International

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 22:09 UTC

  UK claims China, Russia and Iran are looking to exploit weaknesses caused by the pandemic

  

  The United Kingdom said on Thursday that China, Russia and Iran were looking to exploit weaknesses shown by the coronavirus outbreak, amid suggestions Beijing had used the crisis to push through new security legislation for Hong Kong.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 21:35 UTC

  New Zealand confidence undermined by third virus case in the “Covid 19-free country”

  

  New Zealand recorded on Thursday its third new case of COVID-19 this week as quarantine breaches and other failures undermined public confidence days after it declared itself among the first countries in the world to be free of the virus.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 21:10 UTC

  US and EU clash over taxes on digital firms; accord or no accord France will apply a 3% levy by end of the year

  

  France said a U.S. decision to quit global talks on how to tax big digital firms such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook was a “provocation” and the European Union said it could impose taxes even if no deal was reached by year-end.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 20:41 UTC

  Another conflict? Nepal approves new map which includes land controlled by India

  The upper house of Nepal’s parliament approved a new map of the country on Thursday including land controlled by India, in a row that has strained ties between the South Asian neighbors.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 20:10 UTC

  Vatican urges Catholics to disinvest from fossil fuel industries

  

  The Vatican urged Catholics on Thursday to disinvest from the armaments and fossil fuel industries and to closely monitor companies in sectors such as mining to check if they are damaging the environment.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 20:02 UTC

  Delhi and Beijing try to deescalate border tensions; India buries the 20 soldiers killed

  

  India prepared to hold funerals on Thursday for some of the 20 soldiers killed in brutal hand-to-hand fighting with Chinese troops in a disputed mountainous border region, as the two governments sought to deescalate tensions.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:40 UTC

  Macron puts on De Gaulle boots and visits UK in a symbolic anniversary

  

  French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Britain this Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a hugely symbolic visit and his first foreign trip since the coronavirus pandemic began.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 12:09 UTC

  India, Mexico, Norway and Ireland chosen to the UN Security Council; defeat for Canada's Trudeau

  

  The UN General Assembly elected on Wednesday four new members of the Security Council for 2021 and 2022, with Canada losing out again and the battle for the African seat going to a second round.

• Thursday, June 18th 2020 - 11:15 UTC

  EU conditions post-Brexit UK talks and looks ahead to three months of intense discussions

  

  The European Union's chief executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday that the bloc will do its best to seal an agreement on new ties with Britain by the end of the year but will not compromise its core values, notably on fair competition.

• Wednesday, June 17th 2020 - 19:19 UTC

  Ahead of Macron's London visit, minister warns France does not rule out a post-Brexit “no deal” with UK

  

  France does not rule out Europe failing to reach a deal on its post-Brexit relationship with Britain but very much wants to avoid such an outcome, its foreign minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday.