Xi Jinping visits Russia next week; Iran sets conditions for talks with US

Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Russia next week

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 30, 2018. Photo: AFP/VNA

On May 29, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced that at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia from June 5 to 7. According to Mr. Lu Kang, during his visit to Russia, President Xi Jinping will also attend the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), scheduled to take place from June 6 to 8.

The Chinese leader's visit to Russia comes as Beijing steps up efforts to court support from regional and global partners such as Russia and Central Asian countries as its geostrategic competition, especially in technology, with Washington heats up.

European Union opposes Türkiye joining the "common house"

Photo illustration: Property Turkey

Türkiye’s prospects for joining the European Union (EU) are dimming after the European Commission (EC) assessed on May 29 that the country’s judicial and economic conditions were deteriorating. In its annual report assessing Turkey’s efforts to join the EU, the EC stressed that the process was “frozen” due to Ankara’s “recurrent serious violations” of a number of issues, including the independence of the judiciary and economic stability policy. The report said the Turkish authorities had “negatively impacted” financial markets while continuing to violate economic policies that caused the EC deep concerns about the functioning of a market economy.

Türkiye officially joined the EU accession negotiations in October 2005, but progress has been slow. Some EU countries, especially Germany, strongly oppose Türkiye becoming a member of the world's largest trading bloc.

Iran sets conditions for negotiations with the US

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Photo: AFP/VNA

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on May 29 that he would not rule out negotiations with the United States if Washington lifted sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Speaking on state television, President Rouhani said that whenever the United States lifts its unjust sanctions, fully implements its commitments and returns to the negotiating table from which Washington left, Iran will open the door to negotiations. However, according to him, the Iranian people will only judge the United States through its concrete actions.

Iranian officials made the statement a day earlier, US President Donald Trump asserted that if Tehran wanted to talk, Washington would do the same, while emphasizing that "Washington does not seek regime change in Iran". According to him, the two sides could reach an agreement.

Venezuela announces inflation rate 10 times lower than IMF estimate

Isla refinery of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA on the island of Curacao. Photo:Reuters.

Venezuela's central bank released its first economic data in three years on May 28, showing that the country's inflation last year was 130,060 percent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) previously estimated that Venezuela's inflation in 2018 was 1,370,000 percent and would reach 10 million percent in 2019.

The inflation rate in 2018, as announced by the Central Bank of Venezuela, decreased significantly compared to 2016 (274.4%) and 2017 (862.6%). Revenue from oil exports, which accounts for 96% of national revenue, decreased sharply to 29.8 billion USD in 2018 due to falling oil prices and the impact of the domestic economic and political crisis. Venezuelan oil exports reached 85.6 billion USD in 2013 and 71.7 billion USD in 2014.

Tens of thousands of New Zealand teachers strike for pay rise

Thousands of teachers protest on Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo: Getty Images

About 60% of New Zealand's public schools were closed on May 29 amid a massive strike by tens of thousands of teachers demanding better pay and conditions, according to the Ministry of Education. The move affected about 500,000 students, with more than 50,000 teachers staging a "general strike".

In a statement, the leaders of New Zealand's largest education union, NZEI, said they did not want to go on strike but had to "for the future of education". NZEI called on the New Zealand Government to take urgent and strong action. Teachers are demanding a pay rise and have warned that low pay means many teachers will have to leave teaching after just a few years.

Pakistan extends airspace closure on border with India

Passengers wait outside Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 1. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

Pakistan’s airspace along its eastern border with India will remain closed until June 14, a spokesman for the country’s Civil Aviation Authority said on May 29, the latest extension in months following tensions between the two countries.

Pakistan closed its airspace in February after a suicide attack by a Pakistan-based militant group in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which sparked air strikes on each other’s territory and an air war over Kashmir. Foreign airlines using Indian airspace were forced to take costly detours because they could not fly over Pakistan. The airspace closure mainly affected flights from Europe to Southeast Asia.