Chinese “spy balloon” in the United States, Borne defends its reform and Macron warns Iran

by time news

Did you miss the news this early morning? We’ve put together a recap to help you see things more clearly.

The affair could strain relations between Washington and Beijing, 48 hours before Antony Blinken’s visit to China. The Pentagon is monitoring a Chinese spy balloon flying over United States territory, the Pentagon spokesman said Thursday. The aerostat evolves at “very high altitude” and does not threaten civil or military air traffic. Thursday evening, the Government of Canada mentioned “a second potential incident” in its airspace.

A senior Pentagon official told ABC News that the balloon detected in the United States is as big as “three buses”, or around 30-40 meters in diameter, according to our calculations. The decision was made not to shoot it down due to potential risks to people on the ground.

Under the pressure of growing mobilizations against her pension reform, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne defended this Thursday evening on France 2 the pension reform, an “essential” project without going back on the highly contested postponement of the retirement age, but by being open to adjustments on the employment of seniors or long careers.

The much-awaited head of government delivered a new session of explanations and education to journalist Caroline Roux. “It is essential to carry out a reform to preserve our pay-as-you-go pension system”, even if “asking the French to work gradually longer is not easy”, she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed Thursday evening their intention to “work together” against Iran’s “destabilizing” activities in the Middle East and Tehran’s “support” for Russia in its offensive in Ukraine.

Macron also denounced, after a dinner with his host at the Elysée, Iran’s “headlong rush” in its nuclear program, and warned Tehran that a continuation on this trajectory would not remain without “consequences”, according to a press release from the French presidency.

You may also like

Leave a Comment