henry Jackson Society released its second Audit of Geopolitical Capability report, which assesses the geopolitical capability of the Group of 20 nations plus Nigeria. It ranked Australia as the eighth-most capable in the world, ahead of India and Russia.

But since the election of Donald Trump as US president, the G7 has lost much of its consensus and related power. The 2019 summit was like an Agatha Christie play, full of shocks, tensions, surprise reveals and difficulties.

Tensions and Diplomatic Shocks

The US president walked out early from last year’s G7 summit in Canada over criticism of his tariffs policy, and then refused to sign the final statement. Macron, therefore, organised the summit to have a two-hour lunch alone with the president and abandoned the idea of a final communique.

Saturday working sessions were held on jobs, global inequality, climate change and women’s empowerment, leading to criticisms from the US delegation that the agenda was too “niche”. Sunday was devoted to the extremely difficult trade discussions and the Amazon forest fires.

The European G7 nations, as well as other EU members such as Ireland and Spain, sparred over whether to block the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement unless Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro takes forceful action on the forest fires raging in the Amazon and on climate change in general.

Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, shortly after he attended his first G7 in Italy. Climate was still a sticking point at this summit, with leadership from the G7 unlikely on climate as an economic risk.

The Saturday dinner was thrown into an uproar by Trump championing the re-entry of Russia to the G7, with the EU arguing back that Crimea would be better.

Sunday saw the surprise arrival of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to meet with Macron. Zarif, sanctioned by the US, said salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal would be difficult but “worth trying”.

Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear accord in 2018, leaving European signatories scrambling to preserve the pact. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she welcomed efforts toward deescalation. Europeans have so far declined to join Australia, the US, Bahrain and the UK by engaging in the Strait of Hormuz. The situation in Hong Kong was barely raised.

Salty Summit

Just before the summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson – attending his first G7 summit – and European Council President Donald Tusk traded barbs over the UK’s exit from the European Union. Tusk said he would not negotiate a no-deal scenario, and said he hoped the prime minister did not want to go down in history as “Mr No Deal”. Johnson took a swim in the sea and created a lengthy metaphor for journalists about Brexit as a result.

Most world leaders attending the summit declared they would ask the US to resolve the trade war with China. However, Trump announced additional duties on Chinese imports one day before he arrived in France. He then threatened to levy import duties on French wine “Like they’ve never seen before”. The US president also said the British would lose “the anchor around their ankle” after leaving the EU.

Outside the summit, more than 9,000 anti-G7 protesters marched peacefully over a bridge linking France and Spain, about 30 kilometres from Biarritz. Yellow Jacket protesters held pictures of Macron upside-down.

Australian Leadership on Digital Hate

In the midst of such turmoil, it would be difficult to make an impact as an invited guest. However, Morrison kept up his advocacy on the Christchurch Call.

At the close of the G7, Morrison announced an undisclosed amount of funding from the OECD and $300,000 to fund the development of voluntary transparency reporting protocols for social media companies to prevent, detect, and remove terrorist and violent extremist content.

A Summit of ‘Senseless Disputes’

This was the EU President Tusk’s final G7 Summit and he reflected sadly on Saturday that leaders of the world’s richest and most powerful democracies are increasingly unable to find “common language”, and were instead at risk of getting caught up in “senseless disputes among each other”.

The summit seems to have borne out his worse fears. Hopefully, Scott Morrison was inspired by the fractured state of the big stage to become part of the solution.

(Susan Harris Rimmer is Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Griffith Law School, Griffith University)

(This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/g7-throws-up-plenty-of-controversy-and-debate-but-little-compromise-122042">original article</a>)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

By Susan Harris Rimmer Prime Minister Scott Morrison has had a busy fortnight of international diplomacy. Barely had the dust settled from his performance at the Pacific Island Forum in Tuvalu, then the prime minister announced troop commitments to the Straits of Hormuz, then fronted a delicate press conference in Vietnam speaking about the South China Sea, en route to France.

By Susan Harris Rimmer Prime Minister Scott Morrison has had a busy fortnight of international diplomacy. Barely had the dust settled from his performance at the Pacific Island Forum in Tuvalu, then the prime minister announced troop commitments to the Straits of Hormuz, then fronted a delicate press conference in Vietnam speaking about the South China Sea, en route to France. After a year in the top job, Morrison may be slowly understanding what it takes to make an impact at a global level in order to pursue Australia’s interests. The Golden G7 Ticket Morrison scored a rare and valuable invitation to the 45th Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Biarritz, France. The G7 membership consists of the industrialised economies of US, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, Italy and Canada, along with the Presidents of the European Union and European Commission, and usually Spain. The World Bank, IMF, OECD, African Union, ILO, African Development Bank and NEPAD are also usually invited, the UN Secretary-General was also there. The G7 used to be the G8, but Russia is still suspended. On March 24 2014, the G7 members cancelled the planned G8 summit that was to be held in June that year in the Russian city of Sochi, and suspended Russia’s membership of the group, due to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. However, Russia has not been permanently expelled. French President Emmanuel Macron used his invitations strategically to promote a “league of democracies” concept. He invited leaders from Australia, India, Chile and South Africa to join the outreach activities at the summit, in particular, to attend a Sunday night dinner to discuss environmental challenges. Australia is a member of the G20, which includes India, Indonesia and China. But it has often cast a wistful eye to Canada’s participation in the G7/8, despite the relative similarity in economic strength between the two nations. This year, the Henry Jackson Society released its second Audit of Geopolitical Capability report, which assesses the geopolitical capability of the Group of 20 nations plus Nigeria. It ranked Australia as the eighth-most capable in the world, ahead of India and Russia. But since the election of Donald Trump as US president, the G7 has lost much of its consensus and related power. The 2019 summit was like an Agatha Christie play, full of shocks, tensions, surprise reveals and difficulties. Tensions and Diplomatic Shocks The US president walked out early from last year’s G7 summit in Canada over criticism of his tariffs policy, and then refused to sign the final statement. Macron, therefore, organised the summit to have a two-hour lunch alone with the president and abandoned the idea of a final communique. Saturday working sessions were held on jobs, global inequality, climate change and women’s empowerment, leading to criticisms from the US delegation that the agenda was too “niche”. Sunday was devoted to the extremely difficult trade discussions and the Amazon forest fires. The European G7 nations, as well as other EU members such as Ireland and Spain, sparred over whether to block the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement unless Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro takes forceful action on the forest fires raging in the Amazon and on climate change in general. Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, shortly after he attended his first G7 in Italy. Climate was still a sticking point at this summit, with leadership from the G7 unlikely on climate as an economic risk. The Saturday dinner was thrown into an uproar by Trump championing the re-entry of Russia to the G7, with the EU arguing back that Crimea would be better. Sunday saw the surprise arrival of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to meet with Macron. Zarif, sanctioned by the US, said salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal would be difficult but “worth trying”. Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear accord in 2018, leaving European signatories scrambling to preserve the pact. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she welcomed efforts toward deescalation. Europeans have so far declined to join Australia, the US, Bahrain and the UK by engaging in the Strait of Hormuz. The situation in Hong Kong was barely raised. Salty Summit Just before the summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson – attending his first G7 summit – and European Council President Donald Tusk traded barbs over the UK’s exit from the European Union. Tusk said he would not negotiate a no-deal scenario, and said he hoped the prime minister did not want to go down in history as “Mr No Deal”. Johnson took a swim in the sea and created a lengthy metaphor for journalists about Brexit as a result. Most world leaders attending the summit declared they would ask the US to resolve the trade war with China. However, Trump announced additional duties on Chinese imports one day before he arrived in France. He then threatened to levy import duties on French wine “Like they’ve never seen before”. The US president also said the British would lose “the anchor around their ankle” after leaving the EU. Outside the summit, more than 9,000 anti-G7 protesters marched peacefully over a bridge linking France and Spain, about 30 kilometres from Biarritz. Yellow Jacket protesters held pictures of Macron upside-down. Australian Leadership on Digital Hate In the midst of such turmoil, it would be difficult to make an impact as an invited guest. However, Morrison kept up his advocacy on the Christchurch Call. At the close of the G7, Morrison announced an undisclosed amount of funding from the OECD and $300,000 to fund the development of voluntary transparency reporting protocols for social media companies to prevent, detect, and remove terrorist and violent extremist content. A Summit of ‘Senseless Disputes’ This was the EU President Tusk’s final G7 Summit and he reflected sadly on Saturday that leaders of the world’s richest and most powerful democracies are increasingly unable to find “common language”, and were instead at risk of getting caught up in “senseless disputes among each other”. The summit seems to have borne out his worse fears. Hopefully, Scott Morrison was inspired by the fractured state of the big stage to become part of the solution. (Susan Harris Rimmer is Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Griffith Law School, Griffith University) (This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

G7 Summit throws up plenty of debate, but little compromise

Iran's foreign minister made a flying visit for talks with host France at the G7 summit on Sunday, as Paris ramped up efforts to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington, a dramatic diplomatic move that the White House said had surprised them.

Iran's foreign minister made a flying visit for talks with host France at the G7 summit on Sunday, as Paris ramped up efforts to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington, a dramatic diplomatic move that the White House said had surprised them. European leaders have struggled to tamp down the brewing confrontation between Iran and the United States since Trump pulled Washington out of Iran's internationally-brokered 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on the Iranian economy. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is under US sanctions, flew to the southwest French town of Biarritz where the Group of Seven leaders are meeting. He held more than three hours of talks, including with Macron, before heading back to Tehran. "Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying," Zarif tweeted, adding that in addition to meeting French leaders he had given a joint briefing to officials from Germany and Britain. French officials sought to bill the meeting as important to "refine Iranian propositions" to help defuse the crisis after G7 leaders had discussed Iran over dinner on Saturday. "The discussions that were held between the president and Zarif were positive and will continue," a French official said after the meeting, declining to take detailed questions. The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers aimed to curb Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of many international sanctions on Tehran. Since pulling Washington out of the deal last year, Trump has pushed a maximum pressure policy to try to force Iran into a new negotiation that would include its ballistic missile programme and regional activities. While Trump's European allies also want new talks with Iran, they believe the nuclear deal must be upheld. Macron, who has taken the lead in Europe in trying to salvage the agreement and avert a deeper crisis in the Middle East, had already met Zarif in Paris on Friday. They discussed proposals to de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran, including easing some US sanctions or providing Iran with an economic compensation mechanism to make up for oil revenues lost under US sanctions. No progression oil sanctions But despite Macron spending two hours with Trump over lunch on Saturday and all seven leaders discussing Iran at length in the evening, it did not appear that the US leader had budged on easing oil sanctions as Macron had sought from Trump. A European diplomat familiar with the discussions said the leaders had failed at the dinner to persuade Trump. Earlier on Sunday Trump appeared to brush aside French efforts to mediate with Iran, saying that while he was happy for Macron to reach out to Tehran to defuse tensions, the United States would carry on with its own initiatives. Trump and Macron are scheduled to hold a joint news conference at 3:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Monday at the conclusion of the summit, the White House said. Macron's invitation to Zarif had caught Trump by surprise, a White House official said, and no US officials met with Zarif during the visit. Other delegations also said they had been informed at the last minute. The Elysee said delegations had been informed, but everything had happened very quickly. US authorities earlier this month placed Zarif under US sanctions. "Zarif will convey the Iranian leadership's response to French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal aimed at saving Iran's 2015 nuclear deal," a senior Iranian official had told Reuters. In response to the tougher US sanctions and what it says is the failure of European powers party to the deal - France, Britain and Germany - to compensate it for lost revenues, Tehran has responded with a series of moves, including retreating from some of its commitments to limit its nuclear activity.

Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif leaves G7 talks, unclear if progress made to ease tensions

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said that G7 leaders were close to an agreement on tackle the Amazon forest fires and try to repair the devastation, reported news agency Reuters.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said that G7 leaders were close to an agreement on tackle the Amazon forest fires and try to repair the devastation, reported news agency Reuters. "There’s a real convergence to say: 'let's all agree to help those countries hit by these fires'," he was quoted as saying in Biarritz, which is hosting the annual summit of leaders of the world's major industrialised nations. Macron said the G7 countries comprising the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Canada, were finalising a possible deal on "technical and financial help". Describing the fire as "an international crisis", the French president kicked off discussions about the disaster at a welcome dinner for fellow leaders on Saturday. An EU official, who declined to be named, was quoted as saying that G7 leaders had agreed to do everything they could to help tackle the fires, giving Macron a mandate to contact all the countries in the Amazon region to see what was needed. "It was the easiest part of the talks," the official above quoted said. A record number of fires are ravaging the rainforest, many of them in Brazil, drawing international concern because of the Amazon's importance to the global environment. Macron last week accused Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's government of not doing enough to protect the area and of lying about its environmental commitments. (With inputs from Reuters)

G7 nations close to agreement on tackling Amazon fires, says French President Macron

The G7 is, perhaps, the world’s most important grouping when it comes to economic management and development. It has been so for the last 44 years. These annual summits were begun to thrash out issues of economic importance. When it was created in 1975, the group was G6 -- with six countries that had the lion's share of the global economy.&nbsp;

Canada was included later. In the early years, the group attempted to strengthen democracy around the world, fight the closed-market the then-Soviet Union and East Bloc. Now its scope is broader. For instance, this year's G7 theme is “Fighting inequality”.

At the same time, over the decades, the group has lost some of its sheen as many key countries are not included. Thus, the G20 emerged as more important than the G7. It is inconceivable that any group aiming to fight inequality should keep India and China out of it.&nbsp;

Today India and China are among the top seven countries in terms of the world’s GDP share. Besides, there is a power shift with India and China demonstrating the potential to drive what is billed as the ‘Asian Century’. Decisions crucial to the global economy cannot be made by keeping India out. 
 
The G7 needs to upgrade both its membership and mindset.&nbsp;

All major economies including the European Union nations and the US are seeking stronger trade ties and economic relations with India, which is now a magnet for rising foreign investment. India should be engaged as an equal partner by these developed nations in the interests of the global economy especially if its self-appointed leaders are serious about avowed objectives like “Fighting Inequality”. &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: WION Edit is the channel's take on the big events of the world)

The G7 is, perhaps, the world’s most important grouping when it comes to economic management and development. It has been so for the last 44 years. These annual summits were begun to thrash out issues of economic importance.

The G7 is, perhaps, the world’s most important grouping when it comes to economic management and development. It has been so for the last 44 years. These annual summits were begun to thrash out issues of economic importance. When it was created in 1975, the group was G6 -- with six countries that had the lion's share of the global economy. Canada was included later. In the early years, the group attempted to strengthen democracy around the world, fight the closed-market the then-Soviet Union and East Bloc. Now its scope is broader. For instance, this year's G7 theme is “Fighting inequality”. At the same time, over the decades, the group has lost some of its sheen as many key countries are not included. Thus, the G20 emerged as more important than the G7. It is inconceivable that any group aiming to fight inequality should keep India and China out of it. Today India and China are among the top seven countries in terms of the world’s GDP share. Besides, there is a power shift with India and China demonstrating the potential to drive what is billed as the ‘Asian Century’. Decisions crucial to the global economy cannot be made by keeping India out. The G7 needs to upgrade both its membership and mindset. All major economies including the European Union nations and the US are seeking stronger trade ties and economic relations with India, which is now a magnet for rising foreign investment. India should be engaged as an equal partner by these developed nations in the interests of the global economy especially if its self-appointed leaders are serious about avowed objectives like “Fighting Inequality”. (Disclaimer: WION Edit is the channel's take on the big events of the world)

WION Edit: India at G7 Summit - 'Fighting Inequality'

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/irans-javad-zarif-heading-to-asia-in-push-against-us-sanctions-245310">Javad Zarif </a>flew into Biarritz in southwestern France for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-says-hasnt-discussed-joint-g7-message-to-iran-245519">G7 summit</a> on Sunday in an unexpected and dramatic attempt to break a diplomatic deadlock over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Zarif's presence had not been announced and represented a risky attempt by French host Emmanuel Macron to find a way to soothe spiralling tensions between Iran and the United States.

He was not expected to hold <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iran-blacklists-us-based-think-tank-ministry-245525">face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump</a>, but the presence of the two men in the same place sparked hopes of a detente.

Zarif will "continue talks regarding the recent measures between the presidents of Iran and France," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted after flight tracking sites spotted that Zarif's plane had landed in Biarritz.

The French presidency confirmed his arrival, but emphasised no talks were planned with the American side.

A French diplomat also suggested -- without confirming -- that Trump had been made aware of the arrival during an impromptu two-hour lunch with Macron on a hotel terrace on Saturday.

"We work with full transparency with the Americans," the diplomat told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Watch: Iran wants US to rejoin 2015 nuclear deal

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Also speaking in Biarritz, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Trump had in the past said that if Iran "wants to sit down and negotiate he will not set preconditions."&nbsp;

'Moving in right direction'

Macron held talks with Zarif in Paris on the eve of the G7 summit and has been leading efforts to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table.

Trump's policy of applying "maximum pressure" on Tehran via crippling sanctions has been criticised by European powers and is seen as raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East.

Macron has urged the US administration to offer some sort of relief to Iran, such as lifting sanctions on oil sales to China and India, or a new credit line to enable exports.

"To start this approach we need President Trump to agree with the idea that we need to make a pause (in the "maximum pressure" policy)," a French diplomat told reporters last week.

This is seen as a first step to get Iran back to the negotiating table, which could then lead to a new international agreement to limit its nuclear programme.

Speaking to AFP last week, Zarif said that Macron's suggestions were "moving in the right direction, although we are not definitely there yet."

Last year, Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of a landmark deal, of which Zarif had been a key architect, on the nuclear programme reached in 2015 between Iran, the US, European powers, Russia and China.&nbsp;

Trade war doubts?

Trump proclaimed Sunday that the G7 summit was going "beautifully," but there was no masking over cracks between the US president and his allies on many issues.

Leaders of the G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- put on a united front as they spent a second day in the high-end French surfing town of Biarritz.

Trump arrived in Biarritz fresh from having drastically upped the ante in the trade war with China.&nbsp;

European leaders lined up to press for caution and on Sunday Trump gave a glimmer of hope that he was reconsidering his all-or-nothing approach to the dispute between the world's two biggest economies.

Asked whether he was having second thoughts about the trade war, Trump, in a rare moment of public self-doubt, replied: "I have second thoughts about everything."

Then in an extraordinary turnaround, Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said just hours later that the president had been understood.

He did have regrets, she said, but not what everyone thought.

"He regrets not raising the tariffs higher," she explained.

At a breakfast meeting, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the latest of the G7 partners to urge Trump to step back from a trade war that critics fear could tip the world economy into recession.

"Just to register a faint, sheep-like note of our view on the trade war -- we are in favour of trade peace on the whole," Johnson told Trump.

Bashing the EU

The meeting with Johnson, who is sometimes compared to a British version of the populist, nationalist Trump, underlined the White House's dislike for the powerful European Union.

Trump has repeatedly threatened the EU with trade wars and right before his departure from Washington, he warned that he would slap wine import tariffs on France if Macron does not retreat on a tax against US tech giants.

The jovial breakfast with Johnson, who is trying to steer the Brexit process taking Britain out of the EU, emphasised that budding new alliance.

Predicting that Johnson would manage to untangle the mess of Brexit, Trump described in typically undiplomatic terms the EU as "an anchor around their ankle".

The 73-year-old US leader then promised Johnson a "very big trade deal, bigger than we've ever had."&nbsp;

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew into Biarritz in southwestern France for the G7 summit on Sunday in an unexpected and dramatic attempt to break a diplomatic deadlock over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew into Biarritz in southwestern France for the G7 summit on Sunday in an unexpected and dramatic attempt to break a diplomatic deadlock over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. Zarif's presence had not been announced and represented a risky attempt by French host Emmanuel Macron to find a way to soothe spiralling tensions between Iran and the United States. He was not expected to hold face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump, but the presence of the two men in the same place sparked hopes of a detente. Zarif will "continue talks regarding the recent measures between the presidents of Iran and France," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted after flight tracking sites spotted that Zarif's plane had landed in Biarritz. The French presidency confirmed his arrival, but emphasised no talks were planned with the American side. A French diplomat also suggested -- without confirming -- that Trump had been made aware of the arrival during an impromptu two-hour lunch with Macron on a hotel terrace on Saturday. "We work with full transparency with the Americans," the diplomat told reporters on condition of anonymity. Watch: Iran wants US to rejoin 2015 nuclear deal × Also speaking in Biarritz, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Trump had in the past said that if Iran "wants to sit down and negotiate he will not set preconditions." 'Moving in right direction' Macron held talks with Zarif in Paris on the eve of the G7 summit and has been leading efforts to bring Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table. Trump's policy of applying "maximum pressure" on Tehran via crippling sanctions has been criticised by European powers and is seen as raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East. Macron has urged the US administration to offer some sort of relief to Iran, such as lifting sanctions on oil sales to China and India, or a new credit line to enable exports. "To start this approach we need President Trump to agree with the idea that we need to make a pause (in the "maximum pressure" policy)," a French diplomat told reporters last week. This is seen as a first step to get Iran back to the negotiating table, which could then lead to a new international agreement to limit its nuclear programme. Speaking to AFP last week, Zarif said that Macron's suggestions were "moving in the right direction, although we are not definitely there yet." Last year, Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of a landmark deal, of which Zarif had been a key architect, on the nuclear programme reached in 2015 between Iran, the US, European powers, Russia and China. Trade war doubts? Trump proclaimed Sunday that the G7 summit was going "beautifully," but there was no masking over cracks between the US president and his allies on many issues. Leaders of the G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- put on a united front as they spent a second day in the high-end French surfing town of Biarritz. Trump arrived in Biarritz fresh from having drastically upped the ante in the trade war with China. European leaders lined up to press for caution and on Sunday Trump gave a glimmer of hope that he was reconsidering his all-or-nothing approach to the dispute between the world's two biggest economies. Asked whether he was having second thoughts about the trade war, Trump, in a rare moment of public self-doubt, replied: "I have second thoughts about everything." Then in an extraordinary turnaround, Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said just hours later that the president had been understood. He did have regrets, she said, but not what everyone thought. "He regrets not raising the tariffs higher," she explained. At a breakfast meeting, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the latest of the G7 partners to urge Trump to step back from a trade war that critics fear could tip the world economy into recession. "Just to register a faint, sheep-like note of our view on the trade war -- we are in favour of trade peace on the whole," Johnson told Trump. Bashing the EU The meeting with Johnson, who is sometimes compared to a British version of the populist, nationalist Trump, underlined the White House's dislike for the powerful European Union. Trump has repeatedly threatened the EU with trade wars and right before his departure from Washington, he warned that he would slap wine import tariffs on France if Macron does not retreat on a tax against US tech giants. The jovial breakfast with Johnson, who is trying to steer the Brexit process taking Britain out of the EU, emphasised that budding new alliance. Predicting that Johnson would manage to untangle the mess of Brexit, Trump described in typically undiplomatic terms the EU as "an anchor around their ankle". The 73-year-old US leader then promised Johnson a "very big trade deal, bigger than we've ever had."

Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif arrives for surprise G7 talks, no plan to meet US

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