🇯🇵🌼📹 — 📰 Japanese Media, NHK News on Twitter:
— "Volunteers in Hiroshima planted over 10,000 marigolds in the shape of "G7" to welcome visiting leaders and delegates. Each flower represents someone killed by the atomic bomb dropped on the city."

🔗 NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News)

🇯🇵🌼📹 — 📰 Japanese Media, NHK News on Twitter:
— "The G7 Hiroshima Summit opened on the 19th. After visiting the Atomic Bomb Museum, the leaders of the G7 countries laid wreaths at the Atomic Bomb Cenotaph in Peace Park in Hiroshima City."

🔗 NHKニュース (@nhk_news)

🇯🇵🔥📹 — 📰 British Media, Sky News on Twitter:
— "Hundreds of protestors gathered in the Japanese city of Hiroshima to protest against the upcoming G7 summit.

They gathered at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park carrying banners reading "no G7.""

🔗 Sky News (@SkyNews)

🇯🇵🇨🇳🇷🇺 — 📰 CNBC: As G-7 Summit kicks off in Hiroshima, China and Russia are on everyone’s minds

— "The annual Group of 7 summit officially kicks off on Friday in Hiroshima, Japan.

Leaders of the seven major industrial democracies – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States – will discuss the future of global relations and the world economy as it faces a number of uncertainties: growing geopolitical tensions, central banks’ combat against rising inflation and a U.S. debt ceiling deadlock.

Also under the spotlight are the countries invited for the gathering, including Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam – nations with pivotal roles to play in regional alliances as the rift between Washington and Beijing deepens."

Link
https://archive.is/whKuf

🇬🇧🤝🇯🇵 — 📰 Bloomberg: UK Announces Japan Chips Partnership as Fears Grow Over Taiwan
— "Rishi Sunak announced £18 billion ($22.5 billion) of new investment by Japanese businesses in the UK, mostly in clean energy, as well as a bilateral “semiconductor partnership” aimed at boosting supply chain resilience amid fears over Chinese interference in Taiwan.

A “Hiroshima Accord” seeks to deepen economic, security and tech cooperation between the two countries, the British premier said as he landed in Japan on Thursday ahead of the Group of Seven summit.

Stress testing and strengthening supply chains are a key aim of the leaders in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic, with their reliance on chips from Taiwan high on the agenda. The UK will unveil its long-awaited Semiconductor Strategy Friday."

Link
https://archive.is/utNLB

🇨🇳❌🇹🇼 — 📰 Reuters (May 4, 2023): Top US spy says Chinese invasion halting Taiwan chip production would be 'enormous' global economic blow

— " A Chinese invasion of Taiwan could potentially halt production by the world's largest advanced semiconductor chip maker, wiping out up to $1 trillion per year from the global economy per year in the first few years, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines presented what she called a "general estimate" during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Link
https://archive.is/95Kx6

🇨🇳🌏💰 — 📰 Global Times: China-Central Asia Summit kicks off; high-level summit demonstrates Central Asia's growing importance on China's diplomatic agenda

— "President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan held a welcome ceremony for Central Asian leaders and their wives in Tang Paradise, a complex based on the site of the original relic of an imperial garden dating back to the Tang Dynasty, in Xi'an on Thursday night. China-Central Asia Summit kicked off on the same day.

Experts said that convening of the "landmark" summit, first of its kind, demonstrates Central Asia's growing importance on China's diplomatic agenda, and increasing significance to China's energy and strategic security, amid complicated international and regional circumstances.

In an approximately overlapping time, leaders from G7 countries are scheduled to gather in Japan to take aim at China and Russia. Observers said China-Central Asia Summit, although not deliberately arranged at a close time with G7, sends contrast signals to the world, as G7 speaks language of outmoded Cold War mentality whilst China-Central Asia Summit's promotion of cooperation and inclusiveness represents world development trend. "

Link
https://archive.is/2D1iQ

🇨🇳🌏💰 — 📰 Reuters: China's Xi unveils grand development plan with Central Asia allies

— "China's President Xi Jinping on Friday unveiled an ambitious plan to help elevate Central Asia to the next level of its development - from building infrastructure networks to boosting trade - while shunning "external interference" at the same time.

China stands ready to synergise development strategies with the five Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and make joint efforts to promote the modernisation of all six countries, said Xi in an address at the China-Central Asia Summit in northwest China.

— "The world needs a Central Asia that is stable, prosperous, harmonious, and well-connected," Xi said."

Link
https://archive.is/hvuus

🇨🇳🇹🇯💸 — 📰 Global Times: China-Central Asia to facilitate new railway, road facilities expansion and upgrade, a boost to regional trade, prosperity

— "China and Tajikistan said in a joint statement issued on Thursday on the sideline of the China-Central Asia Summit that both sides will continue to work hard to promote the construction of railway and highway transportation corridors, while emphasizing the great significance of strengthening connectivity of the regional transportation infrastructure.

The latest efforts by the two countries on the joint development of transportation, key to economic prosperity, are meant to boost regional trade flows, create jobs, stabilize and secure supply chains while facilitating the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor linking China and the Arabian Peninsula, experts said. Such cooperation is all based on win-win outcomes for regional prosperity in stark contrast with the political purposes of the US."

Link
https://archive.is/4g5OG

🇺🇸🌐⚖️ — 📰 Fox News: Supreme Court rules for social media giants in cases over third-party content, declines to address Section 230

— "The Supreme Court on Thursday handed big tech companies, including Google and Twitter, legal wins in a pair of lawsuits alleging that the companies should be liable for ISIS attacks because of content the terror organization promoted using their platforms.
The companies were sued separately by the families of the victims. In the case against Twitter, Justice Clarence Thomas authored a unanimous opinion saying that the families did not provide sufficient evidence to establish that the companies should be held liable for aiding and abetting.

"Defendants allegedly knew that ISIS was using their platforms but failed to stop it from doing so," the ruling states. "Plaintiffs accordingly seek to hold Facebook, Twitter, and Google liable for the terrorist attack that allegedly injured them. We conclude, however, that plaintiffs’ allegations are insufficient to establish that these defendants aided and abetted ISIS in carrying out the relevant attack.""

Link
https://archive.is/MUYP4

🇨🇳❌🇯🇵 — 📰 Global Times: Japan-circling PLA Navy flotilla completes 'routine drills,' shows capabilities of national defense

— "Far sea exercises by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy are routine and display its capabilities, experts said on Thursday, after Japan hyped it spotted a PLA Navy flotilla led by a 10,000 ton-class large destroyer as the latter completed a full circumnavigation around the country.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted a PLA Navy flotilla consisting of the Type 055 large destroyer Lhasa, two Type 052D destroyers, a Type 054A frigate and a Type 903A comprehensive replenishment ship when the vessels sailed from the West Pacific through the Miyako Strait and waters between the Okinawa islands to the east of the island of Taiwan into the East China Sea on Tuesday, Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff said in a press release late on Wednesday.

The move showed that the flotilla had sailed in a full circle around Japan clockwise during a voyage of more than half a month, according to a map with recorded tracks of the flotilla attached to the Japanese press release. The map showed that the Chinese flotilla started the voyage from the East China Sea on April 30, when it sailed through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan, made a transit through the Soya Strait into the West Pacific from May 5 to 6, then navigated in waters between some southern Japanese islands from May 11 to 13, before returning to the East China Sea on Tuesday."


Link
https://archive.is/xmaX2

🇨🇳❌🇹🇼 — 📰 ABC News (May 16, 2023): China says ready to 'smash' Taiwan self-rule as US prepares major arms package, sends advisers

— "China’ is prepared to “resolutely smash any form of Taiwan independence,” its military said Tuesday, as the U.S. reportedly prepares to accelerate the sale of defensive weapons and other military assistance to the self-governing island democracy.

A recent increase in exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries is an “extremely wrong and dangerous move,” Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Tan Kefei said in a statement and video posted online.

China’s People’s Liberation Army “continues to strengthen military training and preparations and will resolutely smash any form of Taiwanese independence secession along with attempts at outside interference, and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Tan said, in a reference to Taiwan’s closest ally, the United States."

Link
https://archive.is/eieo3

🇯🇵🇹🇼📊 — 📰 Taiwan News (May 1, 2023): 80% of Japanese worried Japan will be involved in war for Taiwan: Asahi

— "The Japanese news media company Asahi conducted a national poll on Japanese citizens' opinions on the role the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) should play in a potential Taiwan conflict.

The poll revealed that 80% of respondents are worried that Japan will become involved in a conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, with 52% expressing “great concern.” Of those polled, 56% said that the JSDF should limit its role in the conflict to rearguard support for the U.S. military.

In contrast, 11% of respondents said that the JSDF should support the U.S. in an active combat role, while 27% of respondents believed the JSDF should not assist U.S. forces at all.

The poll was conducted by traditional mail with a relatively small sampling. Asahi reports that 3,000 voters were selected at random nationwide, but only 1,967 (66%) returned valid survey responses."

Link
https://archive.is/LyIyo

🇯🇵🪖💰📈 — 📰 East Asia Forum: Fighting to fund Japan’s historic defence budget increase

— "Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration dramatically increased Japan’s 2023 defence budget by 26.3 per cent in 2022 to 6.82 trillion yen (US$52 billion). During former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s leadership, the defence budget steadily increased to 5.3 trillion yen (US$39 billion) but stayed between 5–5.2 per cent of the whole government budget. Kishida has now increased the defence budget to 5.9 per cent.

Future obligations concerning new contracts for the updated Defense Build-up Program amount to 7.06 trillion yen (US$52 billion). As procurement takes several years, Japan is making as many contracts as possible in the first year of the program to deliver equipment to the Self-Defense Force (SDF) units swiftly.

As of May 2023, a month from the start of the Japanese financial year, the government had already announced a 380 billion yen (US$2.8 billion) contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to upgrade and mass-produce Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles. The government also signed a 110.4 billion yen (US$816 million) contract with the United States to purchase 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles."

Link
https://archive.is/o3na7

🇸🇾❌🇹🇷 — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at Arab League: We are facing the dangers of a expansionist Neo-Ottomanist Turkey thought grafted with a deviant Brotherhood flavour

🇨🇳❌🇨🇳🇭🇰 — 📰 The Guardian (May 16, 2023): Tiananmen Square books removed from Hong Kong libraries in run-up to anniversary

— "Books about the Tiananmen Square massacre, Hong Kong protest movements, and other subjects deemed politically sensitive by Beijing have been removed from the former British colony’s public libraries in the lead-up to the 34th anniversary of the killings.

Hong Kong media have reported a marked increase in the number of book and documentary removals, which have been growing since the authoritarian clampdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the introduction of the national security law in 2020. It has resulted in a significant curtailing of political freedoms in the city and multiple arrests.

Late last month, the government’s audit commission report said the leisure and cultural services department, which operates Hong Kong’s libraries, needed to “step up efforts in examining library materials for safeguarding national security and taking follow-up actions”."

Link
https://archive.is/B6viz

🇱🇧🗳📃 — Arab League's Jeddah Declaration: We call for the election of a president for Lebanon and the formation of a government as soon as possible

🇹🇷🗳📸 — Photo: Former Presidential Candidate and Turkish nationalist Sinan Oğan met with Turkish President Erdogan today in 'Istanbul' today, despite before Mr. Erdogan saying that wouldn't negotiate with him

🔗 Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu)