World News Roundup: Julian Assange case has 'dragged on for too long', Australia's Wong says; Ukraine's Zelenskiy visits positions near Bakhmut and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China hopes France can help take heat out of relations with EU

China hopes France can "stabilise the tone" of EU-China relations, vice-premier He Lifeng told a senior French minister in Beijing on Saturday, as European leaders debate how to "de-risk" but also cooperate with the world's second-largest economy. He also told Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire that China is willing to deepen cooperation with France in traditional areas such as finance as well as in science and technological innovation, in contrast with Beijing's more cautious though candid talks with visiting top U.S. officials.

Moscow says it shot down Ukrainian missile over Russian city, arrested oil refinery bomber

The Russian military said on Friday it had shot down a Ukrainian missile over the southern Russian city of Taganrog and that fragments of the missile had injured civilians and damaged buildings. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine, which rarely comments on attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory.

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka invites Japan to resume investment

Sri Lanka on Saturday invited Japan to resume investment in projects including power, roads and ports as the Japanese foreign minister wrapped up the first high-level visit to the crisis-hit country in nearly four years. Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said his country was seeking Japanese investment in sectors such as power, infrastructure and dedicated investment zones, as well as in the green and digital economies.

Niger loses aid as Western countries condemn coup

The European Union has cut off financial support to Niger and the United States has threatened to do the same after military leaders this week announced they had overthrown the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, receiving close to $2 billion a year in official development assistance, according to the World Bank.

How Native American police are fighting the crisis of missing people

As Detective Kathleen Lucero drives along a dirt road towards the Manzano mountains east of her New Mexico Native American village, she recalls the time earlier in her career when an elder told his family he was heading this way to water his cows. He didn't come back. It was back in 2009 when Lucero was a patrol officer, learning how to stop her people becoming part of the U.S. epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women and relatives (MMIWR).

More Wagner fighters move closer to Polish border, Poland PM says

A group of a hundred soldiers from the Russian Wagner group have moved closer to the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish border, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday. Poland, a former Warsaw Pact member which has been a full member of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance since 1999, has been concerned about the possible spillover of war on to its territory ever since Russian invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Son of Colombia President Petro arrested in money laundering probe

Nicolas Petro, son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has been arrested as part of an investigation into money laundering and illicit enrichment, the attorney general's office said early on Saturday.

Julian Assange case has 'dragged on for too long', Australia's Wong says

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Saturday the long-running case of imprisoned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had gone on too long and needs to be completed. Assange, an Australian citizen being held in Britain, is battling extradition to the United States, where he is wanted on 18 charges over the release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables in 2010.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy visits positions near Bakhmut

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Ukrainian troops near the eastern Bakhmut front line on Saturday. Photos published by Zelenskiy on Twitter showed him meeting troops and looking at maps in a dimly lit, windowless concrete-walled room. He praised Ukraine's Special Operations Forces.

Blinken calls for immediate release of ousted Niger president

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Saturday for the immediate release of ousted Niger President Mohamed Bazoum and the restoration of democratic order in the country. Leaders of a coup in Niger declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as head of state on Friday, saying they had ousted Bazoum in the seventh military takeover in West and Central Africa in less than three years.

(With inputs from agencies.)