Briefly

FRANCE

130 countries back deal on global tax

A total of 130 countries have agreed a global tax reform ensuring that multinationals pay their fair share wherever they operate, said the OECD on Thursday. However, some European states refused to sign up. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a statement that global companies, including US behemoths Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple, would be taxed at a rate of at least 15 percent once the deal is implemented. The new tax regime will add some $150 billion to government coffers globally once it comes into force, which the OECD said it hoped would be in 2023. The formal agreement follows an endorsement by the G7 group of wealthy nations last month, and negotiations now move to a meeting of the G20 group of developed and emerging economies on July 9-10 in Venice, Italy.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel strikes Gaza after balloon launch

Israeli aircraft bombed a Hamas site in the Gaza Strip overnight in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave, Israel's military said on Friday. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the Israeli strikes, which the military said targeted a weapons manufacturing site used by Hamas, Gaza's Islamist rulers. Since a May 21 ceasefire ended 11 days of Israel-Hamas fighting, Palestinians in Gaza have sporadically launched balloons laden with incendiary material across the border, causing fires that have burned fields in Israel. They said the balloons aim to pressure Israel to ease restrictions on the coastal enclave that were tightened during the May fighting.

JAPAN

Prosecutors seek 3 years jail for US duo

Japanese prosecutors said on Friday they are seeking jail sentences of nearly three years for a US father-son duo who admit helping former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn jump bail and flee Japan. Prosecutors told a Tokyo court they are seeking a sentence of two years and 10 months for former special forces operative Michael Taylor, and two years and six months for his son Peter. The Taylors have been in custody since their arrest in May last year in the United States for helping smuggle Ghosn onto a private jet in an audio equipment case so he could fly to Lebanon, which has no extradition agreement with Japan.

Agencies  -  Xinhua