G-7 calls out China over rights at virus-shadowed meeting
By JILL LAWLESSMay 5, 2021 GMT
LONDON (AP) Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy industrialized nations on Wednesday accused China of human rights abuses and economic mischief, but offered little concrete action to deal with an increasingly forceful Beijing.
The top G-7 diplomats meeting in London said they were “deeply concerned” by China’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslim population and other minorities, which includes mass internment in “re-education” camps, forced labor and forced sterilization.
But the U.K., the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan committed only to tackling forced labor “through our own available domestic means,” which could range from public awareness campaigns to laws for businesses, rather than through collective action.
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1of30Customers wearing face masks wait to buy meat at a market in downtown Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, May 5, 2021.Emilio Morenatti/APShow MoreShow Less
2of30Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, speaks as she and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announce a joint effort to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations, Wednesday, May 5, 2021, at Community of Hope, a health center in Washington.Jacquelyn Martin/APShow MoreShow Less
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4of30FILE - In this May 4, 2021, file photo, lunch hour customers are seen in an outdoor seating area of a restaurant in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York. Teams of experts are projecting COVID-19 s toll on the U.S. will fall sharply by the end of July, according to research released by the government Wednesday, May 5.Mary Altaffer/APShow MoreShow Less
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HEREâS WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
WASHINGTON â President Joe Biden has made a Cinco de Mayo taco and enchilada run to highlight his administrationâs $28.6 billion program to help eateries that lost business because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden visited Taqueria Las Gemelas in Washington on Wednesday and ordered lunch. The restaurant is owned in part by Mexican immigrants and was a beneficiary of a pilot version of the restaurant relief program.
Biden says the restaurant industry was âbadly hurtâ by the pandemic. The aid for eateries is part of the administrationâs $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.
The White House says 186,200 restaurants, bars and other eligible businesses applied for the program over its first two days of accepting applications.