U.S.-China trade talks. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said today that a second consecutive day of bilateral trade talks in London was “going well.” Yesterday, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said he expected the talks to lead to the easing of U.S. controls on some semiconductor-related exports and Chinese controls on rare earth exports.
Momentum for ocean treaty. Eighteen additional countries ratified a treaty on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters yesterday. Known as the High Seas Treaty, it proposes a process for regulating activities like deep sea mining and a framework for funding ocean protection. The new countries joined during a UN oceans conference in France, bringing the total number of ratifications to forty-nine. The treaty is now only eleven countries short of the sixty it needs to take effect.
WHO alert on mpox. Mpox remains a public health emergency of international concern, top World Health Organization (WHO) official Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said yesterday. The ongoing outbreak was first declared a global health emergency last August. As of June 2, there was sustained human-to-human transmission in nine African countries and cases have been reported in 122 countries globally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Italy citizenship vote fails. A referendum vote that could have expedited the naturalization process for Italian citizenship and strengthened labor rights failed due to insufficient turnout. Only around 30 percent of registered voters participated, short of the required majority for it to be valid. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition had called on people to boycott the vote and celebrated its result as an affirmation of their restrictive immigration policies.
Marines in Los Angeles. The Trump administration ordered the deployment of seven hundred Marines to Los Angeles yesterday following protests, over objections from Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the move a “provocation.” Newsom and the State of California sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier yesterday in response to a Sunday deployment of the National Guard.
El Chapo’s sons sanctioned. The U.S. Treasury Department yesterday announced sanctions on two fugitive sons of imprisoned drug boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, as well as on a faction of his Sinaloa cartel known as “Los Chapitos.” Washington announced an up to $10 million reward for information on either son, both of whom are thought to be in Mexico. The country’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment.
Israel intercepts aid ship. Israeli authorities intercepted a Gaza-bound ship carrying activists and humanitarian aid yesterday. Israel said it would send the passengers back to their home countries. The activists oppose Israeli restrictions on aid at the enclave’s land borders as well as the nearly two-decade-old Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, which Israel says aims to prevent weapons smuggling.
Taiwan espionage indictment. Taiwanese prosecutors charged four people with spying for China yesterday, including two former senior political aides. One of the defendants worked in President Lai Ching-te’s office and another worked for Taiwan’s former foreign minister. Reuters was not immediately able to locate their legal representatives for comment.
