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Current Affairs

China’s Fifa fever, EU’s trade deadline: 7 global relations reads

We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to…

By Samantha Johnson / July 1, 2026
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. With no team in World Cup, Chinese fans root for Ronaldo, Messi … and a referee

Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters

Among the hundreds of thousands of fans who travelled to North America for the World Cup are countless Chinese supporters. Yet while China remains one of the world’s largest football markets, its presence at the tournament is largely confined to the stands.

Read the full story here.

2. Will US-India tensions hurt Quad’s critical mineral ambitions?

Photo: Shutterstock
Photo: Shutterstock

A US strike on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman did more than kill three Indian sailors and severely undercut US-India relations. It also cast further doubt on the unity of the Quad and the group’s ambitious agenda aimed at loosening China’s dominant grip on critical minerals.

Read the full story here.

3. Japan, South Korea not for nuclear weapons – until one of them changes policy

Photo: Kyodo
Photo: Kyodo

A survey in Japan and South Korea revealed that strategic elites in both countries remain sceptical about developing nuclear weapons. However, should one of the two countries take the lead in acquiring nuclear weapons, support for such a move in the other country could rise rapidly.

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