International news briefs: British finance minister is ‘committed to the job’

London — British chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves said on Thursday that her job was difficult, but it remained her dream role and one she was determined to continue doing.

Reeves was speaking a day after she appeared in tears in parliament, sparking fears about her future in the job and triggering a market sell-off.

“Is this job easy? Is it easy to turn around the economy? No, it’s not. It is tough, but I’m getting on with that job,” Reeves told reporters.

Her tearful appearance came after a bruising week for the government when it was forced to abandon planks of planned welfare reforms, which blew a hole in her budget plans and threatened to undermine her fiscal rules. Reuters

French air traffic controllers’ strike disrupts flights

Paris — French air traffic controllers began a two-day strike on Thursday to protest over staff shortages and ageing equipment, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations just as the summer season gets under way.

France’s civil aviation agency DGAC told airlines to revise their schedules, including at the Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris — one of Europe’s busiest hubs — forcing the carriers to cancel flights.

Air France, the country’s largest airline, said it had adapted its flight schedule, without giving details, but that it was maintaining its full long-haul flight schedule. IAG-owned British Airways was using larger aircraft to mitigate disruption.

Ryanair said it had been forced to cancel 170 flights affecting more than 30,000 passengers on Thursday and Friday. Reuters

Indonesia to grow US investments and purchases

Jakarta — Indonesia will sign a pact worth $34bn with business partners next week to boost purchases from the US, as part of efforts to strike a trade deal with Washington ahead of the July 9 deadline, Indonesia’s chief economic minister said on Thursday.

Jakarta is facing a 32% tariff in US markets and has previously offered to increase US imports to facilitate trade talks between the two sides.

Indonesia enjoyed a goods trade surplus of $17.9bn with the US in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative.

Speaking to journalists, minister Airlangga Hartarto said the memorandum of understanding due to be signed on July 7 will deploy the $34bn for new Indonesian investments and purchases in the US. Reuters

Fiji ‘opposed to China setting up a military base’

Sydney — China’s embassy in Fiji denied on Thursday that Beijing wanted a military base or sphere of influence in the Pacific Islands, after Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said islands were trying to cope with a powerful China seeking to spread its influence.

“The claims about China setting up a military base in the Pacific are false narratives,” an embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

“China’s presence in the Pacific is focused on building roads and bridges to improve people’s livelihoods, not on stationing troops or setting up military bases.”

Rabuka said on Wednesday his country had development co-operation with China, but was opposed to Beijing establishing a military base in the region. In any case, China did not need a base to project power in the region, he said. Reuters

Italy minister warns on Russian threat to Europe

Rome — Russia could have the ability to pose a military threat to Nato territory within five years, Italy defence minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.

He was addressing legislators on the outcome of a Nato summit last week when the military alliance agreed to increase spending on defence and security.

“Allies shared concerns about the growing threat from Russia. There are no signs of conversion of Russian production to civilian purposes, not even in the event of a ceasefire,” he said.

Crosetto also said Russian domestic support for the war in Ukraine, begun in 2022, apparently was intact.

Without saying where the figures came from, he said Russia has lost more than a million soldiers, including 200,000 in the first six months of this year. Reuters

WHO urges sugary drinks, alcohol, tobacco tax hikes

London — The World Health Organisation is pushing countries to raise the prices of sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco by 50% over the next 10 years through taxation, its strongest backing yet for taxes to help tackle chronic public health problems.

The UN health agency said the move would help cut consumption of the products, which contribute to diseases such as diabetes and some cancers, as well as raising money at a time when development aid is shrinking and public debt rising.

“Health taxes are one of the most efficient tools we have,” said Jeremy Farrar, WHO assistant-director general of health promotion and disease prevention and control. “It's time to act.”

The WHO launched the push, which it called “3 by 35" at the UN Finance for Development conference in Seville.

WHO said that its tax initiative could raise $1-trillion by 2035 based on evidence from health taxes in countries such as Colombia and SA. Reuters