Hong Kong's Apple Daily to close, The Vatican raises concerns over LGBT rights bill, U.S. and China discuss G20 meeting: FT
Yahoo Finance’s Akiko Fujita breaks down the top stories around the world.
Video transcript
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AKIKO FUJITA: In our World View today, the White House is reportedly discussing a high-level meeting with Beijing to launch the next phase of President Biden's China policy. The Financial Times reports that could come as early as next week, in a potential meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's foreign minister at the G20 in Italy. The FT reports the White House is also considering another call between the president and Xi Jinping. Could also send Blinken or national security advisor Jake Sullivan to China this year. Any in-person meeting would mark the first high-level US-China engagement since Blinken and Sullivan traveled to Alaska for a bilateral discussion in March.
Hong Kong's sole pro-democracy newspaper is shutting down after 26 years. The Apple Daily's parent company announced it will publish its last edition on Thursday, less than a week after police arrested editors and executives and froze millions of dollars in assets. Apple Daley's closure marks the latest push by the Chinese government to silence opposition in the city following pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019. The publication first emerged as a tabloid in 1995, but it became a leading critic of Chinese policies and the government's push to curb freedoms in Hong Kong. Founder Jimmy Lai has already been sentenced to 14 months in prison, while five editors and executives have been charged under a new national security law.
And Italian lawmakers are pushing back against interference from the Vatican after the Catholic Church publicly opposed a bill to protect members of the LGBT community. The church filed a diplomatic communique officially opposing the proposed law, raising concerns that it could restrict religious freedoms. The bill would add legal protections for women and LGBT Italians. Hate crimes or discrimination against these groups will be punishable by up to four years in prison under the law. It's already passed the lower house of parliament.