Lavrov sat through the summit’s opening ceremony on Tuesday, listening to world leaders condemn Russia’s brutal invasion. Widodo, President of Indonesia and G20 host, told world leaders, “We must end the war.” “It will be difficult for the world to move forward if the war does not end,” he said. Meanwhile, in his opening remarks, Xi made no mention of Ukraine. Instead, the Chinese leader criticized the US – without naming it – for “drawing ideological lines” and “promoting group politics and bloc confrontation.” In comparison to China’s ambiguous stance, observers have noticed a more noticeable shift from India – and the greater role New Delhi is willing to play in engaging all parties. In his opening remarks at the summit on Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged leaders to “find a way to return to the path of ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine.” The draft joint declaration also includes the following sentence: “Today’s era must not be one of war.” The tone is similar to what Modi said to Putin in September on the sidelines of a regional summit in Uzbekistan. “If the Indian language was used in the text, it means that Western leaders are paying attention to India as a major stakeholder in the region, because India is close to both the West and Russia,” said Happymon Jacob, associate professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. “And we see India distancing itself from Russia in a variety of ways.”
In response to the Ukraine conflict, China maintains its nuclear posture.
Since Russian tanks entered Ukraine in February, Beijing has refused to call the military aggression an “invasion” or “war,” and has bolstered Russian propaganda blaming the conflict on NATO and the US while condemning sanctions. According to Chinese readouts, when discussing Ukraine with leaders from the United States, France, and other countries, Xi invariably used terms like “the Ukraine crisis” or “the Ukraine issue,” while avoiding the word “war.” During those meetings, Xi reiterated China’s call for a cease-fire through dialogue and agreed to oppose the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to readouts from his interlocutors – but those remarks are not included in China’s account of the talks. Later, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Chinese state media that Xi reiterated China’s position in his meeting with Biden that “nuclear weapons cannot be used, and a nuclear war cannot be fought.” Wang praised Russia for holding the same position during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Tuesday. “China has noticed that Russia has recently reaffirmed the established position that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” Wang was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua. Wang is one of the few, if not the only, foreign officials to have met with Lavrov, who faced isolation and condemnation at a summit where he stood in for Putin.
The G20 leaders’ declaration strongly condemns Russia’s war.
Russia’s worldwide alienation grew on Wednesday, as world leaders issued a joint declaration condemning its war in Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people and roiled the global economy. The Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, ended Wednesday with a leaders’ statement that “strongly condemns the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.” Following the summit’s conclusion, Indonesian President and G20 host Joko Widodo told a news conference that “world leaders agreed on the content of the declaration, namely condemnation of the war in Ukraine,” which violates the country’s territorial integrity. However, some of the language used in the declaration suggested that members were divided on Ukraine-related issues. “This war has caused massive public suffering while also putting the global economy at risk from the pandemic, which has also increased the risk of food and energy crises as well as a financial crisis.” “The G20 discussed the global economic impact of war,” he said. The 17-page document is a significant victory for the US and its allies, who pushed to end the summit with a strong condemnation of Russia, though it also acknowledged a schism among member states. “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, emphasizing that it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing global economic fragilities,” it said. “There were opposing viewpoints and assessments of the situation and sanctions.” The “most debated” paragraph, according to Jokowi, was the G20 members’ stance on the war in Ukraine. “We discussed it until late last night, and in the end, the Bali leaders’ declaration was agreed unanimously in consensus,” Jokowi said. “We agreed that the war has a negative impact on the global economy, and that global economic recovery will not be possible in the absence of peace.” The announcement came just hours after Poland said a “Russian-made missile” had landed in a village near the Ukrainian border, killing two people. It is still unknown who fired the missile. During the conflict, both Russian and Ukrainian forces used Russian-made munitions, with Ukraine deploying Russian-made missiles as part of their air defense system. Regardless of the outcome of the investigation into the deadly strike, the incident highlighted the dangers of miscalculation in a brutal war that has lasted nearly nine months and risks escalating further and involving major powers. As soon as they heard the news, US President Joe Biden and leaders from the G7 and NATO convened in Bali for an emergency meeting to discuss the explosion. The adoption of the joint declaration would have required support from leaders with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, most notably Chinese President Xi Jinping, who declared a “no-limits” friendship between their countries just weeks before the invasion, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While India appears to have distanced itself from Russia, it is unclear whether China has changed its stance. In a series of bilateral meetings with Western leaders on the sidelines of the G20, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a cease-fire and agreed to oppose the use of nuclear weapons, but he has made no public commitment to persuade his “close friend” Vladimir Putin to end the war.
Celebrations in Kherson as Ukrainians work to stabilize the city following Russia’s withdrawal
They poured into Kherson’s streets early Saturday, hugging police officers and waving the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag to commemorate the city’s second day of independence. “The Ukrainians will be repairing the electricity networks as well as the water facilities and internet in the coming days,” Aexei Sandakov, a city resident, told NBC News in a voice message Saturday. The documentary filmmaker said in a separate message on Friday that he was in downtown Kherson when a vehicle carrying Ukrainian soldiers passed by that afternoon. “Everyone wanted to hug them. The guys were at a loss for what to do. “We need more soldiers to hug them,” Sandakov explained. “Everyone is clapping, waving Ukrainian flags, and flashing lights at the cars,” he said. As people continued to celebrate Saturday, waving flags and beeping car horns, Ihor Klymenko, the chief of Ukraine’s National Police, said in a Facebook post that 200 officers were working in the southern city. He stated that they were establishing checkpoints and documenting evidence of potential war crimes. Separately, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated on its Facebook page that it was “carrying out stabilization measures” in and around the city to ensure its safety. It also stated that Russians were fortifying their battle lines on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, which separates the Kherson region and the city of the same name. This claim cannot be independently verified by NBC News. In other news, Russian state news agency Tass quoted Aleksandr Fomin, a Kremlin-appointed official in Kherson’s administration, as saying on Saturday that Henichesk, a city on the Azov Sea about 125 miles southeast of Kherson, would serve as the region’s “temporary capital” after the withdrawal. The Russian withdrawal from Kherson, the only regional capital its forces had captured since its invasion began in February, is one of the most significant blows to President Vladimir Putin yet, abandoning perhaps the most important prize of the war he launched nearly nine months ago and severely weakening his grip on the country’s south. After Russia held referendums in September that Kyiv and the West condemned as illegal and rigged, Moscow declared that it had annexed the Kherson region, as well as Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6OrHjheBDQ[/embedyt] Source: nbcnews.com
Ghana’s deteriorating economy has sparked yet another civil uprising calling for the President’s immediate removal.
Hundreds of Ghanaians protested the country’s deteriorating economy on the streets of Accra yesterday. The protest was in response to the high inflation rate, which has increased the cost of living for Ghanaians. Protesters demanded yesterday that President Nana Akufo-Addo resign. Thousands of concerned Ghanaians marched peacefully across Accra on Saturday, carrying placards and chanting “Akufo-Addo must go” and “IMF no.” Ghana’s government is negotiating a $3 billion loan bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Read the entire story here. However, the protesters voiced their opposition to the idea yesterday. This is not Ghana’s first protest against the current administration this year. Thousands of protesters marched through the streets in June, demanding that the government reverse the policies that are causing inflation to rise. Ghana has been struggling to keep its economy afloat since the beginning of the year. Between March and May, the government raised the policy interest rate twice, each time by at least 200 basis points. The government did this in an attempt to counterbalance the country’s rising inflation rate of 27%. With Ghana’s current inflation rate of 37%, one of the highest in the world, it goes without saying that the aforementioned directive was a colossal failure. Ghana was reported to have the world’s weakest currency in September. Read the entire story here. Parliamentarians demanded the immediate release of the current finance minister last week, but the president vetoed the request. Last week, the president would also address the people, formally declaring the country’s economy to be in a state of emergency. Read the entire story here. Ghana, a gold, cocoa, and oil-producing country, appears to be bearing the brunt of a global economic slowdown, despite previously being one of Africa’s most robust economies and a prominent player on the global economic stage.
Ghana’s October inflation rate of 40.4% was the highest in 21 years due to increases in food prices and other factors.
The nation’s annual inflation rate increased to 40.4% in October from 37.2% in September, which is the highest level in more than 21 years. Between the inflation rates seen in September and October, this translates to a monthly change rate of 2.7%. Using the old inflation series data set, the inflation rate for October 2022 is the highest in more than 21 years. At a news conference yesterday in Accra, the government statistician, Professor Samuel K. Annim, said the inflation rate for October was driven by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which saw an inflation rate of 69.6%, and furnishings, household equipment, and regular households, which saw an inflation rate of 55.7%. He claimed that although the cost of transportation had increased by 46.3%, the cost of personal care, social security, and other services had increased by 45.5%, and the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages had increased by 43.7%. According to Prof. Annim, the aforementioned divisions had inflation rates higher than the national average of 40.4%. He claimed that sectors with lower inflation rates than the national average of 40.4% included recreation, sport, and culture (38.1%), clothing and footwear (30.8%), health (26.1%), alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics (24.3%), information and communication (15.7%), insurance and financial services (13.0%), restaurants and lodging services (11.0%), and education (9.5%). According to the Government Statistician, food inflation increased to 43.7% in October 2022 from 37.8% in September 2022, with a monthly inflation rate of 3.2%. According to him, non-food inflation increased slightly from 36.8% in September 2022 to 37.8% in October 2022, with a monthly change rate of 2.3%. According to Prof. Annim, the contribution of food and non-alcoholic beverages to overall inflation was 47.0%, followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels 17.8%, transportation 11.7%, and clothing and wear 6.2%. He claimed that at 0.1%, 0.5%, 0.9%, and 1.5% respectively, health, insurance and financial services, restaurants and lodging services, and educational services made the smallest contributions to overall inflation. Inflation for locally produced goods decreased to 39.1% in October 2022 from 35.8% in September 2022, while inflation for imported goods increased to 43.7% in October 2022 from 40.7% in September 2022, according to Prof. Annim. In terms of regional inflation, according to Prof. Annim, the Volta Region had the lowest inflation rate at 25.8% while the Eastern Region had the highest at 51.1%. According to the government statistician, the Central Region had the highest rate of regional food inflation, at 57.9%, followed by the Western North region at 55.3%, Bono at 54.9%, the Eastern region at 52.4%, and the Ahafo region at 29.1%. According to Prof. Annim, Greater Accra had the highest rate of non-food inflation at 53.2%, followed by the Eastern Region at 49.9%, and Upper West had the lowest rate at 17.3%. Source: allafrica.com
Ghana will receive $50 million to reduce carbon dioxide emissions between 2019 and 2024.
Ghana is set to receive up to Fifty Million US Dollars (US$50,000,000.00) in World Bank funding to reduce carbon dioxide emissions between 2019 and 2024. This was revealed by the World Bank’s Climate Change Manager, Mr. Erwin De Nys, on Wednesday, November 9th, 2022. The sum is in exchange for approximately ten million tons of CO2 emissions expected to be reduced by 2024 within a six million hectare stretch of West African Guinean Forest. Mr. De Nys was speaking at an event organized by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources at the ongoing twenty-seventh session of the Conference of Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. He stated that Ghana has been a vital and active member of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility since its inception in 2008, and that it was one of the first countries to implement emission reduction programs and results-based payments. Mr. De Nys stated that the country will soon receive US$4.8 million, representing over 970,000 tons of verified and validated emission reductions between June and December 2019. He stated that the payment will be used to reward stakeholders for reducing emissions and to boost trust in Ghana’s REDD+ process. In addition to this payment, Mr. De Nys stated that Ghana will benefit from the World Bank’s Enabling Access to Benefits while Lowering Emissions (EnABLE) Program to further reduce emissions and ensure social inclusion. Samuel Abu Jinapor, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, called for strategic collaboration to close the climate financing gap. He stated that existing financing options are insufficient to deal with the enormity of the problem, and that having missed the $100 billion climate finance pledge made in Copenhagen, there is an urgent need for stakeholders to collaborate to bridge the gap between ambition and action. Mr. Jinapor urged governments and all actors to go beyond pledges and declarations. “We have reached a point in the climate struggle where mere talk, commitments, declarations, and/or pledges are insufficient.” According to the Minister, “this is the time for the world to “walk the talk” and get on with action and implementation of the many years of unfulfilled climate action promises.” He stated that Ghana was committed to forest and nature-based climate change solutions, as evidenced by the cultivation of over 547,000 hectares of degraded forests between 2017 and 2021, and the planting of over thirty million trees under the Green Ghana Project, as well as the verified and validated emission reduction under the Ghana REDD+ Strategy. He expressed confidence in COP27, dubbed the “action and implementation COP,” to deliver on the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to one degree Celsius (1.5 degrees Celsius). Tim Claris, the UNDP’s Principal Advisor on Climate and Forests, who also spoke at the event, praised Ghana for its forest solutions to climate change and said the country deserved to be recognized for its efforts in the forestry sector.
