News in Brief
Macron warns Europe must not ‘separate’ from China economically
AFP – French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Europe must not “separate” from China economically, as he kicked off a three-day visit to Beijing to reinforce ties with a key trading partner.
“We must not disassociate ourselves, separate ourselves from China,” Macron told a gathering of the French community in Beijing, saying France would “commit proactively to continue to have a commercial relationship with China”.
US, S. Korea hold air drills
AFP – South Korea and the US on Wednesday staged joint air drills involving at least one US nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bomber, Seoul’s military said.
North Korea views such exercises as rehearsals for invasion, and has responded to other recent drills with a spate of increasingly provocative banned weapons tests.
IAEA chief discusses Ukraine nuclear plant in Russia
AP – The head of the U.N.’s atomic energy watchdog met with Russian officials in Kaliningrad on Wednesday for negotiations on the safety of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently held by Russian forces.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi’s trip to the Russian exclave came a week after he visited the plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.