G20 is Rishi Sunak’s first big moment on world stage – but this isn’t his real test
Rishi Sunak landed in Bali on Monday evening with a clear message to viewers back home: the problems besetting the UK economy are shared with other industrialised nations around the world.
And there are two very good reasons why he has chosen to frame the G20 summit in Indonesia in this way.
Firstly, it’s an attempt by the new prime minister to present domestic economic problems as a consequence of bigger forces than just Conservative party own-goals – although he too admits mistakes were made (to say the least) – as he eyes Thursday’s autumn statement and the reaction to it from voters and MPs with inevitable dread.
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Announcing new tax rises and spending cuts when you’re already 20-plus points behind in the polls is hardly something a new prime minister wants to do and how this economic statement will be received is undoubtedly playing on Mr Sunak’s mind.
Secondly, this is a prime minister far more comfortable in economic than foreign policy and in calling on this summit as a moment to discuss with world leaders how to “fix the global economy” (what that means in reality, I’m waiting to see) is a way that Mr Sunk can play to his strengths and show leadership.
And he has had a minor diplomatic win on Monday, as the UK and French governments announced a new deal to try to clamp down on small boat crossings – which has now become, alongside the economic strife, the government’s main policy focus amid alarm of record crossings this year, with more than 40,000 people risking the journey.
The quick deal between London and Paris, scoped out when Mr Sunak met President Macron on the edges of the COP27 summit in Egypt, point to a different approach from a prime minister who is seeking to convey a sense of stability and co-operation of the world stage after the more unpredictable behaviour of both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
But how Mr Sunak actually wants to define his foreign policy strategy, beyond co-operation on Ukraine and economic policy with allies, is woolly.
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Sunak ‘confident’ over new migrant deal
On Ukraine, Mr Sunak told broadcasters on Monday night that he wanted to use the G20 to “condemn” Russia’s war.
He acknowledged too that this group of industrialised nations were divided on the issue of explicitly criticising the invasion, with the Western allies splitting with China and India over their refusal to condemn President Putin’s war, as well as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and South Africa which have rebuffed Western demands to punish Russia for the invasion.
Clearly aligned with the US when it comes to Ukraine, where we might get more clarity from Mr Sunak is around his approach to China at this summit.
Mr Sunak said he hoped to have a meeting with China’s president at this summit after President Biden’s three-and-a-half hour bilateral on Monday afternoon in which the US leader criticised China’s “increasingly aggressive” actions towards Taiwan, amid growing tension between Washington and Beijing.
For his part, Mr Sunak appears more hawkish on China, seeing the country as presenting a challenge to UK values and interests.
Watch at this summit to see how closely the new PM aligns with the US on China (I suspect it will be very closely) and talk about the UK’s approach to the Indo-Pacific region in the face of growing Chinese aggression.
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Concerns about how to contain China’s military ambitions have prompted new arrangements, such as the new ‘Quad’, which includes the US, Japan, Australia and India, and the Aukus pact, a deal that will see the UK and the US help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
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Beyond a dash to COP27, this is the new prime minister’s first big moment on the world stage and he’ll want it to cement new relationships with leaders and flesh out his approach to foreign policy. But what really matters for this PM in the coming weeks is economic policy.
This summit isn’t his real test, that will come on Thursday when his chancellor reveals the autumn statement that these two men have been working on for the past three weeks.
On Monday night, fresh off the heels of his chancellor warning that taxes were going up for everyone, Mr Sunak said he’d have to make “difficult but necessary decisions” this week to ensure stability remains in the markets.
Here he’s dealing with a very unstable global order as the G20 convenes for the first time in its 15-year history with war on the continent of Europe.
But this is a prime minister who also faces a destabilised party and disillusioned public back home. New into No 10 and now tasked with making a string of unpopular announcements, as his premiership gets going in earnest so too do the challenges.
Nine of a doctor’s 10 children have been killed in an Israeli missile strike on their home in Gaza, which also left her surviving son badly injured and her husband in a critical condition.
Warning: This article contains details of child deaths
Alaa Al Najjar, a paediatrician at Al Tahrir Clinic in the Nasser Medical Complex, was at work during the attack on her home, south of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on Friday.
Graphic footage shared by the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Defence shows the bodies of at least seven small children being pulled from the rubble.
Rescuers can be seen battling fires and searching through a collapsed building, shouting out when they locate a body, before bringing the children out one by one and wrapping their remains in body bags.
In the footage, Dr Al Najjar’s husband, Hamdi Al Najjar, who is also a doctor, is put on to a stretcher and then carried to an ambulance.
The oldest of their children was only 12 years old, according to Dr Muneer Alboursh, the director general of Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas.
Nine children were killed in the strike. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
“This is the reality our medical staff in Gaza endure. Words fall short in describing the pain,” he wrote in a social media post.
“In Gaza, it is not only healthcare workers who are targeted – Israel’s aggression goes further, wiping out entire families.”
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
British doctors describe ‘horrific’ and ‘unimaginable’ attack
Two British doctors working at Nasser Hospital described the attack as “horrific” and “unimaginable” for Dr Al Najjar.
Speaking in a video diary on Friday night, Dr Graeme Groom said his last patient of the day was Dr Al Najjar’s 11-year-old son, who was badly injured and “seemed much younger as we lifted him on to the operating table”.
Hamdi Al Najjar, Dr Al Najjar’s husband who is also a doctor, was taken to hospital. Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
The strike “may or may not have been aimed at his father”, Dr Groom said, adding that the man had been left “very badly injured”.
Dr Victoria Rose said the family “lived opposite a petrol station, so I don’t know whether the bomb set off some massive fire”.
Pic: Palestinian Civil Defence
‘No political or military connections’
Dr Groom added: “It is unimaginable for that poor woman, both of them are doctors here.
“The father was a physician at Nasser Hospital. He had no political and no military connections. He doesn’t seem to be prominent on social media, and yet his poor wife is the only uninjured one, who has the prospect of losing her husband.”
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Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies
He said it was “a particularly sad day”, while Dr Rose added: “That is life in Gaza. That is the way it goes in Gaza.”
Sky News has approached the Israeli Defence Forces for comment.
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Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began when the militant group stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 251 others.
Israel’s military response has flattened large areas of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
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UN’s Antonio Guterres condemns ‘teaspoon’ of aid allowed into Gaza after dozens die in airstrikes
The head of the UN has said Israel has only authorised for Gaza what amounts to a “teaspoon” of aid after at least 60 people died in overnight airstrikes.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said on Friday the supplies approved so far “amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required,” adding “the needs are massive and the obstacles are staggering”.
He warned that more people will die unless there is “rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access”.
A woman at the site of an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
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Gaza: ‘Loads of children with huge burns’
Israel says around 300 aid trucks have been allowed through since it lifted an 11-week blockade on Monday, but according to Mr Guterres, only about a third have been transported to warehouses within Gaza due to insecurity.
The IDF said 107 vehicles carrying flour, food, medical equipment and drugs were allowed through on Thursday.
Many of Gaza’s two million residents are at high risk of famine, experts have warned.
Meanwhile, at least 60 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza overnight.
Ten people died in the southern city of Khan Younis, and deaths were also reported in the central town of Deir al-Balah and the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, according to the Nasser, Al-Aqsa and Al-Ahli hospitals where the bodies were brought.
A body is carried out of rubble after an Israeli strike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
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‘Almost everyone depends on aid’ in Gaza
The latest strikes came a day after two Israeli embassy workers were killed in Washington.
The suspect, named as 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, Illinois, told police he “did it for Gaza”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of fuelling antisemitism following the shootings.
The leaders of the UK, France and Canada are “on the wrong side of humanity and (…) history”, he said, after they threatened “concrete action” against Israel this week if it continues its “egregious” military operations in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu also accused Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.
Palestinians search for casualties in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Pic: Reuters
But UK government minister Luke Pollard told Sky News on Friday morning he “doesn’t recognise” Mr Netanyahu’s accusation.
Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu said he was recalling negotiators from the Qatari capital, Doha, after a week of ceasefire talks failed to bring results. A working team will remain.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 others.
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The militants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive, which has destroyed large swaths of Gaza, has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A woman has been arrested after 12 people were reportedly injured in a stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station in Germany.
An attacker armed with a knife targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14, according to police.
They added that the suspect was a 39-year-old woman.
Police at the scene. Pic: AP
Officers said they “believe she acted alone” and investigations into the stabbing are continuing.
There was no immediate information on a possible motive.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
The attack happened shortly after 6pm local time (5pm UK time) on Friday in front of a waiting train, regional public broadcaster NDR reported.
A high-speed ICE train with its doors open could be seen at the platform after the incident.
Railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it was “deeply shocked” by what had happened.
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Four tracks at the station were closed in the evening, and some long-distance trains were delayed or diverted.
Hamburg is Germany‘s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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