News in Brief 2024-05-09

Europeans want govts to focus more on
curbing migration than climate change
COPENHAGEN, May 08: Europeans focus more on curbing immigration than on climate change and less than 15% of those interviewed across the globe consider climate issues to be among the top three priorities for their government, according to a global study on Wednesday. "Many European countries have seen a sharp rise in the share of people who say that 'reducing immigration' should be a top government priority," said the study commissioned by the Denmark-based think tank Alliance of Democracies Foundation. Germany was in the lead with 44% when it comes to people wanting their government to focus on reducing immigration. — AP
Xi, Serbian leader hail friendship
BELGRADE, May 08: Chinese President Xi Jinping met Wednesday with the Serbian president, with both sides expressing optimism that the visit will further boost the "ironclad" friendly relations between China and the Balkan country. Xi arrived in Serbia to a warm welcome on Tuesday evening from France, where he had a high-stakes state visit dominated by trade disputes and Russia's war in Ukraine. Thousands of people chanting "China-Serbia" and waving flags were bused in from across Serbia to attend a welcoming ceremony for Xi on Wednesday in front of the Serbia Palace, in the new part of Belgrade where the talks are being held. — AP
US, Australian and Philippine forces sink ship
during war drills in South China Sea
LAOAG, May 08: Military force from the United States, Australian and the Philippines launched a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes to sink a ship Wednesday as part of largescale war drills in waters facing the disputed South China Sea that have antagonized Beijing. Military officials and diplomats from several countries, along with journalists, watched the display of firepower from a hilltop along a sandy coast in Laoag City on Wednesday in Ilocos Norte, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s northern home province. More than 16,000 military personnel from the United States and the Philippines, backed by a few hundred Australian troops and military observers from 14 countries were participating in annual combat-readiness drills. —AP