BEIJING: Protesters in southern China clashed with police in a rare display of public opposition to anti-COVID measures, videos posted online showed, after lockdowns in the area were extended over a surge in infections.Videos circulating on social media since Monday night and verified by AFP showed hundreds taking to the street in the industrial metropolis of Guangzhou, some tearing down cordons intended to keep locked-down residents from leaving their homes.A few scuffled with officials in hazmat suits.”No more testing,” protesters chanted, with some throwing debris at police.Another video shows a man trying to swim across a waterway that separates the affected district of Haizhu from the neighboring area, with passers-by suggesting the man was trying to escape the lockdown.The district of more than 1.8 million residents has been the source of the bulk of Guangzhou’s COVID-19 cases.Officials announced the first snap lockdown there in late October, targeting dozens of residential neighborhoods.And on Monday, a lockdown order covering nearly two-thirds of the district was extended until Wednesday night.City officials launched mandatory mass testing in nine districts last week, as daily case numbers rose above 1,000.The megacity of more than 18 million people reported nearly 2,300 cases on Tuesday, most of them asymptomatic.China is the only major economy sticking to a zero-Covid strategy to stamp out virus clusters as they emerge, but swift and harsh lockdowns have battered the economy.Under the policy, thousands of residents can be locked down over just one positive case in their housing complex.But a torrent of lockdown-related scandals — where residents have complained of inadequate conditions, food shortages and delayed emergency medical care — have chipped away at public confidence in the policy.Dozens of people took to the streets in southern tech hub Shenzhen in September after officials announced a snap lockdown over a handful of COVID cases.And earlier this year, a gruelling two-month lockdown in Shanghai — the world’s third most populous city with more than 25 million residents — saw widespread food shortages, deaths due to lack of access to medical care, and scattered protests.On Friday the government announced some relaxation of the measures, cutting quarantine times for inbound travelers and scrapping the requirement to identify and isolate “secondary close contacts” — those who may have come into contact with infected people.

INDONESIA: Now is the time to end Russia’s “destructive” war and “save thousands of lives,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the G20 summit in Bali via video address on Tuesday.”I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped,” he said, according to a speech obtained by AFP. “It will save thousands of lives.”Wearing his now-familiar army green T-shirt and speaking in Ukrainian, Zelensky addressed leaders including China’s Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden.Russian President Vladimir Putin was not in the room, however, having shunned the gathering and sent his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Bali in his place.Zelensky slammed “the crazy threats of nuclear weapons that Russian officials resort to,” referring to dark rhetoric by Putin that has made even Beijing uncomfortable.”There are and cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail,” he added, pointedly thanking the “G19” — excluding Russia — for “making this clear.”The Ukrainian leader also called for the expansion and indefinite extension of a grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye that will expire on November 19.Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain producers, and the Russian invasion had blocked 20 million tons of grain in its ports until the deal was reached in July.”I believe our export grain initiative deserves an indefinite extension — no matter when the war ends,” Zelensky said, urging its expansion to other ports.The Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of an “attempt to turn the cold into a weapon” with a campaign of strikes against key infrastructure ahead of the coming winter.Zelensky also backed a US-led push for a price cap on Russian oil exports “so that energy resources are no longer used as weapons.””If Russia is trying to deprive Ukraine, Europe and all energy consumers in the world of predictability and price stability, the answer to this should be a forced limitation of export prices for Russia.”

NUSA DUA, Indonesia: The G20 will issue an end-of-summit statement in which “most” members will strongly condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine, a senior US official said Tuesday in Bali.”I think you’re going to see most members of the G-20 make clear that they condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine, that they see Russia’s war in Ukraine as the root source of immense economic and humanitarian suffering in the world,” the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.The statement, to be issued at the end of the summit this week in Bali, will show that the G20 is “really isolating Russia” — a member of the group of the world’s biggest economies.The official would not say how many countries would not join the condemnation, nor how diplomats would craft the non-unanimous declaration within the document, which is issued by all member countries.Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered a devastating and so far largely failing invasion of Ukraine nine months ago, has not joined other leaders in Bali. Russia is represented at the summit by his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.With Russia objecting even to the use of the word “war” to describe its attempt to subjugate neighboring Ukraine, there has been intense speculation over how — or if — G20 countries would respond to the crisis in a collective manner.The US official said nevertheless, “Russia’s war of aggression … is being condemned in the strongest possible terms.”The statement, said the official, “speaks in very clear terms.”

WASHINGTON: Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov will meet with White House officials on Tuesday to discuss the treatment of Russians who are in US prisons, the Russian embassy said on Tuesday.”It seems to me that the American authorities could do more, at least help people who find themselves in such difficult conditions, both with food and medical care,” Antonov was cited as saying on the embassy’s Telegram messaging app.On Monday, US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns met with Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, to discuss, among others, the issue of US prisoners in Russia.The Russian embassy said that Antonov will “raise the issue of softening the conditions of detention of Russians in US prisons” at his meeting at the White House.The embassy also said that Antonov visited Roman Seleznev, the son of Russian lawmaker Valery Seleznev, who was sentenced in 2017 to 27 years in prison for his role in a cyber assault.Antonov called Seleznev’s prison conditions in North Carolina “unacceptable” and said the embassy will demand Seleznev is transferred to a penitentiary with better care.”Roman’s (Seleznev’s) illnesses from being in jail have only gotten worse,” Antonov said.Russian newspaper Izvestia cited Seleznev’s lawyer in August as saying that Seleznev would be an “ideal candidate” for a potential prisoner exchange between Moscow and Washington, that have been negotiated between the two countries.Washington has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States, for US basketball star Brittney Griner, sentenced in August to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs.Moscow has also suggested it is open to a prisoner swap, but there have been so far no official decisions.Former US ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, who traveled to Moscow in September, said that he thought an exchange of detainees would include two Russians in exchange for the two Americans. He did not identify the Russians.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia: French President Emmanuel Macron called for Paris and Beijing to unite against the war in Ukraine as he began a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Bali on Tuesday.The two leaders shook hands as they began discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which is expected to pile pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and address the global fallout from the war.We must “unite forces to respond… to international crises like Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Macron told Xi.On Monday, the French presidency said Macron would tell the Chinese president it was in “your interest” to pressure Russia to return to the negotiating table over the Ukraine conflict.Xi meanwhile made no mention of the conflict in his opening remarks, calling more broadly for the two countries to “uphold the spirits of independence, autonomy, openness and cooperation.”The pair met a day after Xi held marathon talks with US President Joe Biden, with the leaders vowing to prevent their rivalry from spilling over into outright conflict.Xi, on his second overseas trip since the pandemic, has commanded the spotlight in Bali — with officials lining up to hold face-to-face talks with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy.Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet the Chinese leader later Tuesday, and Britain’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also said he hopes to talk with Xi.

MONTREAL: Canadian federal police on Monday arrested a former electric vehicle battery researcher at public utility Hydro-Quebec on charges of espionage for allegedly sending trade secrets to China.The man, who was recently fired by the utility, was taken into custody at his home in Candiac, a suburb of Montreal, by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police national security squad.Yuesheng Wang, 35, faces charges under the Criminal Code and the Security of Information Act for having “allegedly obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China, to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests,” said a statement.”This is the first time this charge has been laid in Canada,” RCMP Inspector David Beaudoin said in relation to the espionage charge under the Security of Information Act.While employed by Hydro-Quebec, Wang allegedly used his position to conduct reasearch for a Chinese university, Beaudoin told a news conference.Wang, said Beaudoin, published academic papers and filed patents “in association with this foreign actor,” using Hydro-Quebec information without its knowledge or approval.This occurred between February 2018 and last October, he said.The RCMP had started an investigation after receiving a complaint in August from Hydro-Quebec, which it notes is both “a critical infrastructure and a strategic interest to be protected.”Hydro-Quebec described Wang’s work at its Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage as having been “related to battery materials.”In a statement, the utility said it had revoked his access when it became suspicious of his activities, and later fired him for what it said were “serious breaches of the company’s code of ethics.”Wang is due to appear in court on Tuesday.Canada-China relations have been strained since the 2018 arrest of a Huawei executive on a US warrant in Vancouver, and Beijing’s detention of two Canadians in apparent retaliation.All three were released last year as part of a deal with US prosecutors, but wounds have not healed.Canada has recently called out an “increasingly disruptive” China on the world stage, following reports of foreign interference in its elections and use of illegal police stations in Canada to carry out policing operations on foreign soil — which Canadian authorities are also investigating, but Beijing has denied as “completely false.”

NUSA DUA, Indonesia: Britain will spend ?4.2 billion ($4.9 billion) on five new Navy ships to bolster security “in the face of increased Russian threats,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Tuesday in a Downing Street statement.”The UK and allies are taking steps to bolster their security in the face of increased Russian threats,” the statement said.”Russia’s actions put all of us at risk. As we give the Ukrainian people the support they need, we are also harnessing the breadth and depth of UK expertise to protect ourselves and our allies. This includes building the next generation of British warships,” added Sunak.The spending is the next phase in a program under which three vessels are already under construction, and all eight frigates are expected to be completed by the mid-2030s, the statement said.The announcement came with Sunak in Bali, Indonesia for a meeting of the Group of 20 that is expected to heap pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.President Vladimir Putin has stayed away, instead sending his foreign minister, but Downing Street said Sunak and allies would “call out” the Russian leader’s “callous disregard for human rights and stress that Russia’s role in the international system will never be normalized while the war in Ukraine continues.”

DUBAI / DENPASAR: World leaders meet in Indonesia this week to discuss key issues affecting the stability of the global market, with talks likely to be affected by tensions over the war in Ukraine and its economic fallout.

The Group of 20 summit is taking place in Nusa Dua on the island of Bali, on Nov. 15 and 16, marking the culmination of Indonesia’s presidency of the G20 biggest economies and more than 200 working group meetings and side events held throughout the year.

What is the G20?

It was established in late 1999, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Initially focused on broad macroeconomic policy, it has later morphed into a forum to address urgent problems such as vaccine access, food security, and climate change.

The group’s members are 19 states — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkiye, the UK, and the US — and the EU.

Together, these 20 economies account for 80 percent of global economic output, nearly 75 percent of exports, and about 60 percent of the world’s population.

Every year, the leaders of G20 members meet to discuss economic and financial matters and coordinate policy on other issues of mutual interest.

The group’s annual summit is hosted and chaired by a different member, giving host countries an opportunity to push for action on issues that matter to them.

Indonesian presidency

The largest Muslim-majority nation and the world’s fourth most populous, Indonesia focused its presidency on steering post-coronavirus pandemic recovery, energy transition, and digital transformation.

But just three months into its chairing of the group, in February, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine added new variables to the equation, bringing to the center of discussions food and energy security — two issues that have become global concerns as a result of the ongoing war.

High fuel and food prices are often correlated with mass protests, political violence, and unrest. While Sri Lanka and Peru have already begun to see riots, Turkiye, Pakistan, and Egypt are also at risk for social unrest as the cost of living accelerates.

These problems are expected to dominate G20 summit talks.

Teuku Rezasyah, international relations lecturer from Padjadjaran University in Bandung, told Arab News: “Most of us have learned what happened in the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the global economic crisis in 2008, and that was the reason behind the foundation of the G20.

“They will talk about energy security, food security, and then they will also talk about how to maintain global economic stability and development.”

Inflation, energy crisis, food insecurity

Inflation running at levels not seen in decades, an unfolding debt crisis, and cost-of-living problems are the biggest threats to doing business for G20 countries in the next two years, according to an early November survey by the World Economic Forum.

The global economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic has been further aggravated by the ongoing war in Europe.

While the G20 is an economic forum and not one for addressing armed and political conflict, the situation in Ukraine is expected to permeate discussions.

Saidiman Ahmad, program manager at the Jakarta-based pollster Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting, told Arab News: “This war has become the source of energy and agricultural crises. It would be strange if a matter as major as this did not become one of the main issues on the G20 forum agenda.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions slapped on Moscow, the fuel price spike has been the second highest since the 1970s. The conflict has also disrupted supplies of wheat and fertilizers — the two countries account for one-third of the global wheat, while Russia is also a top exporter of nitrates used in agriculture.

While sustained food shortages and high food prices could send millions of people around the world into acute food insecurity, and the UN has already been warning about looming famines, G20 finance and agriculture ministers committed during an October meeting to addressing global food insecurity. It is not clear, however, if the matter will be reflected in the leaders’ final declaration.

Attempts to address the power crisis, on the other hand, should be expected to appear in the summit’s communique.

The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources announced last week that G20 members had agreed to accelerate energy transition — a shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources — and include efforts for energy security in the summit’s final declaration.

Who will attend?

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has confirmed that 17 leaders of the G20 countries have confirmed their attendance, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The presidents of the world’s two biggest economies are set to meet in Bali on Monday, in what will be their first face-to-face chat since Biden took office, and as tensions between America and China are high — over trade policies, technology, and Beijing’s increasing military activity in the South China Sea and actions on Taiwan.

China has also avoided direct condemnation of Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, while the US has been the main initiator of sanctions on Moscow.

Besides G20 leaders, dozens of other top-level officials are also expected to attend, and the Indonesian military announced in its summit security updates that it had prepared VVIP task forces for an additional 42 heads of state arriving in Bali to attend the forum.

Indonesian diplomacy

Indonesia was trying to arrange a meeting between Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia — one of the G20’s key members — and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been invited to the summit as a guest.

While the Russian embassy in Jakarta has already said that Putin would not come to the summit, Zelensky’s press secretary told the Ukrainian news media he would attend, but most likely virtually.

In late June, Widodo was the first Asian leader to travel to Kyiv and Moscow to meet his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts in an effort to ease the conflict’s impact on the international community.

There is a strong belief among Indonesians that the Southeast Asian country as the G20 host can help defuse the war.

A survey conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting in August showed that 84 percent of Indonesian respondents familiar with the G20 forum agreed that their country — which has been trying to remain neutral — could play a role in conflict resolution.

The hopes, however, may be inadequately placed.

Dr. Luthfi Assyaukanie, international relations lecturer at Paramadina University in Jakarta, told Arab News: “The main objective of the G20 meeting is economical, not political. That’s one thing that we have to highlight.

“If this forum is projected to reconcile Russia and Ukraine, then we’d put a lot of burden on this forum, because the forum is not designed to do such a thing. Even the United Nations or the European Union cannot handle this problem, so I don’t think we should expect too much from this forum in terms of Russia-Ukraine reconciliation.”

What about a final communique?

The war is likely to affect the summit leaders’ final declaration. Indications of it were already seen in July, when a meeting of G20 ministers failed to produce a consensus on the reasons of the current crisis.

While Western states blamed it on Russia’s invasion, Moscow in turn said the problems were caused by the sweeping sanctions against it and a European blockade on the transport of some Russian goods through EU borders.

“In the communique, you have to explain why there is food insecurity currently in the world. They could not reach an agreement on what caused the food crisis and inflation,” Assyaukanie said, adding that the same hurdles would now appear at the summit.

“The ultimate goal of the G20 forum is to formulate a communique. I am concerned that the G20 summit will not, and if that happens, people may consider this forum a failure.”

PARIS: The French and British coast guard services passed the buck as a dinghy packed with migrants sank in the Channel last year, leading to the most deadly such accident on record, according to reports on Monday.Le Monde newspaper in France published revelations based on documents contained in a French legal investigation into the worst tragedy involving a migrant boat in the busy shipping lane.Britain’s ITV channel is set to air similar claims about the 27 deaths in a documentary later Monday entitled “The Crossing.”The reports reveal that passengers first contacted France’s Channel rescue center at 1:48am on November 24 to say their vessel was deflating and its engine had stopped.They sent their locations via WhatsApp around 15 minutes later.At this stage, and again at 2:10am, the boat was in French territorial waters, with panicked cries and screams audible on a recording of the calls to the French Cross Gris-Nez rescue center.”While trying to conserve limited resources at a time of numerous crossings, and given the course of the boat that was approaching British waters, the Cross chose to pass the responsibility to the English,” Le Monde said.The French investigation revealed another 15 calls to French rescuers from 2:43 to 4:22, including from one passenger who said he was “literally in the water.”The recordings reveal frustrated-sounding French responders repeatedly instructing the distressed callers to contact the British coast guard because they were in British waters.”You’re not listening, you won’t be saved,” an operator is heard muttering to herself after a call with a passenger cuts off abruptly. “‘I’m in the water’… well, I didn’t ask you to leave.”According to the ITV documentary, the English coast guard replied to the French at 2:44 am to say that it considered the boat was in French territorial waters.That assessment was based on the fact that a French ringtone could be heard when calling one of the passengers, the Guardian newspaper said in a preview of the ITV documentary.At 4:34 am, the French coast guard closed its incident log assuming the boat had been rescued by the British, even informing a passing container ship that it need not stop to help.No rescue boat was sent and floating bodies and a deflated dinghy were discovered later that day in French waters by a fisherman.”We’re horrified,” the director general of the charity France Terre d’Asile, Delphine Rouilleault, told AFP. “What is described is a complete lack of cooperation for rescue operations and their trivialization, which means no one grasped the danger for these people.”Lydie Arbogast from the migrant charity Cimade added: “It’s very worrying to see that both sides, French and British, went to great lengths to show that it was up to the other side to take responsibility for the search and rescue.”The number of migrants crossing the Channel from France to England has soared over the last five years from almost none to 42,000 this year, causing severe tensions between Paris and London.The drownings last November saw relations plummet when Boris Johnson, then prime minister, pointed the finger at France and suggested all asylum seekers who landed in Britain be sent back across the Channel.Under new leader Rishi Sunak, Britain agreed to pay another 72.2 million euros ($74.5 million) to France on Monday to help finance extra security measures on French beaches.Although the French coast guard has disclosed its call logs to lawyers as part of an ongoing legal case, its British counterpart has not, the Guardian said.The French investigation also revealed how French rescue services were frequently overwhelmed and under-staffed while coping with the demands of so many small boats.Migrant smugglers routinely give the numbers of the French and British coast guard to passengers before they leave.”They all call us, even if they are not in difficulty,” a manager at the French rescue cooperation center told investigators.

DENPASAR, Bali: Saudi Arabia is expecting the upcoming G20 Summit to help resolve global challenges, the Kingdom’s ambassador to Indonesia told Arab News ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s arrival in Bali, where the meetings will take place this week.

Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority nation, is holding this year’s presidency of the Group of 20 biggest economies and will host its leaders’ meeting in Bali on Nov. 15-16.

The delegation of Saudi Arabia, which is one of the main members of the G20, will attend all sessions of the summit.

The crown prince, who also serves as the Kingdom’s prime minister, will also hold meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the event.

The Kingdom expects the summit to contribute in “developing strong solutions to the world’s problems,” Saudi Ambassador Esam Abid Al-Thagafi told Arab News.

The summit will take place as the global economy is struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, and in the wake of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“The Kingdom hopes that the results of this summit will limit the existing political escalation as a result of the war and the bad economic effects that this reflects,” Al-Thagafi said, adding that it is important to remember that the G20 was established “to discuss the world’s economic future and solve its problems.”

Since Indonesia took over the G20 presidency from Italy at the end of last year, Saudi Arabia, which chaired the group in 2020, “has been keen to provide all support for the success of this hosting,” Al-Thagafi said.

“Most of Saudi ministers participated in the meetings held in Bali and other Indonesian cities throughout the year, and met their Indonesian counterparts bilaterally.”

On Nov. 2, ahead of the summit, Indonesia hosted the G20’s first-ever Religion Forum.

The event, R20, was organized by the country’s largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muslim World League.

“It came out with great positive results for more interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence among the peoples of the world,” Al-Thagafi said.

Saudi Arabia’s support for Indonesia is also in reciprocation of Jakarta’s support for Riyadh two years ago.

“The Saudi leadership is striving with all its support to make the (Bali) summit works a success, a role that Indonesia also played when the Kingdom hosted the work of the Group of 20 in 2020,” the ambassador added.

Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1950, both countries have enjoyed decades of strong religious and people-to-people relations — Saudi Arabia being the birthplace of Islam, Indonesia home to the world’s largest Muslim population.

Indonesia sends the highest number of pilgrims to Makkah and Madinah each year. Before the pandemic, over 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims would visit the Kingdom for Hajj every year, and over a million Indonesians would arrive during the Umrah season.

The historic visit of King Salman to Jakarta and Bali in 2017 was the first by a Saudi monarch in nearly five decades.

His trip, which saw the signing of 11 pacts and other agreements, has since brought about a series of high-level exchanges to further boost relations.

Al-Thagafi, who presented his credentials to the Indonesian president in 2019, told Arab News that the ties are currently at their peak.

“Saudi-Indonesian relations are now going through their best stages and growing steadily in all fields,” he said, adding that they are especially strong in terms of the economy, trade and investment.

More than 40 Saudi businessmen and investors arrived in Jakarta accompanying Commerce Minister Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi during an official trip to Indonesia earlier this year.

Several agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed then, and they were followed by multiple visits of Indonesian businessmen to Saudi Arabia.

“This is a great indication that economic relations are in rapid growth between the two countries,” the ambassador said.

Al-Thagafi, who is also Saudi ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said Indonesia can contribute to the implementation of Vision 2030, which aims to pivot the Kingdom away from oil dependency and establish it as a global investment powerhouse with a sophisticated digital infrastructure.

“There are distinguished Indonesian experiences that can contribute to achieving this, and consultations are continuing between the two countries to achieve the best opportunities for participation,” he added.

With megaprojects in both countries, such as the development of NEOM in Saudi Arabia and a new capital city in Indonesia, the two nations have room to boost relations in the investment sector, Al-Thagafi said. “It is important at this stage to develop the investment sector between the two countries,” he added.

Indonesia has indeed been seeking investment from Saudi Arabia to develop its $32 billion capital city project.

An initial commitment was announced earlier this year following a meeting between Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating minister of investment and maritime affairs, and the Saudi crown prince in Riyadh.

Both countries also need to develop their trade relations, Al-Thagafi said, “since there are great commercial opportunities that have not been discovered so far.”

For bilateral relations to grow further, Jakarta would need to work on several things, according to Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations expert from Padjajaran University in the Indonesian city of Bandung.

“The homework required is on the Indonesian side,” Rezasyah told Arab News. “Indonesia needs to upgrade quality when it comes to good governance and good corporate governance. It also needs to have a clear economic vision for diplomatic engagement with Saudi Arabia.”