After the Bank of Canada became the first G7 country to cut interest rates, the stage is set for the European Central Bank to lower rates too. While ECB policymakers clearly telegraphed their intention to lower borrowing costs in June, moving well ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the path beyond has become uncertain. That has brought the focus squarely on what Lagarde will say once the ECB delivers the widely expected rate cut on Thursday.
World War II veterans are joining heads of state and others Thursday on the beaches of Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The Allied invasion, which began on June 6, 1944, led to the defeat of the Nazis and the end of the war. The assault began with Allied aircraft bombing German defenses in Normandy, followed by around 1,200 aircraft that carried airborne troops.
An activist group in South Korea said on Thursday it had flown balloons into North Korea carrying leaflets criticising leader Kim Jong Un, just days after Pyongyang sent thousands of balloons carrying trash in the other direction over the border. Park Sang-hak, a defector who fled North Korea in 2000, said his group, Fighters For Free North Korea, had launched 10 balloons from the border town of Pocheon with 200,000 flyers, 5,000 USB sticks containing K-pop videos and dramas, and 2,000 $1 notes.