China, Belarus Agree to Strengthen Cooperation in Trade, Security

FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
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China, Belarus Agree to Strengthen Cooperation in Trade, Security

FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)
FILE - In this photo provided by the Belarusian Presidential Press Service, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko speaks to military personnel during his visit to Oshmyany District, Grodno region of Belarus on March 26, 2024. A Belarusian human rights group said Thursday, July 4, 2024 that at least 10 political prisoners have been freed since the country’s authoritarian president this week promised to release seriously ill people jailed in connection with massive protests nearly four years ago. (Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP, File)

China and Belarus have agreed to strengthen cooperation in a range of sectors including trade, security, energy and finance, a joint communique showed.

Belarus, which has been hit by Western sanctions over its support for Russia's offensive in Ukraine, said Thursday it will sign a free trade deal with China for services and investment.

China's Prime Minister Li Qiang was in Belarus to meet President Alexander Lukashenko, following a visit to Moscow where he hailed strengthening ties with Russia and met President Vladimir Putin.

Minsk and Beijing will sign a series of bilateral partnership agreements during his visit, the Belarusian presidency said in a statement on its website.

"One of them can definitely be called historic -- an agreement on the creation of a free trade zone for services and investment," it quoted Lukashenko as saying.

Minsk said the deal would create "transparent and predictable rules" that would boost Belarus' exports to China by at least 12 percent and Chinese investment into Belarus by 30 percent over the next five years.

According to AFP, Belarus has been targeted by sanctions over its support of Russia's military offensive on Ukraine and Lukashenko's crackdown on protesters following his disputed 2020 re-election.

It is hugely reliant on economic support from Moscow.

China meanwhile is flexing its economic muscle across Eurasia through vast infrastructure and financial projects, seeking to build up its soft power in an investment splurge that has concerned the West.

Both Belarus and China have been accused of enabling and supporting Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine.

Lukashenko said he wanted to see a "large influx of Chinese technology" into Belarus over the coming years.



Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
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Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)

A cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists left the Greek island of Syros Tuesday without its passengers disembarking, after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island’s port, unfurling Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

Carrying banners that read: “Stop the Genocide” and “No a/c in hell” — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip — the protesters chanted slogans on the dock near where the cruise ship, the Crown Iris, was docked on Tuesday, local media said. There were no reports of any violence.

The ship is operated by an Israeli company, Mano Cruise, which said about 1,700 passengers were on board and it is sailing to Cyprus.

Greece’s coast guard said the ship set sail at around 3 p.m., earlier than originally scheduled, but did not immediately have any further details.

“The management of Mano Cruise has decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination,” the company said in a press release. “All passengers and crew members are resting and spending time on the ship on their way to the new destination.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion.