G7 a chance to renew US-UK ties, but it won’t be all smiles and friendly elbow bumps
Boris Johnson has scored an early diplomatic win with the UK becoming the first foreign destination for Joe Biden since he became US president.
But it is more thanks to good timing than the special relationship – a term the prime minister reportedly doesn’t like anyway because he thinks it sounds weak and needy.
As host of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations this year, Britain is providing the platform for world powers to gather for the first time in person since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall
It gives Mr Johnson a prime opportunity, before group diplomacy kicks off on Friday, to secure some one-on-one time with Mr Biden and to renew UK-US ties after four turbulent and unpredictable years under Donald Trump.
Yet, despite all the values the two countries share, their deep security ties and long-running friendship, this won’t be all smiles and friendly elbow bumps.
Mr Biden represents a return to a more conventional American leader, unashamedly supportive of trans-Atlantic ties, multilateral organisations and the fundamental importance of democratic values.
But he will unlikely have the same chemistry with the British prime minister as his predecessor did.
Mr Johnson, with his blonde hair and reputation of a disruptor of the status quo – embodied by Brexit – was sometimes dubbed ‘mini Trump’ – a label that he will be keen to shake as he builds his friendship with the new administration.
Boris Johnson arrives in Cornwall for the G7 summit via private plane. Pic Twitter/@BorisJohnson
This US president, unlike Mr Trump, is also no fan of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
He will feel no particular urge to put Britain at the front of the cue for any trade deal – a prospect dangled by his predecessor but never sealed.
On 5 June, ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall activists from climate action group, Ocean Rebellion called for world leaders to make sea a priority at talks
Then there is the significant issue of the impact on Northern Ireland of the UK’s Brexit deal.
Mr Biden has been clear he will not accept any action by Britain or the EU that further endangers the Good Friday agreement, which is already under strain.
(Front row left to right), European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, (middle row left to right) German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
In addition, what will the US leader make of the UK government’s decision to shelve “temporarily” a promise to meet a UN target of spending 0.7% of national income on foreign aid at a time when the world’s poorest need help from the richest more than ever?
A £4bn cut in overseas aid means the UK is the only G7 nation reducing the amount it spend on helping developing nations.
Climate change will be a key topic for this year’s summit
That said, the UK and the US have always had their differences.
It is their common goals and values that makes this bilateral relationship so vital to both sides and the rest of the world’s democracies.
At a time of a rising authoritarian China and with threats from Russia still acute, Mr Johnson and Mr Biden will ultimately want to strike a united front, knowing that all democracies are stronger when they work together.
Donald Trump described the hush money case against him as a “mess” after the jury who will decide his fate has been selected.
Leaving the court in New York after proceedings were adjourned for the day, Trump addressed reporters, saying he was supposed to be in states like Georgia, New Hampshire and North Carolina as part of his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
“[But instead] I’ve been here all day,” he said, labelling the trial as “unfair”.
Trump trial as it happened: Former president looks ‘bored’ in court
Trump held up a stack of news stories and editorials that he said were critical of the case while he continued railing against the trial.
“The whole thing is a mess,” he said.
It comes as all 12 jurors have been seated in the first criminal case against a former US president.
Pic: AP
Members of the jury include a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers.
Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News reported there are seven men and five women on the jury.
It comes after lawyers grilled hundreds of potential jurors asking questions on everything from their hobbies and social media posts to their opinion of the former president.
More than half of a second group of prospective jurors were dismissed by Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday after most said they doubted their ability to be fair and impartial.
One juror was also dismissed after she said she “slept on it overnight” and woke up with concerns about her ability to be fair and impartial in the case.
The challenge now is to select six alternate jury members before the trial can move to opening statements, with Mr Merchan hopeful this will be completed on Friday.
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Trump is accused of criminally altering business records to cover up a $130,000 (£104,200) payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, during his 2016 election campaign.
Ms Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who was paid $150,000 (£120,000), both claim to have had affairs with Trump.
Stormy Daniels. Pic: AP
His lawyers say the payment was meant to spare himself and his family embarrassment, not to help him win the election.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He could get up to four years in prison if convicted.
The former president faces two other criminal trials accusing him of trying to subvert his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, and another that accuses him of mishandling classified information after he left the White House in 2021.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
The overnight events do not reflect well on President Biden.
He had signalled so emphatically just days ago for Israel not to retaliate.
“Take the win,” the American president told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Middle East latest – follow live
Benjamin Netanyahu has ignored Biden’s pleas. Pic: Reuters
It was a message made public and combined with back-channel briefings we were getting from the White House and the State Department.
Washington’s message to the Israeli government was that the spectacular failure of the Iranian attack, combined with the diplomatic first of having the Jordanians and the Saudis defending Israel, was a victory.
“Take it, don’t retaliate,” was the message they hoped would land. Uncontrolled escalation is just too much of a risk.
But Israel has been ignoring America for a few months now. Biden has frequently found the limits of his influence over Gaza.
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‘Blasts’ seen in sky above Iran – reports
As this week progressed, it became clear that on this issue too Netanyahu wasn’t going to be bent by Washington, London or anywhere else.
And there were plenty who questioned the wisdom of Biden’s diplomatic directive.
Israel had just faced the biggest aerial assault in its history by a nation committed to its destruction.
“Take the win”?! Really? To many, it sounded like an astonishing appeasement of Iran.
And so, as it dawned on diplomatic visitors to Israel this week that Netanyahu and his war cabinet were going to ignore Biden and hit back, the language began to shift.
“Don’t retaliate” became “minimise escalation”.
“We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible,” UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said after meeting Netanyahu on Tuesday.
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Cameron: Israel’s response ‘should be smart’
My understanding is that Western diplomats were given a heads-up by Israel that it was hitting back overnight and with some detail on the type and location of the targets.
But this past week raises questions about the Biden administration’s influence and its strategy.
Biden’s call for no retaliation was very public and echoed by allies. It was driven by the real fear of uncontrolled escalation.
But was it diplomatically smart to make the call so public? Some are asking if that didn’t just undermine Israel’s ability to reestablish deterrence.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Privately call for restraint, maybe. But why publicly?
But more than that, did the public “don’t do it” messaging just expose President Biden to failure and weakness when his directive was simply ignored by Israel?
Read more:
Israel appears to have carefully chosen response
How Biden watched Iranian attack – and what he told Netanyahu
Brace now for the next move.
Perhaps a steady de-escalation through a series of strikes on targets each less significant than the one before it – both sides saving face, both claiming deterrence.
Such is the madness of conflict.
The world’s first known combat between a human pilot and a fighter jet controlled by AI has been carried out in California, the US military has said.
In a drill over Edwards Air Force Base, the pair of F-16 fighter jets flew at speeds of up to 1,200mph and got as close as 600 metres during aerial combat, also known as dogfighting.
One was manned, while the other jet was a modified version of the F-16, called the X-62A, or VISTA (variable in-flight simulator test aircraft).
The AI-run plane in action. Pic: Kyle Brasier/USAF
While in flight, the AI algorithm relies on analysing historical data to make decisions for present and future situations, according to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which carried out the test.
This process is called “machine learning”, and has for years been tested in simulators on the ground, said DARPA, a research and development agency of the US Department of Defense.
In 2020, so-called “AI agents” defeated human pilots in simulations in all five of their match-ups – but the technology needed to be run for real in the air.
Pilots were on board the X-62A in case of emergency, but they didn’t need to revert controls at any point during the test dogfight, which took place in September last year and was announced this week.
The result represents a “transformational moment in aerospace history”, DARPA said in a statement.
It did not reveal which aircraft won the dogfight.
The two planes near each other during the drill. Pic: DARPA/YouTube
“The potential for autonomous air-to-air combat has been imaginable for decades, but the reality has remained a distant dream up until now, said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.
“In 2023, the X-62A broke one of the most significant barriers in combat aviation. This is a transformational moment, all made possible by breakthrough accomplishments of the X-62A ACE team.”
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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Colonel James Valpiani, a commandant at the US Air Force test pilot school. said: “Dogfighting is a perfect case for the application – machine learning.
“Dogfighting is extremely dangerous. So, if machine learning can operate effectively in an environment as dangerous as air-to-air combat, it has great potential to earn the trust of humans as we look to applications that are less dangerous but equally complex.”
He added: “The X-62A is an incredible platform, not just for research and advancing the state of tests, but also for preparing the next generation of test leaders.
“When ensuring the capability in front of them is safe, efficient, effective and responsible, industry can look to the results of what the X-62A ACE team has done as a paradigm shift.
“We’ve fundamentally changed the conversation by showing this can be executed safely and responsibly.”
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