The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US have convened in England to discuss some of the world’s most pressing issues.
The heads of other major democracies, such as South Korea, South Africa and Australia, are also attending the event, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the summit via video link due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
RT’s Boom Bust is joined by investigative journalist Ben Swann and the program co-host to assess whether the significance of G7 majors is as enormous as they think.
“The G7 is just not that big of a deal… they think they’re a big deal, because they are really seven nations that at one time were a vast part of the world economy, but now consists of about a third of the world’s economy,” Ben Swann said.
The journalist highlighted the minor part of such nations as India and South Africa that “have to stand on the sidelines,” and mentioned Russia and China that “aren’t even allowed to attend.”
“A lot of it feels like posturing; I hate to be mean here, but why is Canada there? Just to stand there and cheerlead for the US and say ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever you, guys, want!’” he said, stressing that countries with GDPs like that of Canada and Italy should not be considered world leaders in this space.
ROME (Sputnik) – Ukraine’s Head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Yermak expressed hopes that NATO will allow Ukraine to join the alliance as soon as possible.
Source: http://sputniknews.com
Medical equipment like masks, sanitisers, gloves, and personal protective kits have become a part of life ever since the COVID pandemic broke out. However, there are some reports indicating that the rampant use of unhygienic masks and used medical equipment is increasing the burden on the health care system.
Source: http://sputniknews.com
The midfielder collapsed on the pitch towards the end of the first half of a Euro 2020 game on 12 June. Earlier, the Danish team’s doctor said that the athlete was awake and in stable condition, but said that medical tests had provided no explanation for the incident.
Source: http://sputniknews.com
LUGANSK (Sputnik) – Ukraine’s armed forces are waging electronic warfare aimed at hindering the work of OSCE monitoring drones at the contact line in Donbass, a spokesperson for the People’s Militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) said on Sunday.
Source: http://sputniknews.com
Sections of England supporters defied a pre-match plea from the Football Association and jeered as Three Lions players took a knee before the start of their Euro 2020 game with Croatia at Wembley on Sunday.
Boos and whistles were heard around the stadium before the starting whistle as the England team – led by captain Harry Kane – dropped to one knee while their Croatian counterparts remained standing.
The jeers were soon drowned out by loud cheering from the remainder of the crowd, but were nonetheless picked up on by broadcasters and media inside Wembley.
Fans once again boo #ENG players taking the knee – although it lasted around 10 seconds
The continued disdain from some fans for the take a knee gesture – linked to support for Black Lives Matter – came despite the FA earlier issuing a desperate message for supporters to get behind players.
“Major tournaments don’t come around often and when they do, it’s an opportunity to unite friends, family and the country,” the FA had written in a social media post on the eve of the game.
Sections of the Three Lions support clearly don’t buy the claims that the gesture is non-political, perhaps unsurprisingly considering how closely linked it has been with the BLM movement – elements of which are radically left-wing.
Similar pleas from England manager Gareth Southgate also fell on deaf ears as fans booed the gesture in both of England’s Euro 2020 warm-up games.
At Wembley on Saturday, large sections of the 22,000-strong England support were heard cheering in support of the act, indicating the issue remains divisive.
England are kicking off their Euro 2020 campaign against rivals who beat them in the World Cup semi-final in Russia three years ago.
After taking on Croatia, Southgate’s team have further Group D home games against Scotland and the Czech Republic at Wembley.
Based on Sunday’s scenes, the FA and others should brace themselves for more defiance from some sections of fans over a gesture which has already been branded performative and ineffectual, even among the most ardent campaigners for racial equality.
A car parked in a residential complex in Mumbai, India vanished within seconds, after the ground crumbled beneath it. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the bizarre incident.
Footage taken by an onlooker shows the front of the vehicle sinking into a hole filled with water. The car then goes straight down into the sinkhole, with the pool of water completely consuming it.
Amazingly, several vehicles parked just feet away remained completely unharmed, with the ground beneath them apparently more stable.
According to media reports, the car lot was previously a well that had been covered over with concrete. It’s believed that torrential rain caused the surface to break apart, creating the vehicle-consuming sinkhole.
Luckily, no one was inside the car at the time of the incident, and no injuries to onlookers were reported.
Scary visuals from Mumbai's Ghatkoper area where a car drowned in few seconds. pic.twitter.com/BFlqcaKQBo
However, the local authorities are now being questioned about why the well had not been better sealed.
Mumbai and other parts of coastal Maharashtra state have experienced heavy monsoon rainfall in the past few days, leading to waterlogging in some areas. However, this is the only known case of the storm having led to a car being swallowed whole.
Sinkhole-related accidents are reported periodically across the world, with some leading to fatalities. In January, six people were killed after the ground gave out under a bus in northwestern China, creating a massive hole into which the vehicle and its commuters dramatically dropped.
Iconic goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has hit out at the “ridiculous decision” to restart the UEFA Euro 2020 fixture between Denmark and Finland after the serious medical emergency suffered by Danish star Christian Eriksen.
Inter Milan’s Eriksen brought the football world to a standstill on Saturday when he collapsed on the pitch shortly before half-time in his side’s Group B fixture with Finland in Copenhagen.
Eriksen fell to the turf unchallenged in frightening scenes which were captured on the television broadcast, prompting a significant outpouring of grief from concerned players and fans alike when it appeared as though he was being administered CPR.
The 29-year-old Eriksen was rushed to a nearby hospital where it was soon announced that his condition was stable and that he was conscious and communicating with medical staff, with the player also reported to have spoken to his teammates via video call from his hospital bed.
After consultation with both sets of players, the decision was made to restart the game on Saturday a little two hours after Eriksen’s collapse – but after dominating much of the first half before the incident, the Danes appeared understandably anaemic in the second and wound up on the wrong side of a 1-0 defeat to their unfancied Nordic neighbors.
And Peter Schmeichel, father of current Denmark goalkeeper Kasper, says that the options offered to the Danish side by UEFA were entirely insufficient.
“It’s a ridiculous decision by UEFA,” Schmeichel said to the BBC. “They should have tried to work out a different scenario and shown a little bit of compassion, and they didn’t.”
UEFA reportedly offered two options: complete the fixture on Saturday evening or at 12pm on Sunday, with both sides agreeing to the former option – but Schmeichel argued that neither of these were acceptable after what they players had experienced on the pitch just hours before.
“That would be the worst two hours in my time in football,” Schmeichel added.
“Something terrible like that happens and UEFA gives the players an option to go out and play the game or come back at 12:00 on Sunday. What kind of option is that?
“The result of the game is completely irrelevant. I mean, how can you play?“
Schmeichel’s stance was echoed by fellow BBC analyst Jermaine Jenas, who was playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 in a game in which a similar incident happened to Bolton player Fabrice Muamba.
“We had a scenario where someone almost lost their life and as a former pro, I was just shocked,” said Jenas.
“There is no way that game should have been played last night. Not one player on that pitch was in the right mindset to be playing a game of football.
“It needed a day or two to let things settle down and to let people regather their thoughts.”
While most will agree that footballing matters are secondary to concerns about Eriksen’s health, the defeat to Finland leaves the Danes in an unenviable position to qualify from Group B after favorites Belgium routed Russia 3-0 in their opening fixture.
Referee Steve Gray is under fire from some sections of the boxing community after he refused to call a halt to the fight as Jeremias Ponce unleashed a barrage of punches at Lewis Ritson, even as Ritson’s corner threw in the towel.
UK fighter Ritson was dropped to the canvas on three occasions by Argentina’s Ponce who established himself as the mandatory challenger to Josh Taylor’s IBF super-lightweight title but while there are no questions as to the rightful victor of the fight, some fans were up in arms at the performance of the referee after he dismissed Ritson’s corner’s attempts to stop the fight in the 10th round.
In truth, Ritson, who came into the fight with a 21-1 record, was never really in the contest and came close to being finished in the first after Ponce landed punishing shots to the body. The onslaught continued in the following rounds, with the Argentine fighter seeing more successful body work in the second while also landing a stinging uppercut in the third frame.
With the blueprint now very much established, Ponce poured on further aggression and by the eighth Ritson’s face was showing signs of him being battle-weary.
The fight’s most controversial moment, though, came in the 10th after he was dropped by another Ponce shot – and his corner, evidently having seen enough, threw the towel into the ring to signal to the referee that they wanted their man out of there.
However, Steve Gray instead opted to ignore Ritson’s team’s request and threw the towel out of the ring, inviting more punishment from Ponce. Gray’s hand was eventually forced after Ponce dropped the Englishman twice more before Gray called off the fight.
Horrific refereeing. He should never work again. Did he have money on the points win or something? Something very strange about his actions there. Never ever seen that before and I've watched a shit ton of boxing over the years.
The refereeing was an absolute disgrace what if Ritson had been seriously injured after the referee ignored the towel being thrown in by the corner the corner is their to protect their fighter but the referee ignored this and put Ritson's life at risk. Shocking refereeing.
“Horrific refereeing,” was the reaction of one boxing fan. “He should never work again. Did he have money on the points win or something? Something very strange about his actions there. Never ever seen that before and I’ve watched a sh*t ton of boxing over the years.
“The referee could have killed the guy.. sometimes it takes only a few punches. The ref should follow the rules,” added another.
“The refereeing was an absolute disgrace what if Ritson had been seriously injured after the referee ignored the towel being thrown in by the corner the corner is there to protect their fighter but the referee ignored this and put Ritson’s life at risk. Shocking refereeing,” said a third.
Common misconception. Only the referee can stop the fight. The corner throwing in the towel does not automatically stop the fight. If the referee is happy to let the action continue he’s entitled to throw the towel out #boxinghttps://t.co/OpMII9NAR5
Speaking afterwards, promoter Eddie Hearn was also critical of Gray’s decision to keep the fight going after Ritson’s corner had thrown in the towel, saying that the decision did little more than prolong Ritson’s punishment in the ring.
“They’ve got some footage of Steve explaining it and he said because it was a body shot and you got up, I thought you should continue,” Hearn said to Boxing News Online.
“Steve Gray’s a very good referee but [Ritson was] not in the fight, not going to win the fight. So why? And actually it didn’t affect anything in the end and it was fine but it could have.
“Because all he was doing was protecting his body so his head was wide open. Luckily he said he never got hurt to the head during the fight anyway.”
