Briefly

CHINA

Ties bolstered with UK financial sector

Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng underlined on Thursday China's readiness to bolster cooperation with the British financial sector and promote the sound development of bilateral economic and trade relations. During a meeting in Beijing with Nicholas Lyons, the lord mayor of London, Han said that China and the United Kingdom have seen positive momentum and immense potential for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, with financial cooperation a key driver for bilateral pragmatic cooperation. Lyons said the two nations share broad common interests and the City of London stands ready to deepen cooperation with the Chinese government, businesses and financial institutions.

FRANCE

4 children wounded in knife attack in Alps

A man armed with a knife stabbed four preschool children and injured two adults by a lake in the French Alps on Thursday in an attack that sent shockwaves through the country, Agence France-Presse reported. The suspect, identified by police as a 31-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker, was detained. He was arrested at the scene. A video of him taken by a bystander in Annecy shows him dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and shorts while holding a small blade. Witnesses described the knifeman running around a public park on the banks of Lake Annecy in a frenzy, apparently attacking people at random, before he was shot by police.

SPAIN

Hottest spring seen in 60 years

Spain has experienced its hottest spring in over 60 years of record-keeping, with average temperatures almost two degrees Celsius above average, the national weather agency reported Wednesday. The country also saw its second driest-ever spring on record, behind that of 1995, the AEMET agency said as a prolonged drought hit its key agricultural sector. In late April, Spain suffered a major heat wave with local temperatures up to 20 C above average, exacerbating the drought.

China Daily - Agencies