BEIJING (Anadolu) – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed hope that France would oppose NATO’s “interference” in the Asia-Pacific region during a phone call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. Wang hoped Paris would “take the right position and oppose NATO’s interference in Asia-Pacific affairs,” according to a readout from the Foreign Ministry in Beijing following the talks. The Chinese foreign minister also urged joint efforts to “uphold multilateralism, safeguard free trade, and oppose unilateral and bullying practices.” “China attaches importance to France’s commitment to upholding the one-China policy and believes that France will put this commitment into practice.” Wang Yi also said the Ukraine “issue” is “fundamentally different” from the “Taiwan question.” Barrot, in turn, expressed opposition to “trade wars and tariff wars.” France “is willing to continue to properly resolve economic and trade frictions through consultation,” Barrot said.

 

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PARIS (AFP) – An international operation against child pornography led by Spanish police has resulted in the arrest of 20 people in 12 nations across the Americas and Europe, Interpol said. The operation was initiated by Spain in late 2024, when officers carried out online patrols and identified instant messaging groups dedicated to the circulation of child sexual exploitation images, Interpol said late Friday. “As the investigation progressed, officers were able to fully identify the alleged perpetrators and alert authorities in the relevant countries,” it said. It said there were “follow-up sessions between authorities to align operational efforts with Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Paraguay.” The arrests took place between March and May 2025. Spanish authorities arrested seven suspects, including a health care worker and a teacher.

 

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WINNIPEG (AP) – Wildfires forced a further 1,000 people to flee their homes in Manitoba, one of two Canadian provinces under a state of emergency that has led to thousands of evacuations. The town of Snow Lake, Manitoba, issued a mandatory evacuation order for its residents as a large wildfire threatens the area. That fire, which has now grown to more than 3,000 square kilometers (1,058 square miles, or over twice the size of Los Angeles), has already forced out all 5,000 residents of the nearby city of Flin Flon and a thousand more in surrounding cottages and homes. When the Snow Lake evacuees are added in, Manitoba has about 19,000 displaced from their homes. There are 27 total fires in the province of Manitoba, eight of them out of control. Smoke from the Canadian wildfires has worsened air quality in eastern Canada and the U.S. The fires have sent smoke as far as Europe. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said evacuees have found a place to stay with friends or family, in hotels or in congregate shelters.

 

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BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand has reinforced its military presence along a disputed border with Cambodia, following an increase in troops on the other side, Thailand’s defence minister said on Saturday. Tensions between the two Southeast Asian countries have been simmering since a Cambodian soldier was killed on May 28 in a brief conflict in an undemarcated border area. For days, the two Southeast Asian governments have been exchanging carefully worded statements committing to dialogue. But Phumtham Wechayachai, who also serves as Thailand’s deputy prime minister, said Cambodia had rejected proposals in bilateral talks held on Thursday that could have led to a de-escalation. “Furthermore, there has been a reinforcement of military presence, which has exacerbated tensions along the border,” Phumtham said in a statement. “Consequently, the Royal Thai Government has deemed it necessary to implement additional measures and to reinforce our military posture accordingly.”

 

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SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s internet was hit by a major outage that lasted several hours on Saturday, knocking off connection to government web sites and official news services online and severing the reclusive country from cyberspace. It was not clear what caused the outage but it may have been internal rather than a cyberattack, as connections via China and Russia were affected, said researchers who monitor North Korea’s internet and technology infrastructure. North Korea’s main official news services, its Foreign Ministry, and the Air Koryo national airline were among websites inaccessible on Saturday, before they started coming back slowly around midday according to checks by Reuters. North Korea’s entire internet infrastructure was not showing up on systems that can monitor internet activities, and email services were also affected, Junade Ali, a UK-based researcher who monitors the North Korean internet, said earlier.