International
New Zealand PM announces China trade visit
New Zealand Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins announced on Monday a visit to China later this month aimed at boosting trade ties, despite deepening concerns about Beijing’s actions in the Pacific.
“Today I can announce that I’ll be leading a major trade delegation to China at the end of this month,” Hipkins said.
With stops in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, it will be the first visit to China by a New Zealand leader since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is not yet clear whether he will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and an exact date has not yet been announced.
Almost a quarter of New Zealand’s export earnings come from China, making it one of the Western nations most dependent on ties with Beijing.
“Our trade links, underpinned by our recently upgraded free trade agreement, have proven incredibly resilient in recent years,” Hipkins said.
He added that ties with China were among the nation’s most “significant, wide-ranging and complex”.
That close relationship, coupled with aggressive Chinese efforts to develop influence and leverage in New Zealand, has long worried Wellington’s allies.
Hipkins expressed hope that the relationship would remain “stable and consistent”, while vowing to raise issues of concern when necessary.
“Where we have human rights concerns we will raise them, where we have concerns around trade or any other policy issue we will raise those,” he said.
New Zealand has in the past been notably less critical of Chinese influence operations overseas — as well as its threats to Taiwan and its crackdowns in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and elsewhere — than its allies in Washington or Canberra.
Hipkins also announced on Monday that he would be visiting Brussels in the coming weeks and would attend a NATO summit in Lithuania — a nod to the importance of New Zealand’s relationships with fellow democracies.
With New Zealand’s economy slowing and an election planned for October, Hipkins is under pressure to juice the economy.
GDP growth is forecast to come in at a slender one percent this year.
New Zealand currently exports large quantities of wood, meat and dairy products to China, but Hipkins said he wanted to diversify exports to include things like video game-related products.
AFP
International
UK PM announces ban on social media for under-16s
The ban will “include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X” but not messaging services such as WhatsApp, the government said.
•UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Children under 16 will be banned from using social media in the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday, saying such platforms were making youngsters “unhappy”.
Some children’s charities welcomed the sweeping change, which is likely to trigger a major fight with US tech giants, but others warned it could make teenagers less safe online.
Starmer, likely to face a leadership challenge in the coming weeks, said social media sites were exposing children to content that is “dangerous” and “designed to be addictive”.
The ban will “include platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X” but not messaging services such as WhatsApp, the government said.
Some young people gave a mixed response to the move.
“I think it’s a good thing, to be honest, because I don’t even remember what age I was when I got Instagram, but it was just way too early,” student Connie Skitt, 19, told AFP in Buxton, central England.
“You’re making friends with people you don’t know. It’s like, not that safe.”But 18-year-old tour guide Tom Warvell expressed concerns that 16 was “a little bit high”, arguing younger teens were “a better age to focus on”.
“Times have changed so it is important for people to still be able to use it.”
International
US and Iran to sign historic peace deal June 19 in Switzerland
He commended both Washington and Tehran for choosing diplomacy over continued conflict and acknowledged the roles played by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye in facilitating the talks.
•US/IRAN flags
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, revealed that both the United States and Iran have reached a landmark peace agreement to the immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
The formal signing ceremony is scheduled to take place on June 19 in Switzerland.
According to Sharif, the agreement is the result of extensive mediation efforts involving several regional and international stakeholders.
He commended both Washington and Tehran for choosing diplomacy over continued conflict and acknowledged the roles played by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye in facilitating the talks.
International
Zimbabwe Wins UN Security Council Seat for 2027-2028
The five countries were elected by the 193-member General Assembly to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on January 1, 2027.
Zimbabwe has been elected to a non-permanent, two-year term on the United Nations Security Council, the third time the country will be represented on the body mandated to maintain international peace and security.
Voice of Nigeria reports that the other countries that secured seats around the iconic horseshoe table are Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and Kyrgyzstan.
The five countries were elected by the 193-member General Assembly to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on January 1, 2027.
Austria and Portugal won the two seats allocated to the Western European and other States (WEOG) Group, while Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe were elected from the Latin American and Caribbean Group and the African Group, respectively.
Kyrgyzstan secured the Asia-Pacific seat after defeating the Philippines in four rounds of voting.
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