BALI, INDONESIA — The federal government won’t say whether it asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is pressuring G20 leaders to further isolate Russia.
“Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine is creating food and energy crises. It’s disrupting supply chains and raising the cost of living,” Trudeau told business leaders in a Monday speech in Bali, Indonesia.
“Families are worried that they’re not going to be able to put food on the table, or won’t be able to heat their homes during winter.”
Trudeau was in Indonesia to meet with the leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies. That includes Xi, who is making his first trip outside China since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
Xi met Monday with U.S. President Joe Biden, and has announced plans to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
China’s Foreign Ministry said that between the G20 summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in Thailand, Xi will also meet the leaders of Senegal and Argentina “among others, upon request.”
Trudeau will be at both summits, yet when asked Sunday and Monday, Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly would not say whether they sought a meeting with Xi.
Instead, Joly said she will have a chance to speak with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, as she did in July.
“It is important for Canada to continue to have these open channels with China, but at the same time, our stance is clear,” she said Monday.
Last week, Joly said China is a threat to global stability by undermining human rights and trade rules. “We will co-operate with China when we must,” she said.
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa responded that the speech hurts Canada’s interests by “creating division and fomenting confrontation in the region.”
Canada’s stance on Russia is also at odds with some other G20 states, which want to maintain ties in spite of the invasion of Ukraine. In recent months, China, India and South Africa have abstained from United Nations resolutions condemning Russia.
“My focus is going to be making sure that the world comes together to reinforce that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin made a terrible, terrible choice when he decided to invade a peaceful neighbouring country,” Trudeau said Sunday.
As the summit host, Indonesia has asked leaders to focus on shoring up health systems and boosting food and energy security, and has stressed the importance of focusing on consensus instead of division.
Indonesia has reportedly asked G20 countries who have been vocal against Putin to tone down the rhetoric in order to forge consensus on other issues.
“Indonesia is between a rock and a hard place,” Joly said.
“Canada’s work is to always make sure that we can bring countries along; that we can find ways to address even difficult issues, and that’s why we’ve been having many ongoing conversations with Indonesia.”
On Monday, she announced $500 million for Ukraine’s military, including surveillance and communications equipment, as well as fuel and medical supplies.
The half-billion dollars doubles the amount Ottawa announced in its budget this past spring.
“Our goal is to make sure that the troops in Ukraine on the ground have access to additional military support soon, and we’ll have more details to provide in the coming days and weeks,” Joly said.
She also announced new sanctions against 23 Russians whom Joly says have violated the human rights of opposition leaders.
The G20 summit comes as Canadian industry leaders seek deeper ties with Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country that has a soaring economy.
Canada and Indonesia have done two rounds of negotiations for a trade deal aimed at growing the $3.5 billion in annual bilateral trade.
In recent years, the exchange has been roughly equally split, with Canada predominantly selling grain, fertilizer, wood pulp and oilseeds, and buying Indonesian rubber, electrical equipment and apparel.
Relations between Ottawa and Jakarta have been relatively smooth, aside from disputes in the 1990s around human rights and tumult in East Timor. Canada played a key role in Indonesia securing its independence from the Netherlands in 1949, with Ottawa’s then-ambassador to the UN, the general Andrew McNaughton, helping to dislodge an impasse in negotiations.
Indonesia’s poverty rate has dropped to 9.78 per cent in 2020 from a quarter of the population at the turn of the millennium. Nearly two-thirds of the country’s roughly 280 million people are of working age.
But COVID-19 slowed the economic boom and climate change threatens the world’s largest archipelago, with at least a third of the population at risk of natural disasters.
Indonesia is a key emitter of greenhouse gases, and Canada has pushed the government to better preserve its tropical forest and peatlands. Ottawa has argued that Indonesia’s pursuit of economic development and burning of coal is threatening its extensive biodiversity.
While in Cambodia, Trudeau made announcements aimed at deeper ties with Southeast Asia as a counterbalance to China.
The prime minister’s plane left Cambodia an hour and a half late on Monday, which his office said was due to issues clarifying the flight path. That delay postponed a planned meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Trudeau did meet Monday with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and is set to also meet newly minted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2022.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.
The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.
The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.
San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.
BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.
Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.
Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.
Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.
Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.
Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.
Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
