Riyadh Prepares For G20 with Decisive Decision, Bold Measures

 Riyadh will host the G20 leaders’ summit on Nov.21-22 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh will host the G20 leaders’ summit on Nov.21-22 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Riyadh Prepares For G20 with Decisive Decision, Bold Measures

 Riyadh will host the G20 leaders’ summit on Nov.21-22 (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Riyadh will host the G20 leaders’ summit on Nov.21-22 (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Few days before the annual summit of the leaders of the world’s largest economies, Riyadh is finalizing draft-decisions and recommendations that would be submitted by the G20. Those will be aimed at developing efficient solutions and bold action plans to enhance recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and restore growth to the global economy.

According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, the G20 secretariat's high-level meetings concluded that great efforts should be exerted to make the Riyadh summit “decisive” and capable of restoring hope and reassurance to the peoples of the world through a set of brave measures.

Work is currently underway to issue a strong and approved final statement for the G20 leaders’ summit, which would include commitments and pledges and underline the importance of solidarity and international cooperation to coordinate a unified response for the G20 members.

According to the information, the Saudi G20 presidency will hence highlight the following vision: “The health and economic challenges facing the world cannot be managed separately by every country. The world is interconnected, so there is a need to work together, while respecting the different views, circumstances and traditions.”

Riyadh will host the G20 leaders’ summit on Nov. 21-22, after a busy year that witnessed 180 conferences, including senior ministerial meetings and two summits.

Moreover, the Saudi Presidency of the G20 has taken rapid and unprecedented measures to protect the most vulnerable.

The G20 members have contributed nearly $21 billion to support health systems, develop a vaccine, and provide more than $14 billion to alleviate the debts of developing countries. This year’s presidency also saw the pumping of about $12 trillion to protect the global economy.



Lawyers: Kardashian Ready to 'Confront' her Paris Attackers in Court

FILE - American television and social media personality,socialite, and model Kim Kardashian attends the Cannes Lions 2015, International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)
FILE - American television and social media personality,socialite, and model Kim Kardashian attends the Cannes Lions 2015, International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)
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Lawyers: Kardashian Ready to 'Confront' her Paris Attackers in Court

FILE - American television and social media personality,socialite, and model Kim Kardashian attends the Cannes Lions 2015, International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)
FILE - American television and social media personality,socialite, and model Kim Kardashian attends the Cannes Lions 2015, International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)

Kim Kardashian is ready to "confront" her Paris attackers as the US celebrity prepares to testify in person next week at a trial over an armed robbery of her jewelry in 2016, her lawyers said Monday.

"She is committed to attending in person the trial and to confronting those who attacked her. She will do so with dignity and courage," her French lawyers Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout told AFP.

In late April, 10 suspects went on trial in Paris over the 2016 robbery of the US celebrity, which saw some $10 million worth of jewelry stolen from the reality TV star and influencer.

On the night of October 2-3, 2016, Kardashian, then 35, was robbed while staying at an exclusive hotel in central Paris. She was threatened with a gun to the head and tied up with her mouth taped up.

Kardashian, who has been keeping abreast of developments during the first week of the trial, is due to testify on May 13 in a court appearance certain to attract huge media attention.

The lawyers, who are representing Kardashian alongside her American counsel Michael Rhodes, declined to comment on the content of her upcoming testimony.

"We want to give everyone the opportunity to hear her testimony in her own words so we won't be commenting on the substance of what she will say," they said in a statement.

During what the French press has dubbed the "the heist of the century", masked men walked away from the Parisian hotel with millions of dollars worth of jewels in 2016, including a diamond ring gifted by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West.

The theft was the biggest against a private individual in France in the past 20 years.

Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records and underworld nicknames like "Old Omar" and "Blue Eyes" that recall the old-school French bandits of 1960s and 1970s film noirs.

Kardashian, her lawyers said, "is genuinely grateful for the way in which the French authorities conducted the investigation that led to the discovery of the persons facing charges in this trial.

"Throughout the process, the utmost respect and consideration has been given for Ms. Kardashian," they said.

She "will cooperate with the judicial process and answer all questions," her lawyers added.

The trial is due to last until May 23.