Armenian foreign minister to skip CSTO council meeting amid frozen participation
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will not attend the meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Foreign Ministers Council ...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for 30th June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
1. Six Azerbaijanis detained in Yekaterinburg over early 2000s case
Russian courts have imposed detention measures on six Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg in connection with a case dating back to the early 2000s, amid reports of injuries and allegations of coerced confessions.
On 27 June, a court process began concerning nine Azerbaijanis detained with the use of force in Yekaterinburg, suspected in connection with a crime from the early 2000s. According to AZERTAC, special forces raided more than ten residences of Azerbaijanis that morning, leading to several arrests, including members of the Safarov family from Aghdam. During the operation, two brothers, Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, were killed, and several others were hospitalised.
2. Canada rescinds digital services tax to advance stalled US trade talks
Canada scrapped its digital services tax targeting U.S. technology firms late on Sunday, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by 21 July, Canada's finance ministry said in a statement.
3. China rolls over $3.4 billion loans to Pakistan, say sources
China has rolled over $3.4 billion in loans to Pakistan, two senior Pakistani government officials told Reuters on Sunday, in a move that will help boost Islamabad's foreign exchange reserves, a requirement of the International Monetary Fund.
Beijing rolled over $2.1 billion, which has been in Pakistan's central bank's reserves for the last three years, and refinanced another $1.3 billion commercial loan, which Islamabad had paid back two months ago, the sources said.
4. Budapest's banned Pride march swells into mass demonstration
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Hungary's capital on Saturday as a banned LGBTQ+ rights rally swelled into a mass anti-government demonstration, in one of the biggest shows of opposition to Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Crowds filled a square near Budapest's city hall in sweltering heat before setting off across one of the main bridges over the Danube, waving rainbow flags, some draped in capes and some carrying signs mocking Orban.
5. Ukraine set to withdraw from anti-personnel mines treaty, says Zelenskyy
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday signed a decree putting country on track to leave the anti-landmine Ottawa Convention, according to a document published on his website.
The treaty bans signatories from acquiring, producing, stockpiling or using anti-personnel mines, which are designed to be buried or hidden on the ground.
6. Trump says he has group of ‘very wealthy people’ to buy TikTok
President Donald Trump said on 29 June that a group of buyers had been found for TikTok, which faces a looming ban in the United States due to its China ties, adding he could name the purchasers in two weeks.
“We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way,” Mr Trump said in an interview on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
“Very wealthy people. It’s a group of wealthy people,” the president said, without revealing more except to say he would make their identities known “in about two weeks.”
Iran launched 18 ballistic missiles late Sunday targeting the U.S. military’s Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American installation in the Middle East.
The U.S. economy faces a 40% risk of recession in the second half of 2025, JP Morgan analysts said on Wednesday, citing rising tariffs and stagflation concerns.
China has ramped up efforts to protect communities impacted by flood control measures, introducing stronger compensation policies and direct aid from the central government.
Severe rain in Venezuela has caused rivers to overflow and triggered landslides, sweeping away homes and collapsing a highway bridge, with five states affected and no casualties reported so far.
A malfunction in the radar transmission system at the Area Control Center in Milan suspended more than 300 flights at the weekend, across northwest Italy since Saturday evening according to Italy's air traffic controller Enav (National Agency for Flight Assistance).
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats shake confidence in the American market, as investors increasingly turn to Europe, drawn by its relative political stability and infrastructure-driven economic agenda.
The European Council has extended its sectoral sanctions on Russia until January 31, 2026, in response to Russia’s continued destabilising actions in Ukraine.
Temperatures are reaching at least 40 degrees Celsius or more on the last day of June in southern Europe with countries issuing health and environmental warnings in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The E3 countries condemned threats against the head of the UN nuclear watchdog and urged Iran to ensure the safety of IAEA staff and uphold international obligations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has signalled no intention of easing hefty auto tariffs on Japan, reaffirming a hard-line trade stance just days before a critical deadline on country-specific tariffs expires.
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