Germany approves 2025 budget, marking new spending era
Germany's parliament approved on Thursday the nation's first annual budget since sweeping reforms to loosen fiscal rules were passed earlier this year...
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed in Beijing on Sunday to tighten coordination in forums from the United Nations to the G20, while reviewing prospects for ending the war in Ukraine and managing strained ties with the United States.
Meeting on the eve of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation foreign-ministers’ gathering, the two men “emphasised the importance of strengthening close coordination” across multilateral bodies, Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Lavrov and Wang also “discussed relations with the United States and prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis,” according to the ministry, which gave no details of any peace initiative.
Moscow and Beijing declared a “no-limits” partnership in February 2022, just days before President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Washington brands China its top strategic competitor and Russia its leading nation-state threat, a stance both governments dismiss as Cold-War thinking. Beijing has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion, instead calling for a ceasefire and talks while expanding trade that now covers more than 90 % of Russian oil exports, according to Chinese customs data.
Lavrov arrived in Beijing from North Korea, where Pyongyang last week pledged further support for Russia’s war effort. He is expected to press fellow SCO members—who include India and several Central Asian states—to back Moscow’s position on Ukraine when the bloc’s leaders meet later this year.
Analysts say the foreign-minister meeting highlights a deepening geopolitical alignment that could complicate Western efforts to isolate Russia.
“Beijing gains leverage over both Moscow and Washington by keeping the partnership warm, while the Kremlin gains diplomatic cover,” said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
The pair are likely to cross paths again at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October and at November’s G20 leaders’ meeting in Rio de Janeiro, where Western diplomats hope China might still press Russia to accept a negotiated settlement.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Germany's parliament approved on Thursday the nation's first annual budget since sweeping reforms to loosen fiscal rules were passed earlier this year, securing record investments to revive the economy while committing to an increase in defence spending.
Ukrainian troops and engineers will train their Polish counterparts in a joint group on countering drones, Ukraine's defence minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday, a week after Russian drones flew into Poland.
The Ambassador of Afghanistan to Russia, Ghulam Hassan, has met with Zamir Kabulov, Moscow’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, to discuss deepening ties and regional engagement, the Afghan embassy in Moscow said on Wednesday.
FBI chief Kash Patel told the U.S. Senate on Tuesday there was “no credible information” that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women or underage girls to anyone but himself, as he defended the bureau’s decision to close its review.
As well as a text message, the suspect accused of assassinating right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah also wrote a physical note message before the shooting that he planned to kill Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.
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