Page 2 - aruba-today-20170708

A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 8 July 2017
Germany hosts ‘difficult’ G-20 talks on trade, climate

By GEIR MOULSON solving the problems.”
Associated Press “We all know the big glob-
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) al challenges, and we
— Talks on global trade know that time is pressing,”
at the Group of 20 summit she said. “So solutions can
proved very difficult and only be found if we are
differences on climate prepared to compromise
change also were clear, ... without, and I say this
German Chancellor An- clearly, bending ourselves
gela Merkel said Friday, too much out of shape. We
as police and protesters can of course also name
clashed throughout the differences.”
day in the summit’s host The leaders did make a
city of Hamburg. joint statement on fighting
Merkel told leaders of the terrorism, an issue on which
G-20 economic powers there are few differences.
that they must be prepared They called for ensuring
to make compromises as that there are “no ‘safe
she worked toward a sum- spaces’ for terrorist financ-
mit outcome that every- ing anywhere in the world”
one present could accept. and pledged to work with
That is a challenging task internet providers and app
at a time when President French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald administrators to combat
Trump are engaged in conversation at the start of the first working session of the G-20 meeting in
Donald Trump’s Trump’s Hamburg, northern Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. the web’s use for terror pro-
“America First” rhetoric (John MacDougall/Pool Photo via AP) paganda and financing.
and decision last month Merkel noted that the
to withdraw from the Paris of the World Trade Orga- take, we must defend, at to preserve the G-20’s tra- countries at the summit
accord against climate nization, though she didn’t a moment when it is called dition of making decisions represent two-thirds of the
change have caused specify which ones did in question by certain peo- by consensus. Merkel has world’s population, four-
widespread concern. not support the trade lan- ple.” rejected calls from some fifths of the globe’s gross
Negotiators “still have a guage. “The discussions are “It will be very interesting to push for a strong “G-19” domestic product and
great deal of work ahead very difficult, I don’t want to see how we formulate statement — without the three-quarters of world
of them” to formulate a to talk around that,” Merkel the communique tomor- U.S. — on climate change. trade. The G-20 comprises
passage on trade in the said. The German leader row and make clear that, Opening discussions ear- Argentina, Australia, Brazil,
summit’s closing communi- said most summit partici- of course, there are differ- lier in the day, Merkel told China, Germany, France,
que, Merkel said after the pants backed the Paris ent opinions in this area fellow leaders that there Britain, India, Indonesia, It-
first day of meetings. climate accord. Speaking because the United States are “millions of people fol- aly, Japan, Canada, South
She added that most par- separately, French Presi- of America regrettably ... lowing us with their con- Korea, Mexico, Russia, Sau-
ticipants called for “free dent Emmanuel Macron wants to withdraw from the cerns, their fears and their di Arabia, South Africa, Tur-
but also fair trade” and un- spoke of “the common en- Paris accord,” Merkel said. needs, who hope that we key, the United States and
derlined the significance gagement which we must Germany has been keen can make a contribution to the European Union.q

Over 120 nations adopt first treaty banning nuclear weapons

Continued from front to send a delegation agreement.
“It will do the exact oppo- The Netherlands depu- The treaty requires of all
site by creating even more ty U.N. ambassador Lise ratifying countries “never
divisions at a time when Gregoire-Van-Haaren told under any circumstances
the world needs to remain delegates her country to develop, test, produce,
united in the face of grow- couldn’t vote for a treaty manufacture, otherwise
ing threats.” that went against its NATO acquire, possess or stock-
The U.S., Britain and France obligations, had inad- pile nuclear weapons or
along with other nuclear equate verification provi- other nuclear explosive de-
powers instead want to sions or that undermined vices.”
strengthen the nearly half- the NPT — and “this draft It also bans any transfer or
century-old Nuclear Non- does not meet our criteria.” use of nuclear weapons or
proliferation Treaty, con- Whyte Gomez, Costa Ri- nuclear explosive devices
sidered the cornerstone ca’s U.N. ambassador in — and the threat to use
of global nonproliferation Costa Rican Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gomez, President of Geneva, said 129 nations such weapons.
efforts. the United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding signed up to help draft the Iran, which signed an
That pact sought to pre- Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, reacts after a vote by treaty, which represents agreement with six major
vent the spread of atomic the conference to adopt a legally binding instrument to pro- two-thirds of the 193 mem- powers in 2015 to rein in
arms beyond the five origi- hibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination, ber states. its nuclear program, was
nal weapons powers — the Friday, July 7, 2017 at United Nations headquarters. The treaty will be opened among the countries that
(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
U.S., Russia, Britain, France for signatures in September voted for the treaty.
and China. toward nuclear disarma- All NATO members boycot- and come into force when Other countries that voted
It requires non-nuclear sig- ment and to guarantee ted the treaty negotiations 50 countries have ratified it, in favor include Sweden,
natory nations to not pur- non-nuclear states’ access except for the Netherlands, she said, and its language Switzerland, Austria, Brazil,
sue atomic weapons in ex- to peaceful nuclear tech- which has U.S. nuclear leaves the door open for South Africa, Egypt, Iraq,
change for a commitment nology for producing en- weapons on its territory and nuclear weapon states Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indo-
by the five powers to move ergy. was urged by its parliament to become parties to the nesia and the Philippines.q