Amid two days of talks among G20 finance ministers and central bank heads gathered in Asheville, North Carolina, an unexpected and deeply awkward issue (for some) has emerged.
The whole session is being overshadowed by the fact that the White House welcomed Russia to the meeting, which has set off anger and frustration among the Europeans. Also, some key media outlets and prominent reporters have been banned from the summit.
G20: an "unexpected" Russian guest.Late Monday, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov made an unexpected appearance after his official US invite, and then was welcomed by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for a bilateral meeting.
This marks Russia's first in-person invite to the G20 since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022 - and it is happening while the US holds the rotating G20 presidency and is playing host.
The two officials reportedly focused their talks economic cooperation and on finding a way forward on finding a peace deal in Ukraine. According to the focus of the diplomatic interaction:
Despite Washington's effort to seize the opportunity for the sake of much-needed diplomacy with Moscow, at a moment the Ukraine war has been continually escalating, European officials vented to the press over the unwanted Kremlin presence.
"Receiving the Russian finance minister here sends a troubling signal," German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said. "I made it clear to the Europeans this morning in the plenary session that I would not pose for a photo with the Russian finance minister," he told reporters.
Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told Reuters that while he recognizes the right of the host country to invite guests, it remains that "We do not trust Russia. They lie constantly and you need to be really, really cautious while discussing with them." He emphasized "So for me it would be very difficult to have any kind of conversation with Russia."
This led to the Russian representative being banned from the family photo traditionally taken at the g20 summits. This decision was apparently due to pressure by the Europeans, who may have threatened not to show up for the photo op. In the end it was taken without Siluanov.
NEW: After pushback from Europeans, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was not included in the #G20 family photo pic.twitter.com/son1tkLlBM
— Julie Tsirkin (@news_jul) September 1, 2026But given the immense and rising tensions between Moscow and European capitals of late, the Europeans would do well to take the White House's example and finally engage the Russians, in order to lower the temperature and pursue badly needed de-escalation.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/01/2026 - 09:40Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times,
A Utah judge has set a hearing for Sept. 1 to consider whether the high-profile case against conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin, Tyler James Robinson, 23, should go to trial.
Judge Tony Graf Jr. also must weigh whether to uphold seven charges against Robinson, including one carrying a potential death sentence.
Based on evidence presented during a five-day preliminary hearing in early July, prosecutors and defense lawyers will argue at 10 a.m. MDT in the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah.
Lawyers representing Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, urged Graf to rule by Sept. 1, a court record says, arguing against any "undue delay" while preserving Robinson's right to a fair trial.
It was unknown whether the judge would comply with that request.
By law, the judge's sole task is to decide whether there is probable cause - a required step before the case can head to trial, prosecutors noted.
That legal standard "requires 'evidence sufficient to support a reasonable belief that an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it,'" prosecutors explained in a news release, citing state law.
If Graf finds probable cause, he must "bind over" the case for trial; otherwise, the judge must dismiss the charges, and prosecutors could resubmit the charges later.
Prior to the hearing, both sides filed written arguments with dramatically different interpretations of the evidence.
Defense attorneys opined that the evidence was insufficient to prove required elements of all seven charges against their client. They also challenged prosecutors' assertion that the circumstances warrant the death penalty.
The shooting of Kirk imperiled other lives, prosecutors said, arguing that risk of harm to others is an "aggravating" circumstance that the law requires for a death-penalty-level charge.
"Common sense" dictates that "firing a gun, especially a high-powered rifle towards others puts them at great risk of death," prosecutors said.
On Sept. 10, 2025 - almost a year ago - Kirk was fatally shot in the neck as he answered questions from an audience of about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Defense lawyers argued that the law requires proof beyond a mere "possibility" that someone else could have been killed. They noted a single shot was fired, not multiple shots, and that Robinson had never expressed any intention to hurt anyone other than Kirk.
Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, was best known as a conservative speaker who started a political movement for young voters, Turning Point USA, when he was 19. Prosecutors say evidence points to Robinson targeting Kirk over his "political expression."
Robinson is accused of aggravated murder, a capital offense. He also faces six other charges: two counts of obstructing justice, two counts of witness tampering, along with causing serious bodily harm by discharging a firearm and committing violence in the presence of a child.
In a July 28 court filing, prosecutors told the judge that the case is clear-cut.
"This is as likely as straight-forward a bindover decision as this Court will ever see," they wrote, adding: "This isn't a close case. The State presented more than enough evidence to support a probable cause finding on all seven charges."
Many circumstances implicate Robinson, prosecutors said, such as admitting to his lover that he had killed Kirk. DNA evidence, eyewitness testimony, and surveillance videos all link Robinson to the shooting scene, they said.
They noted defense lawyers "did not challenge the substance of the evidence" pointing to Robinson as the shooter.
Defense lawyers instead argued that prosecutors' contentions called for impermissible "speculation" rather than reasonable inferences.
Prosecutors countered that defense attorneys ignored evidence that was damning to Robinson and improperly contorted legal standards to favor their client.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/01/2026 - 09:00