The Latest on the Group of Seven meeting (all times local):
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1:05 p.m.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has launched a media freedom campaign alongside international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney from the sidelines of the Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in the French Atlantic resort of Dinard.
Hunt said Friday the issue was of “global prominence” following the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October during the deadliest year on record for journalists “with 99 killed.”
Hunt said “democratic countries need to stand together to make it an international taboo … to murder, arrest or detain journalists for doing their job.”
Clooney will be Hunt’s Media Freedom special envoy and chair a panel of legal experts that will offer advice to governments who want to strengthen journalists’ rights.
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9:40 a.m.
The world’s security challenges are at the top of the agenda of foreign and interior ministers of the Group of Seven countries who are gathering in France.
Interior ministers in Paris are focusing Friday on environmental crime, including reckless deforestation, waste trafficking and protection of lands and wildlife.
They will then detail joint commitments on fighting terrorism and human trafficking in a news conference.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers will kick off their two-day meeting in the Atlantic resort of Dinard. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stayed at home because of domestic duties. Washington sent lower-ranking officials instead.
In addition to the U.S., the G-7 includes France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and the U.K.
