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Iran's Top Diplomat to Visit China on Tuesday

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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Iran's Top Diplomat to Visit China on Tuesday

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will visit China on Tuesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, ahead of a third round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington due on Saturday in Oman.

In a trip to Moscow last week, Araqchi told state TV that Tehran always closely consults with its friends, Russia and China, over the nuclear issue.

"It is natural that we will consult and brief China over the latest developments in Iran-US indirect talks," Baghaei said, adding that Beijing can play a constructive role in this process.

Long-time foes Iran and the US started negotiations earlier this month with the aim of placing limits on Tehran's nuclear program, which Western powers say is geared toward developing nuclear weapons.

Tehran has long denied such accusations and seeks in exchange the lifting of US sanctions that were re-imposed by President Donald Trump during his first term in office (2017-2021), when he withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and world powers, including China and Russia.

Since taking office in January, Trump has ratcheted pressure on Iran and has for the first time sanctioned Chinese "teapot" refineries - small, independent plants - that process Iranian crude oil and have provided an economic lifeline to Tehran's squeezed economy.

"The policy of maximum pressure is not just against Iran but also other countries and goes against freedom of trade. In the case of China, sanctions also seek to disrupt south-south cooperation," Baghaei said.

Beijing accounted for at least 77% of Iran’s roughly 1.6 million bpd of exported crude in 2024, according to analytics firm Kpler. The value of Iran's crude sales to China is not officially disclosed, but a Reuters calculation puts the trade at nearly $29 billion last year, assuming a 20% discount to Brent crude prices to include the cost of logistics.

"China and Iran have maintained exchanges and contacts at all levels and in various fields. With regard to the specific visit mentioned, I have no information to offer at the moment," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday regarding Araqchi's upcoming visit.

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World

Greek Parliament Approves Purchase of Rocket Systems from Israel

A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights
A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights
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Greek Parliament Approves Purchase of Rocket Systems from Israel

A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights
A PULS multiple rocket launcher miniature and artillery rockets by Israeli Elbit Systems is exhibited at the DEFEA Defense Exhibition, in Athens, Greece, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Purchase Licensing Rights

Greek lawmakers approved late on Thursday the purchase of 36 PULS rocket artillery systems from Israel for about 650 million euros ($757.84 million), two officials with knowledge of the issue told Reuters.

Greece has said it will spend about 28 billion euros ($32.66 billion) by 2036 to modernize its armed forces as it emerges from a 2009-2018 debt crisis and tries to keep pace with its historic rival Türkiye.

"In a closed session, the parliament's defense committee approved the purchase of PULS," a senior official with knowledge of the issue told Reuters. A second official confirmed the parliament's approval, adding that the cost would be around 650 to 700 million euros. Reuters reported in November that Greece was in talks with Israel for the systems.

Greece and Israel have strong economic and diplomatic ties, have conducted several joint exercises in recent years, and operate an air training center in southern Greece.

Greece is also in talks with Israel to develop a 3 billion euro anti-aircraft and missile defense dome.

The PULS system, made by Israel's Elbit, has a range of up to 300 km (190 miles) and will help protect Greece's northeastern border with Türkiye and Greek islands in the Aegean, officials have said. The deal also includes the construction of components in Greece.

Greece and Türkiye, NATO allies, have long been at odds over issues including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, flights over the Aegean, and the ethnically partitioned island of Cyprus.

World

Flooding Kills Two as Vietnam Hit by Dozens of Landslides

Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP
Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP
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Flooding Kills Two as Vietnam Hit by Dozens of Landslides

Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP
Deadly flooding inundated thousands of homes in Vietnam's Lam Dong province in what authorities say is a record-breaking year of natural disasters. Quoc Nguyen / AFP

Heavy rain in Vietnam triggered flooding that killed at least two people and caused more than a dozen landslides, state media said Friday, adding to what authorities called the "most unusual" year of natural disasters in the country's history.

South-central Vietnam has been lashed by weeks of heavy rain, submerging hundreds of thousands of homes in coastal tourism hotspots and causing deadly landslides in mountainous regions.

Downpours inundated thousands more homes in Lam Dong province on Thursday and killed at least two people, the Voice of Vietnam news outlet reported.

It added that 16 landslides struck the province, damaging roads and bridges and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes.

Floodwaters up to two meters deep were still sloshing through Ham Thang commune in Lam Dong on Friday, resident Pham Thi Ngoc Yen told AFP, adding authorities were delivering food and water by boat.

"Our province has always been very safe from floods or typhoons. This year was so weird," she said.

"I hope that the water will recede a lot in the next two days so that our life can get back to normal."

Record year

"2025 has been the year with the most unusual natural disasters in history," Hoang Duc Cuong, deputy director of the environment ministry's meteorology and hydrology department, said in a statement Friday.

A total of 21 storms, including 15 typhoons and 6 tropical depressions, have affected Vietnam this year, the highest number since records began in 1961, according to the environment ministry's statement.

Vietnam is in one of the most active tropical cyclone regions on Earth, but in a typical year it is affected by around 10 typhoons or storms.

The country has also experienced extreme rainfall and widespread flooding this year, with rivers setting new high-water marks from the northern regions through central and down to the lower Mekong Delta.

"Never before have such exceptionally large and historical floods occurred simultaneously in one year on 20 rivers," the environment ministry said.

One area of central Vietnam recorded up to 1,739 millimeters (5.7 feet) of rain in just 24 hours.

Elsewhere in Asia, devastating floods in recent days have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced hundreds of thousands across four countries, including Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

In Vietnam, natural disasters have left more than 400 people dead or missing this year and caused more than $3.6 billion in damage, according to the ministry.

The Southeast Asian nation is prone to heavy rain between June and September, but scientists have identified a pattern of human-driven climate change making extreme weather more frequent and destructive.

World

Israel Sets 2026 Defense Budget at $34 Billion Despite Ceasefire in Gaza

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured during an event in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured during an event in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
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Israel Sets 2026 Defense Budget at $34 Billion Despite Ceasefire in Gaza

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured during an event in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured during an event in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa

Israel's defense budget for 2026 has been set at 112 billion shekels ($34.63 billion), the defense minister's office said on Friday, up from 90 billion shekels budgeted in an earlier draft.

Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed on the defense spending framework as the cabinet has begun debating next year's budget, which needs to be approved by March or could lead to new elections.

Ministers began what is usually a marathon session on Thursday ahead of a vote that could come early on Friday. If it passes, it heads to parliament for its initial vote.

Katz said the military will continue its to address the needs of its fighters and reduce the burden on reservists.

"We will continue to act decisively to reinforce the IDF and to fully address the needs of the fighters and to reduce the burden on reservists - in order to ensure the security of the State of Israel on every front," his office quoted him as saying.

The Gaza war has been costly for Israel, which spent $31 billion in 2024 on its military conflicts with Hamas and with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has since entered ceasefire deals with both militant groups.

Smotrich's office said that the 2026 defense budget has seen an increase of 47 billion shekels compared to 2023 on the eve of the war.

"We are allocating a huge budget to strengthen the army this year, but also one that allows us to return the State of Israel to a path of growth and relief for citizens,"
Smotrich said, according to his office.