Three island states have diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China

International News via Reuters:

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has said that 21 donor countries, including the United States and China, will not be invited to the region’s top political meeting, a move that follows pressure from Beijing to exclude Taiwan.

China’s biggest security ally in the Pacific Islands, the Solomon Islands is hosting the annual meeting of the 18-member bloc’s forum in September.

Three island states have diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China, and they had expressed concern Taiwanese officials would be blocked from entering the country. Solomon Islands switched ties from Taiwan to China in 2019, and removed Taiwan from a list of countries eligible for concessional entry in April.

Beijing, which has deepened its ties in the Pacific, claims Taiwan as its own territory.

Manele told the Solomon Islands parliament on Wednesday his cabinet had decided no dialogue partners would be invited to this year’s event, because a review of each country’s relationship with the Pacific had not been completed.

He said he had informed the forum’s 18 leaders of the decision this week.

The World Bank, Asia Development Bank and civil society groups would attend, he added.

Opposition party politician Peter Kenilorea Jr, chairman of the parliament’s foreign relations committee, said the decision was “a massive missed opportunity” for Pacific Island countries to meet global donors.

“We know this issue is all about China and Taiwan,” he told parliament.

After forum leaders were told of the decision, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine criticised interference in the forum’s affairs in a speech to the Taiwan ally’s parliament.

China had “interfered” at last year’s meeting in Tonga to change the language of the leaders’ communique, Heine said. References to Taiwan were removed after Chinese diplomats complained.

The Pacific Islands is among the world’s most aid-reliant regions, and on the frontline of rising sea levels.

The region has also been a focus of increasing security competition between the United States and China.

While U.S. allies Australia and New Zealand are the largest forum members, neither Beijing nor Washington are part of the group.

Kenilorea Jr said he feared that China, which has a strong presence in Solomon Islands, will hold bilateral meetings with Pacific leaders on the margins of the forum regardless.

“This could be seen by some PIF leaders as a betrayal of the collective and could risk an even bigger rift of the group,” he said in comments to Reuters.

China’s embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

The forum’s foreign ministers will meet in Fiji next week.

Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry

Its shares rose 2.3% in early trading as strong demand in the U.S. and international markets powered a 3.8% rise in global same-store sales

International News via Reuters:

McDonald’s second-quarter global comparable sales beat Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as affordable meal bundles and promotions drew in budget-conscious diners looking to stretch their dollars amid economic uncertainty.

Its shares rose 2.3% in early trading as strong demand in the U.S. and international markets powered a 3.8% rise in global same-store sales, above expectations of a 2.4% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Fast-food chains have seen competition heat up as companies such as McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands double down on value meals to counter a slowdown in demand, mainly among the lower-income households.

To improve sales, McDonald’s launched a limited-time Happy Meal offer for kids and adults tied to the “Minecraft” Movie promotion in April. In May, it introduced McCrispy Chicken Strips as a permanent menu item.

These promotions are in addition to the $5 meal deal and the buy-one, add-one for $1 offers launched last year.

CEO Chris Kempczinski said re-engaging the low-income consumer is “critical”, as they typically visit its restaurants more frequently than middle- and high-income groups.

“This bifurcated consumer base is why we remain cautious about the overall near-term health of the U.S. consumer,” he said.

Menu innovation and promotions had also helped Domino’s report upbeat U.S. same-store sales, while weakening demand hurt sales at Yum Brands and Chipotle Mexican Grill.

For the second quarter, customer visits to McDonald’s outperformed the wider quick-service restaurant category, data from foot traffic tracking firm Placer.ai showed.

“While rivals like Yum Brands and Chipotle struggled with consumer pullback, McDonald’s played to its strengths by leaning into value, nostalgia and limited-time promotions,” eMarketer analyst Zak Stambor said.

Comparable sales in U.S., McDonald’s biggest market, grew 2.5%, compared with a 0.7% decline a year ago.

Sales in its business segment where restaurants are operated by local partners, jumped 5.6%, led by Japan, while it rose 4% in international markets, on demand recovery in the UK, Canada and France.

Adjusted net income of $3.19 per share exceeded estimates of $3.15.

Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

The fire has burnt down at least 25 houses

International News via Reuters:

Firefighters in southern France struggled on Wednesday to control a massive wildfire that has already swept through an area bigger than Paris, as the blaze spread rapidly through forests and villages, forcing residents and tourists to flee.

One person died in the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, about 30 kilometers from the city of Perpignan, the Aude prefecture said. The fire has burnt down at least 25 houses. Many roads in the area are closed.

So far 13,000 hectares have burned – similar to the total area that burned across all of France in 2024, and more than twice the area hit by wildfires in 2023, environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on X.

The fire moved incredibly fast, leaving no time to prepare, said Dutch national Renate Koot, who was on holidays in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse with her partner and had to flee.

“One moment we were on the phone with our children … thinking, ‘Look, a fire!’. The next, we had to jump in the car and leave, while praying for protection. We didn’t take anything with us and just left,” she said. “We’re okay. Miraculously.”

“It’s unbelievable. It’s a catastrophe,” said Spanish national Issa Medina, as the sound of firefighters echoed in the background. Medina was with her family in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.

The prefecture said the fire was progressing “very quickly” and that nearly 2,000 firefighters were trying to bring it under control. Around 2,500 households in the area were currently without electricity, it said.

This is “a disaster of unprecedented scale”, firefighter spokesman Eric Brocardi told RTL radio, saying the fire was spreading at 5.5 kph (3.4 mph).

HIGH RISK OF FIRES

Officials and experts warned the wind could change direction, further complicating efforts to fight the wildfire.

Scientists say the Mediterranean region’s hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires. Once fires start, plentiful dry vegetation and strong winds in the region can cause them to spread rapidly and burn out of control.

“With climate change, the risk of having wildfires is expected to increase during the summer, but also to extend into the autumn and spring, and to spread toward the southwest, the center, and the north of France,” said Serge Zaka, a climate and agriculture analyst.

SPAIN, PORTUGAL

Meanwhile, Spain is experiencing a prolonged heatwave since Sunday that was expected to extend into next week, with temperatures reaching 43C in some areas.

The high temperatures have helped to fan several wildfires.

Emergency services on Wednesday were still fighting to put out a blaze in the kitesurfing resort of Tarifa in southern Spain that was believed to have been started when a caravan in a campsite caught on fire, and where access to hotels, campsites and restaurants in the area was still restricted.

Firefighters were also battling a wildfire near houses in the town of Ponteceso, in the Galicia region, which forced the evacuation of Corme Aldea village.

In Portugal, wildfires have burned through more than 42,000 hectares so far this year, the largest area since 2022 and eight times more than at the same time last year.

More than half of that area was affected in the last two weeks amid high summer temperatures. In the early hours on Wednesday, firefighters managed to control a large blaze that has been raging since Saturday near Vila Real in the north, where the heatwave has brought temperatures up to 40C this week.

Writing by Ingrid Melander; Reporting by Manon Cruz in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Charlotte Van Campenhout in Amsterdam, Charlie Devereux in Madrid, Andrei Khalip in Lisbon, additional reporting by Michel Rose, Benjamin Mallet and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; Editing by Alison Williams, Alexandra Hudson