U.S. President Joe Biden meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time Wednesday in Geneva amid deteriorating relations between the world powers. The meeting takes place in the final hours of Biden’s first trip abroad as president during which he has already attended the 47th G-7 summit in the English city of Cornwall, as well as talks with NATO and EU leaders in Brussels. An armored vehicle and a truck block roadway access to the Inter Continental hotel before the arrival of U.S. President Joe Biden, in Geneva, Switzerland, June 15, 2021.In an interview with NBC News, Putin said U.S.-Russia ties had deteriorated to their “lowest point in recent years.” The White House said Saturday that Biden would appear alone at a post-summit news conference, unlike former President Donald Trump who addressed reporters together with Putin following their 2018 summit in Helsinki. At that time, Trump contradicted his own intelligence agencies by saying he had no reason to doubt Putin’s assertion that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. FILE – U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for a press conference after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018.”A solo press conference is the appropriate format to clearly communicate with the free press the topics that were raised in the meeting — both in terms of areas where we may agree and in areas where we have significant concerns,” a White House official said Saturday. Regarding expectations, a senior U.S. official told reporters Tuesday that Biden would elaborate. “We were going to let him speak to that when he concludes the meeting tomorrow. And the president will make clear that if we see significant types of cyber activity like we did with SolarWinds, he will respond like we did for SolarWinds.”  In April, Biden expelled 10 Russian diplomats and imposed new sanctions on six Russian technology companies that provide support to the cyber program run by Putin’s intelligence services linked to the hacking of the SolarWinds information technology company.   In May, two key U.S. businesses — Colonial Pipeline, which transports fuel in the southeastern U.S., and the JBS meat production company — were targeted in cyberattacks believed to have originated in Russia. Both Colonial and JBS paid millions of dollars in ransom demands to restore their business operations, although U.S. law enforcement officials have recovered some of the money Colonial paid. FILE – An Out of Service bag covers a gas pump as cars line up at a Circle K gas station near uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, May 11, 2021, following a ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline, a major East Coast gasoline provider.The White House also said it expects the Biden-Putin meeting “to be candid and straightforward” and that Biden will bring up ransomware attacks originating in Russia, the Kremlin’s aggression toward Ukraine, the imprisonment of dissidents and other issues.  “Ransomware will be a significant topic of conversation,” a senior U.S. official said Tuesday. “They will also discuss the broader issue of cyber norms, cyber rules of the road tomorrow in the discussion.” Putin has rejected U.S. claims that Moscow and Russian hackers are carrying out debilitating cyberattacks on American companies and government agencies. The two leaders are also expected to cover strategic nuclear stability and souring relations between Russia and the West. VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
 
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Hungary’s Parliament passed a bill Tuesday banning homosexuality in any content portraying or “promoting” homosexuality or sex reassignment to anyone under 18.
 
Hungary’s National Assembly passed the bill on a 157-1 vote. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz Party has a parliamentary majority, and lawmakers from the right-wing Jobbik Party also endorsed the measure. One independent lawmaker voted against it.
 
Under the law, any educational programs, advertisements, books, movies or television programs depicting homosexuality or other gender minorities in a positive light will no longer be allowed.
 
The ruling party defends the legislation, saying it is designed to prevent pedophilia. But human rights groups say it will be used to harass and stigmatize Hungarian citizens based on sexual orientation and gender identities.
 
The Council of Europe has condemned the bill as “misleading and false,” as have several NGOs, including Amnesty International.
 
On her Twitter account, Lydia Gall, Human Rights Watch senior researcher for Eastern Europe, said, “Associating pedophilia with LGBT people, banning comprehensive sexuality education and stifling free speech is despicable and unworthy of an EU member state.”  
 
She urged the European Commission — the EU’s executive branch — to act.
 
The vote came a day after thousands of people took to the streets of the capital, Budapest, to denounce the law and the government’s “constant propaganda” against the LGBT community.  
 
On his Facebook page Tuesday, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony wrote, “On this shameful day, the opposition should not be in the parliament but on the streets.”  
 
On his Twitter account, German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth wrote, “Today’s decision in Hungary’s parliament represents another severe state discrimination against LGBTIQ people. This law goes against everything we regard as our common European values. Full solidarity and support for LGBTIQ people in Hungary.”
 
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Mexico has received 1.35 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson, single-dose COVID-19 vaccine donated by the United States.The doses will be given to those over 18 in four border towns, Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez and Reynosa. The goal is to end essential travel restrictions on the border.The first vaccinations could be given as early as Wednesday, according to Mexican Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell.
Mexico’s vaccination program has used a mix of vaccines and so far, has been focused on people 40 and older. It has administered about 26 million shots, according to the Associated Press.After an upsurge in December and January, cases have been declining across the country until a spike of 8% this week attributed to a breakout along the Caribbean coast.Earlier this month, the Biden administration said the U.S. would donate up to 80 million vaccine doses worldwide by the end of the month.
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Beijing says NATO’s description that China poses “systemic challenges” to the international community is an exaggeration.   
 
China’s mission to the European Union issued a statement Tuesday in response to a communique issued by the leaders of the trans-Atlantic alliance the day before.  In that statement, NATO leaders pledged to join forces against China’s increasingly aggressive military posture, which it said threatened “the rules-based international order.”
 
The mission said NATO’s accusations were “a slander on China’s peaceful development, a misjudgment of the international situation and its own role, and a continuation of the Cold War mentality and organizational political psychology.”
 
Tuesday’s statement is the second time in as many days that China has countered criticism from Western-based international alliances.  The Chinese embassy in London issued a statement Monday accusing the leaders of the G-7 of interfering in its internal affairs.   
 
The G-7 issued a communique at the end of its summit criticizing Beijing’s human rights record involving its abuses of the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, including the detention of more than one million Uyghurs into detention camps, and its tightening  control of semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
 
The separate communiques came during U.S. President Joe Biden’s first face-to-face summits with Washington’s traditional allies since taking office in January.
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The United States and the European Union have reached an extended truce in their long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies. Washington is conditionally suspending for five years the tariffs on Europe that were authorized by the World Trade Organization for unfair subsidies to Airbus, which is the largest aircraft manufacturer and prime competitor to Boeing of the United States. “This meeting has started with a breakthrough on aircraft,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the start of formal talks on Tuesday with U.S. President Joe Biden. “This really opens a new chapter in our relationship because we move from litigation to cooperation on aircraft after 17 years of dispute.”The agreement “resolves a longstanding trade irritant in the U.S.-Europe relationship,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told reporters on a briefing call. “Instead of fighting with one of our closest allies, we are finally coming together against a common threat. We agreed to work together to challenge and counter China’s non-market practices in this sector in specific ways that reflect our standards for fair competition.” Tai added that the agreement “is a model that we will use to build on for other challenges posed by China and non-market economic competition.” President Joe Biden meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the United States-European Union Summit at the European Council in Brussels, June 15, 2021.European leaders rejoiced in welcoming Biden on Tuesday, who is taking the relationship in a different direction from the four years of the Donald Trump presidency in which tariffs, including on wine and cheese, were slapped on trans-Atlantic allies and they were berated for not adequately carrying the financial burden for their common defense in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). “I have a very different view than my predecessor,” Biden remarked as he stood for a ceremonial photograph inside the Europa Building between European Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel. “America is back on the global scene,” remarked Michel. “It’s great news for allies, also great news for the world.” Von der Leyen told Biden that his trip to Brussels “coming so early in your mandate underlines your personal touch to the EU and we really appreciate that. The last four years have not been easy.” She repeated that last line at the start of the formal meeting. Still unresolved is a trans-Atlantic dispute on steel and aluminum tariffs. The European Union previously decided not to raise tariffs as planned and to hold off for six months to work together on the fundamental issue of overcapacity and find a common way forward on the challenge from China of dumping, subsidization, and overcapacity.  
  
“Those negotiations and discussions are ongoing.  They’ve been very constructive.  They will take some time,” a senior U.S. official told reporters. Meanwhile, a U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council is being launched. “The notion here is that the United States and Europe laid the foundation for the world economy after World War Two and now have to work together to write the rules of the road for the next generation, particularly in the areas of economics and emerging technologies,” according to a senior Biden administration official. Washington and Brussels are also initiating dialogues on “Russia, cyber issues and migration,” according to the White House. Battling the coronavirus pandemic and climate change were also on Tuesday’s agenda.  The U.S. and EU reiterated support for the COVAX facility for ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and to work together on ways to promote a global recovery from the economic impacts of the pandemic. They also discussed efforts to reform the World Health Organization.  On climate change, the United States and the EU said they would reaffirm commitments to upholding the 2015 Paris climate agreement and to become climate neutral economies by 2050. They also said they plan to urge other “major players” to take ambitious climate actions. Adopted by nearly 200 nations when it was initially signed, the Paris climate agreement’s goal is to slow down global warming.
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As the pandemic advances in Brazil, poverty gains ground.  Despite having one of the world’s largest economies, nearly 13 percent of the country’s population is surviving on just over eight dollars a day.  For VOA, Edgar Maciel in Sao Paulo visited one of Brazil’s poorest favelas — and reports on how families are coping. Camera: Edgar Maciel
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Battling the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, as well as working together on trade and foreign affairs are on the agenda Tuesday as U.S. President Joe Biden and European Union leaders hold a summit in Brussels. In statements issued ahead of the talks, the two sides said they would reiterate support for the COVAX facility for ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, and to work together on ways to promote a global recovery from the economic impacts of the pandemic. They also planned to discuss efforts to reform the World Health Organization. After both were a major topic at G-7 and NATO meetings this week, Russia and China will again be on the agenda Tuesday.  Both the White House and European Union said the leaders would also express a commitment to supporting democracy and combatting corruption, and to upholding human rights around the world. They are also pledging to cooperate on issues involving cybersecurity and migration. The EU side is being represented in the summit by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. On climate change, the United States and the EU said they would reaffirm commitments to upholding the 2015 Paris climate agreement and to become climate neutral economies by 2050. They also said they plan to urge other “major players” to take ambitious climate actions. Adopted by nearly 200 nations when it was initially signed, the Paris climate agreement’s goal is to slow down global warming.  
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U.S. President Joe Biden meets with European Union allies on Tuesday after wrapping up a summit with NATO leaders, ahead of his highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report from Brussels.  
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An Argentine prosecutor began hearing evidence on Monday involving seven people accused of contributing to the death of soccer player Diego Maradona. Maradona, the revered former Boca Juniors and Napoli star who was addicted to alcohol and drugs for many years, died Nov. 25, 2020, from heart failure at age 60 after undergoing brain surgery earlier that month.   A medical board formally appointed to investigate Maradona’s death concluded that several members of the star’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner” and that he was not properly monitored before he died. Monday’s pretrial hearing had been delayed by an increase in coronavirus infections in Argentina. It began with questions to the nurse who, according to his own witness statement, was the last person to see Maradona alive. Questions will be put in the coming days to Maradona’s doctor, psychologist, neurosurgeon and personal physician, among others.   When the medical board’s report was presented to prosecutors in May, it accused the defendants of carrying out a plan with a “criminal purpose” and as part of a deficient care system around Maradona that contributed to his death.   If found guilty, all seven could face between eight and 25 years in prison. 
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Delegations from Russia and the United States involved in nuclear negotiations with Iran held talks in Vienna on Monday, two days ahead of a summit meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The United States is not directly involved in the Vienna negotiations but has regular contacts with participating diplomats. Efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear containment deal for Iran are a rare topic of collaboration between the two global adversaries. Mikhail Ulyanov, a senior diplomat who headed the Russian delegation at the meeting in Vienna, called the talks with U.S. counterparts “fruitful.”  “Our dialogue in Vienna seems to be proof that the two countries can maintain businesslike cooperation on issues of common interest, non-proliferation in this particular case,” Ulyanov wrote in a tweet. The nuclear agreement was scuppered in 2018 when the Trump administration pulled the United States out of the accord, arguing that it handed Iran too many concessions. Diplomats from China, Germany, France, Russia and Britain held joint talks with Iran Saturday and multiple bilateral meetings afterward at a hotel in the center of the Austrian capital. Matthew Rojansky, director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute in Washington, said Russia was keen to curb some of Iran’s ambitions. “Moscow still prefers to see Tehran checked in its aspiration to develop a weapon, but is much less motivated when it comes to checking Iran’s regional ambitions and its broader global misbehavior,” he told the AP. “At the same time, Russia has a balancing act to perform in Syria, where Iran’s force of arms on the ground could become a problem for Russian ambitions.” The 2015 agreement was designed to keep Iran’s nuclear program peaceful, imposing strict controls on uranium enrichment levels as well as the technology and facilities used for the process. Iran stopped abiding by those limits after the U.S. withdrawal but insists it has no plan to build nuclear weapons — a claim that the U.S. and its Western allies dispute. 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delayed plans to lift coronavirus restrictions by a month because of the highly contagious Delta variant, first identified in India. Johnson said on Monday that restrictions will now be lifted on July 19 instead of June 21.  “I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer,” he told a news conference in London. Johnson said he is confident that the country will be able to reopen on July 19, noting that by then two-thirds of the British population are expected to be fully vaccinated. FILE – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a coronavirus vaccination site at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, Britain, May 18, 2021.”It’s unmistakably clear the vaccines are working, and the sheer scale of the vaccine rollout has made our position incomparably better than in previous waves,” he said. On Monday, the British government reported 7,742 new confirmed coronavirus cases, and Johnson said cases are growing by about 64% per week. The Delta variant of the coronavirus now accounts for 90% of new cases in Britain.  In other countriesMeanwhile, Zimbabwe is reintroducing a lockdown in an attempt to contain the spread of a COVID-19 outbreak.   Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said in a televised speech this weekend that complacency has resulted in a spike in COVID-19 cases.  FILE – Shops in a Delhi market gear up to open, June 7, 2021, after a devastating second wave shut the city for nearly two months. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA)In India, a number of states eased coronavirus restrictions on Monday, including the capital Delhi, as the number of new infections dropped to the lowest level in 74 days. The country reported 70,421 new COVID-19 cases in the previous 24-hour period, the lowest since March 31. Public health officials have cautioned that India’s tolls may be undercounted. Novavax trials  Also Monday, U.S.-based biotech company Novavax announced that Phase 3 clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine show it more than 90% effective at preventing the disease and providing good protection against variants.  The Novavax vaccine, which is easy to store and transport, is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing world. The White House’s top adviser on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told The Washington Post the vaccine is “really very impressive,” saying it is on par with the most effective shots developed during the pandemic. Vaccination requirement lawsuitA federal judge in the U.S. state of Texas on Saturday dismissed a lawsuit challenging a hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for its employees.   U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes in the Southern District of Texas wrote that the employees of Houston Methodist Hospital “are not participants in a human trial.” He said, “Methodist is trying to do their business of saving lives without giving them the Covid-19 virus.” According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the United States has had the highest number of coronavirus cases, at 33.5 million, followed by India, with 29.5 million coronavirus infections, and Brazil, with 17.4 million COVID-19 cases.    
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The 30 member states of NATO ended their Monday summit in Brussels, reaffirming the military alliance with a strong statement against Russia and to a lesser degree, China.Both countries were called out as “challenges to the rules-based international order.”In the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference at a NATO summit in Brussels, June 14, 2021.“By agreeing (on) the NATO 2030 agenda, leaders have taken decisions to make our alliance stronger and better fit for the future,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a press conference at the end of the summit. We just concluded a successful #NATOSummit where we took far-reaching decisions for our security. Europe & North America are standing strong together in #NATO to defend our values & interests in an age of global competition. #NATO2030https://t.co/iZW0TUgw9Kpic.twitter.com/mh5sPmDqEL
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to NBC News journalist Keir Simmons, back to a camera, in an interview aired on June 14, 2021, two days before the Russian leader is to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva.ChinaStoltenberg said China’s growing military presence from the Baltics to Africa means NATO has to be prepared.”China is coming closer to us. We see them in cyber space, we see China in Africa, but we also see China investing heavily in our own critical infrastructure,” the NATO secretary general said.China is “the new the new kid on the block,” said Alice Billon-Galland, a research fellow at London-based Chatham House, and part of NATO Young Leaders selected to advise the NATO 2030 process.Billon-Galland said European allies need to work with both the U.S. and China but ultimately want to avoid being dragged into a binary Washington vs Beijing confrontation.“European allies are quite careful in terms of how they approach this and a bit reluctant for NATO to get too involved in China-related issues or Indo-Pacific issues,” she said.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center-right, opens a plenary session during a NATO summit at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels June 14, 2021.A day earlier many of the same leaders now meeting in Brussels issued a statement at the conclusion of the G-7 Summit in Cornwall, U.K., calling out China’s human rights abuses. Beijing has accused the group of slandering its reputation.Afghanistan withdrawalAfter 20 years of military operations, NATO and the U.S. had agreed that they will withdraw forces from Afghanistan. Biden had set September 11th 2021, as the pull-out deadline.“NATO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue to stand with Afghanistan, with training, international support for Afghan forces and institutions, and funding to ensure the continued functioning of the International Airport,” said Stoltenberg.NATO has about 10.000 troops in Afghanistan, from countries including Germany, the U.K., Turkey, Georgia, Romania and Italy.Allies are concerned about security at their embassies as well as the Kabul Airport. Turkey, a NATO member, has offered to secure the airport in a bid to increase its role in the alliance.FILE – Foreign troops with NATO-led Resolute Support Mission investigate at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2019.“The question is whether Turkey’s willingness to do this, which is clearly welcomed in Washington, would be sufficient to overcome the other issues in the relationship,” said Bulent Aliriza, director of the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “There are serious doubts about that,” he said.Guarding and operating the Kabul airport issue is among the many security topics discussed by President Biden in his Monday bilateral meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. U.S.-Turkey relationship has been problematic, particularly after Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system, its military offensive in Syria and support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war with Armenia.America is backBiden took his ‘America is Back’ message to Brussels, reaffirming the United States’ commitment to the alliance’s collective defense principle.“I just want all of Europe to know that the United States is there. The United States is there,” Biden said in his meeting with Stoltenberg.Our NATO Alliance is stronger than ever. Today I’m joining our 29 allies to discuss our collective defense — including from Russian aggression, strategic challenges from China, malicious cyber activity, terrorism, and climate change.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 14, 2021Biden’s visit sets a new tone on relations with the military alliance. His predecessor, former President Donald Trump once called NATO obsolete and complained that the U.S. was paying an unfair share in the organization.Asked by a reporter if he is concerned that the return of Trump or a Trump-like figure might swing U.S. posture back away from the alliance, NATO’s Stoltenberg said the past four years had underscored the importance of strong multilateral institutions.“There will be different political leaders elected in many allied countries in the years to follow,” he said. “I’m confident that as long as we realize that it is in our security interest to stand together, national security interest to stand together, we will maintain NATO as the bedrock for our security.”NATO’s last Strategic Concept was in 2010. Allies were reluctant to renew it during the rocky years under Trump. 
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Prosecutors in Canada say a man accused of deliberately killing a Muslim family with his truck will face terrorism charges in addition to those for murder. The prosecution said Monday that Nathaniel Veltman’s actions warrant an upgrade to terrorism charges. Veltman is accused of running over the family with his truck in a parking lot in London, Ontario on June 6. Police accuse the 20-year-old of planning the attack and say he was wearing what appeared to be body armor and a helmet at the time.  Veltman also faces four charges of murder for the killing of Salman Afzaal, his wife, their 15-year-old daughter and Afzaal’s mother. The family was taking an evening walk near their home when the attack took place. The couple’s nine-year-old son survived but remains in a hospital with serious injuries.  The new charges were added during a brief court hearing Monday in which Veltman appeared via video. He has yet to enter a plea and is due in court again on June 21. The attack was the deadliest against Canadian Muslims since a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City that left six people dead in 2017. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also described the incident as a terrorist attack, saying it was motivated by hatred. 
 
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Joe Biden took his ‘America is Back’ message to Brussels, reaffirming the United States’ commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in his first NATO summit as U.S. president Monday.“I just want all of Europe to know that the United States is there. The United States is there,” Biden said in his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.Biden said that he takes NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center-right, opens a plenary session during a NATO summit at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels June 14, 2021.Biden’s visit sets a new tone on relations with the military alliance. His predecessor, former President Donald Trump once called NATO obsolete and complained that the U.S. was paying an unfair share in the organization.So far, the meetings have been “good optics,” said Alice Billon-Galland, a research fellow at London-based Chatham House, and part of NATO Young Leaders selected to advise the NATO 2030 process.“What we’ve seen is allies recommitting to the core values, democratic values, wanting to work together,” Billon-Galland said. “There are still contentious issues on the table and this summit is the starting point of the reflection process that will lead to allies agreeing on renewing their strategic concept.”The NATO leaders attend a plenary session during their summit at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, June 14, 2021.“European allies are quite careful in terms of how they approach this and a bit reluctant for NATO to get too involved in China-related issues or Indo-Pacific issues,” she said.A day earlier many of the same leaders now meeting in Brussels issued a statement at the conclusion of the G-7 Summit in Cornwall, U.K., calling out China’s human rights abuses. Beijing accused the group of slandering its reputation.As with past NATO summits, Russia will be high on the agenda. Moscow denies any wrongdoing, but allies are increasingly concerned given Moscow’s recent aggression on the eastern flank and its covert and cyberattacks to undermine Western states.
 
In a recent interview with NBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin called NATO “a Cold War relic”. “I’m not sure why it still continues to exist,” Putin said.Biden said both Russia and China were not acting “in a way that is consistent with what we had hoped.” The U.S. president was referring to the West’s decades-long efforts to bring the two countries to align closer with liberal democracies.On the sidelines of the summit, Biden met with leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – countries that won independence from then-Soviet Union in 1991. While they are now full members of NATO and the European Union, these Baltic countries are wary of Kremlin’s regional ambitions.   Biden is also meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a NATO ally with problematic relations particularly after Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system, military offensive in Syria and support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war with Armenia.Biden will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on Wednesday. 
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China has denounced the communique issued Sunday at the end of the G-7 summit that criticized Beijing over its human rights record.
 
The G-7 statement called on China to “respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially in relation to Xinjiang, and those rights, freedoms and high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration,” referring to the 1997 agreement that switched control of the financial hub from Britain to China.   
 
Beijing is accused of committing serious human rights abuses against the minority Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, including the detention of more than one million Uyghurs into detention camps, widespread government surveillance and forced birth control.  
 
The Chinese embassy in London issued a statement accusing the G-7 leaders of interfering in its internal affairs, and according to Reuters, vowed to “resolutely fight back against all kinds of injustices and infringements imposed on China.”
 
The statement also said an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was first detected in China’s central city of Wuhan in late 2019, should not be “politicized” in response to the G-7’s demand for “a timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based” second probe by the World Health Organization.    
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President Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin meet in Geneva on June 16 — for the first time since Biden took office in January. As Charles Maynes reports from Moscow, the two leaders are expected to discuss ways to normalize relations that have become increasingly tense.Camera: Ricardo Marquina Montanana
Produced by: Jason Godman
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U.S. President Joe Biden’s summit this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to focus on improving relations between Washington and Moscow over a host of issues, including cyberattacks from people operating from Russia. Michelle Quinn reports.Produced by: Barry Unger    
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Leaders of the G-7 ended their three-day summit Sunday, committing to a series of actions to end the coronavirus pandemic, mitigate climate change and rebuild the global economy. The group named China and Russia as sources of global security and economic threats. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report from Brussels, the next leg of U.S. President Joe Biden’s European tour.
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The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega arrested five opposition leaders during a major weekend round up, in what appears to be widespread detentions of anyone who might challenge his rule.The four arrests Sunday and one Saturday suggest Ortega has moved beyond arresting potential rival candidates in the Nov. 7 elections, and has begun arresting any prominent member of the opposition. The arrests bring to 12 the number of opponents detained since June 2.“It’s not just potential candidates anymore, it’s political leaders,” former general and Sandinista dissident Hugo Torres told The Associated Press before he himself was arrested Sunday. “This is not a transition to dictatorship, it is a dictatorship in every way.”On Sunday, police also arrested prominent ex-Sandinista dissident Dora María Téllez, another opposition leader, Ana Margarita Vijil, and Suyen Barahona, leader of the political movement Unamos.Tellez’s arrest is a major step: she was a leading Sandinista militant who led an assault on the National Palace in 1978, taking hostage the congress of dictator Anastasio Somoza in exchange for the release of Sandinista prisoners.Following Somoza’s overthrow, Tellez served as health minister in the first Sandinista government which ruled from 1979 to 1990. Like many former guerrillas, she later split with Ortega.On Saturday, police arrested Tamara Dávila, who was active in Unamos, which was formed by former Sandinistas angered by Ortega’s autocratic ways, nepotism and perpetual re-elections.Police said they arrested Dávila on charges related to a recently enacted law that classifies as treason any support for sanctions against officials in the Ortega regime; the U.S. has slapped sanctions on dozens of officials.Davila is also a central figure in the opposition coalition Blue and White National Unity, which was formed following Ortega’s repression of mass protests in 2018.Under a law passed in December, Ortega’s government has the power to unilaterally declare citizens “terrorists” or coup-mongers, classify them as “traitors to the homeland” and ban them from running as candidates.The law punishes those “who lead or finance a coup … encourage foreign interference, ask for military intervention … propose or plan economic blockades, applaud and champion the imposition of sanctions against Nicaragua or its citizens.”Those accused “will be traitors to the homeland, and for that reason may not run for public office.” Treason is punishable by prison terms of up to 15 years.Ortega has already arrested four potential opposition candidates who might have challenged his bid for a fourth consecutive term, and now many Nicaragua opposition leaders fear it is only a matter of time until police come for them, too.Torres said he has seen drones flying around his home in recent days, of the type used at Tellez’s house.“This interview may be the last one I give,” Torres said. “I am here, waiting for them to come for me.”Hours later, police barged into Torres’ home and arrested him.Nicaragua’s National Police arrested the four opposition pre-candidates earlier this month.On June 8, they arrested pre-candidate Félix Maradiaga, a pre-candidate for the opposition coalition Blue and White National Unity, and Sebastián Chamorro, a former director of the opposition coalition Civic Alliance.The previous week authorities detained Cristiana Chamorro, a cousin of Juan Sebastián Chamorro, and Arturo Cruz Sequeira, a former ambassador to the United States.Ortega initially led Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990 following the Sandinista revolution that ousted Somoza. He returned to the presidency in 2007 after three failed election attempts, and he won reelection in 2011. He then sidestepped term limits to get himself reelected in 2016, and packed courts and government agencies with allies. The Sandinista party controls the courts and the legislature, and has stifled universities and the Roman Catholic church.Torres said Ortega has now instituted a more suffocating dictatorship than Somoza, who faced opposition from the within the church, intellectual circles and universities.“I think Ortega has outdone Somoza,” said Torres. “He has subordinated all the power to himself as Somoza never could. He has a bigger repressive apparatus than Somoza ever had.”Julie Chung, the U.S. State Department’s acting assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, said via Twitter that Ortega’s “campaign of terror continues with more arbitrary arrests this weekend. OAS members must send a clear signal this week: enough repression. The region cannot stand by and wait to see who is next.”
 
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The United States and Russia sparred Sunday about responsibility for debilitating cyberattacks as U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared for their summit in Geneva on Wednesday.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC’s “This Week” show, “No responsible country should be in the business of harboring in any way criminal organizations engaged in cyberattacks, including ransomware.”Blinken said Biden “is going to make that very clear to President Putin. We are looking for Russian cooperation in dealing with these criminal organizations to the extent they’re operating from Russian territory.”Two key U.S. businesses, Colonial Pipeline Co., that transports fuel in the southeastern U.S., and the JBS meat production company, were targeted last month in cyberattacks believed to have originated in Russia, with both Colonial and JBS paying millions of dollars in ransom demands to restore their business operations, although U.S. law enforcement officials have recovered some of the money Colonial paid.FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin gives an interview in Sochi, Russia, in this undated photo released Oct.13, 2019. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters)Putin told the state TV channel Rossiya-1 on Sunday that Russia was willing to extradite cyber criminals on an equal basis with the U.S., although it was not clear what attacks on Russian corporate entities he was claiming had originated in the United States.The Russian leader said Moscow and Washington must “assume equal commitments” in transferring suspects, saying, “Russia will naturally do that but only if the other side, in this case the United States, agrees to the same and will also extradite corresponding criminals to the Russian Federation.”Biden said at a G-7 news conference in Britain that negotiation is possible but was skeptical that Putin’s behavior would change.State Department spokesman Ned Price said last week that the “issue of ransomware attacks” would be discussed at the Biden-Putin summit.”We have raised the issue of ransomware attacks with any number of countries and that includes Russia,” Price said.
Blinken told ABC that Biden hopes “to see if we can have a more predictable, stable relationship (with Russia), but equally to make clear that if Russia chooses to continue to act aggressively, to act recklessly, we’ll respond forcefully.” FILE – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 8, 2021.The top U.S. diplomat said he believes Biden will be meeting with Putin in a new position of strength after broad agreement on Western goals cemented at the weekend G-7 meeting of the leaders of the top industrialized countries and likely shared economic, military and security commitments at Monday’s NATO summit and U.S.-European Union talks on Tuesday.“We’re now coming off of G-7, we’ll be coming off of NATO, we’ll be coming off an EU meeting,” Blinken said. “Collectively, when our countries are actually working together, rolling in the same direction militarily, economically, diplomatically, politically, it’s an incredibly powerful force.”“We represent together more than 57% of the world’s GDP, and one of the things you may have noticed this week is there was a poll done across most of the countries that we’ll be working with this week; 75% now have confidence in President Biden and in American leadership,” Blinken said.“That’s up from 17% a year ago,” he said. “That means we’re in a much stronger position than we’ve been in recent years to have all of our countries working together in common cause, including dealing with the excesses of Russia.”The Russian leader told NBC News in an interview last week that Russia’s relationship with the United States has “deteriorated to its lowest point” in recent years, and belittled Biden’s background as a career politician in the U.S.Putin praised former U.S. President Donald Trump as an “extraordinary, talented individual,” while describing Biden as a “career man.”  “He’s spent virtually his entire adulthood in politics. Just think of the number of years he spent in the Senate. A different kind of person,” Putin said.As Biden arrived last week in Britain for the G-7 summit, he said, “We’re committed to leading with strength, defending our values, delivering for our people.”  Biden said that he was meeting with Putin to “let him know what I want him to know.” 
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