PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he had called Pope Leo XIV and talked about efforts to reach peace in Ukraine and Gaza in his first conversation with the new pontiff.
In their “first exchange,” the pair “addressed the efforts to let the weapons fall silent wherever conflicts rage in the world, and in particular for a solid and lasting peace in Ukraine and Gaza,” Macron said on X.
“We share the ambition to reconcile the fight against poverty and the protection of the planet,” the French leader said, adding that he had “once again congratulated” the pontiff on his election as head of the Catholic Church last week.
While Macron is not scheduled to join the ranks of the world leaders attending Pope Leo’s inaugural mass in Rome on Sunday morning, France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is due to attend.
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Macron calls for peace in first talk with new pope
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Macron calls for peace in first talk with new pope
Russia’s Rosatom halts operations at Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran, Ifax reports
- Alexei Likhachev said there were more than 600 personnel at the Bushehr plant
MOSCOW: Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has halted operations at the nuclear power plant in the Iranian city of Bushehr, its head said on Tuesday, the Interfax news agency reported.
Alexei Likhachev said there were more than 600 personnel at the Bushehr plant and that they were leaving the country, according to Interfax. Nearly 100 plant personnel were evacuated on Saturday, when US and Israeli strikes on Iran began.
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