Briefly

CHINA

FM Wang Yi to visit 4 Nordic countries

Foreign Minister Wang Yi will begin a seven-day visit to Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday. Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China's relations with the four Nordic countries have developed steadily in recent years, with fruitful cooperation in green transition, trade and investment, and scientific and technological innovation. China and the four nations also share broad consensus on upholding multilateralism, supporting free trade and addressing global challenges such as climate change, he said. During the trip, Wang will hold separate talks with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on bilateral ties and international and regional issues of common concern. The visit will be the first by a Chinese foreign minister to Denmark in 15 years and to Sweden in 22 years.

UNITED STATES

Top court says Fed's Cook can keep job

The US Supreme Court on Monday dramatically expanded presidential power, upholding President Donald Trump's firings of the heads of independent federal agencies with one important exception: the Federal Reserve. The justices allowed Fed Governor Lisa Cook to stay in her job while she fights the president's effort to fire her over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied. However, other than at the country's central bank, which sets interest rates, the court held that presidents have free rein to fire agency heads at will, despite federal laws that require a cause for such dismissals and a 91-year-old decision that had limited executive authority.

GERMANY

Shooting in northern city leaves 6 dead

A shooting incident in the northern German city of Stade on Monday has left six people dead, with three suspects caught by the police, according to media reports. Authorities said the shooting occurred at a youth welfare institution in downtown Stade, Lower Saxony state. Currently, authorities confirmed that six people, all staff of the institution, had died, five at the scene and a sixth victim later died in hospital. Three suspects have been caught by the police, including one man who opened fire and two women. According to German news outlet FOCUS, citing the police, a custody dispute over a 3-month-old baby has probably led to this crime. The male suspect is the father of the baby and was born in Germany to a family of Turkish origin.

CHINA DAILY-AGENCIES-XINHUA