World News at a Glance

Experts Fear Trump Will Give More Than He Gets in Meeting With Putin

President Donald Trump’s appetite for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, his aides say, was whetted by his talks with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, two weeks ago. But it is precisely that encounter that is stirring unease among foreign policy experts, including some in his own administration. They worry Trump will make the same kinds of concessions to Putin when they meet in Helsinki on July 16 that he made to Kim in Singapore, tilting a relationship that has already swung in Russia’s favor.

UK Spies Said to Be Complicit in US Torture of Terrorism Suspects

Britain’s intelligence services tolerated and abetted “inexcusable” abuse of terrorism suspects by their U.S. counterparts, according to a report released by Parliament that offers a wide-ranging official condemnation of British intelligence conduct in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Many cases described by Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee involved British agents feeding information to allies, primarily Americans, for the interrogation of detainees who they knew or suspected were being abused, or receiving intelligence from such interrogations. The committee documented dozens of cases in which Britain participated in sending suspects to other countries that were known to use torture or aided others in doing so.

Italy and Malta Block Another Rescue Ship Carrying Migrants

For the second time this month, authorities in Italy and Malta are refusing to allow a rescue ship with hundreds of migrants aboard to dock in their ports. The rescue vessel, the MV Lifeline, run by German charity Mission Lifeline, has been unable to offload 234 people sheltering onboard since they were rescued from two rubber dinghies in the Mediterranean on Thursday. A cargo vessel, the Alexander Maersk, was also waiting Sunday for clearance to dock in an Italian port with 110 rescued migrants onboard.

Australia Approves Sweeping Security Laws Targeting Foreign Interference

Australia approved sweeping national security legislation Thursday that bans foreign interference in politics, stiffens the punishment for leaking classified information and makes it a crime to damage Australia’s economic relations with another country. Attorney General Christian Porter told Parliament that the new laws represented the most significant counterintelligence overhaul since the 1970s. The new laws are similar to but more far-reaching than those passed in Britain and the United States after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They prioritize an approach favored by security officials and give great discretion to the Australian attorney general, with limited checks and balances.

Mattis, in South Korea, Affirms ‘Ironclad’ Alliance Despite Halt to Drills

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis started Thursday in meetings with high-ranking Chinese military officials in Beijing, navigating a thin line between relationship-building and military posturing. By the afternoon, he was standing beside his South Korean counterpart in Seoul, reaffirming a commitment to one of the closest U.S. allies amid moves to halt North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. The meetings come as military officials in Seoul and Washington wrestle with how to follow this month’s talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. Hopes of an enduring peace between the two Koreas remain riddled with suspicion of Kim’s sincerity about dismantling a nuclear program that has long been a hallmark of his family’s dynasty.

Far-Right Cell Plotted Attack on French Muslims, Authorities Say

They called themselves Operational Forces Action, a small, right-wing vigilante group from all over France that had planned to kill Muslim civilians, prosecutors say. Police cracked the cell over the weekend. The group was planning to kill veiled women, imams and recently released Islamic prisoners, and wanted to attack mosques and halal grocery stores, according to French news media. All 10 defendants — nine men and a woman — were charged late Wednesday with terrorist conspiracy, while some were also charged with illegal possession of firearms and the manufacturing of explosives. The group was led by a former police officer.

Israeli Judge Convicts Man on Charges of Threatening U.S. Jewish Groups

An Israeli court convicted a 19-year-old man Thursday in connection with threats made against organizations and individuals around the world, including the Israeli Embassy in Washington and numerous Jewish groups in the United States. In the verdict, Judge Zvi Gurfinkel of the Tel Aviv district youth court said Michael Ron David Kadar, a dual U.S. and Israeli citizen, had threatened thousands of people between 2015 and early 2017 “with acts of terror and murder that would be executed in an area filled with people, and that these acts would be executed by explosion or shooting and would harm many.”