Belarusian airlines banned from European airspace
The ambassadors of the 27 EU countries have decided to ban Belarusian airlines from accessing European airspace. L’Echo says the ban is expected to come into force today. The EU is also preparing targeted sanctions against individuals and entities close to the Lukashenko regime, as well as economic sanctions against Belarusian companies with close ties to the government.
G7 close to agreement on corporate tax avoidance
The Financial Times reports Finance Ministers from the G7 have expressed confidence they would reach a deal on taxing multi-national companies later today during the last day of their meeting in London. The Ministers are discussing President Biden’s proposals for a global minimum corporation tax of 15% to ensure that large companies “paid their fair share”.
Trudeau slams Catholic Church over indigenous deaths
CBC quotes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging the Catholic Church to take responsibility over its maganement of indegenous schools following the reported discovery of the remains of some 215 children at a former school. Trudeau told a news conference the Vatican needed to “step up and take responsibility” as it had remained silent without issuing an apology or asking for forgiveness.
Munich Cardinal offers resignation
Deutsche-Welle reports one of Germany’s most senior Catholic clerics, Cardinal Max Reinhard, has offered his resignation to Pope Francis. He said in his letter that he wanted to take a share of responsibility “for the catastrophe of sexual abuse” by Church members. A 2018 study had showed that 1,670 clergymen had committed some type of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, from 1946 through 2014.
Australia rape accuser in hospital
According to The Australian, 26-year-old Brittany Higgins, who revealed in March that she was raped in Parliament by a colleague, has been hospitalised for psychiatric treatment to recover from “months of relentless political pressure”. Brittany had said that she was raped in 2019 in the offices of the then Defense Minister Linda Reynolds and that she was pressured by her superiors not to report. Several lawmakers have been accused of sexual assault and misconduct in recent months.
Trump finds Speaker’s job ‘interesting’
Donald Trump is eyeing his arch-enemy’s post of Speaker of the House. Answering questions from ultra-conservative radio presenter Wayne Allyn Root of US Radio Network, Trump called the proposal made by his former political strategist Steve Bannon “very interesting”. Meanwhile, Trump has been suspended from Facebook and Instagram for a further two years. His account was initially suspended five months ago for allegedly inciting violence at the US Capitol building in Washington.
Tennis: Sizikova questioned over match-fixing
Le Parisien reports Yana Sizikova, the 26-year-old Russian tennis player, has been released from custody in Paris after being questioned over match-fixing allegations. French police believe she deliberately lost a first-round doubles match at the French Open last year. Suspicions were aroused because of abnormally-high betting activity, including bets of tens of thousands of euros, on the match in countries outside France.
