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The Chinese leader's visit begins on Monday in Paris, where he is meeting the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for a day of talks that will include a trilateral meeting with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and a state banquet at the Élysée Palace in the evening.See also:
On Tuesday, Macron will accompany Xi to the Tourmalet pass 2,000 metres up in the Hautes-Pyrénées mountains, an area where the French president spent childhood holidays visiting his grandmother, for a day of less formal discussions. The two last met in April 2023 during a three-day state visit to China by Macron.
On Wednesday, Xi will travel to Belgrade for talks with Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vučić, and on Thursday he will go to Budapest where he will meet Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
Washington, DC - The United States has played down the deadly Israeli assault on Rafah, saying the offensive appears to be "limited" despite concerns over the fate of the more than 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gaza city.The problem with a major offensive is that the US has to answer more questions, receive more critique, it is expedient to play "down Rafah assault". Some observers may find it odd, that the attack comes, after according to some sources: "hours after Hamas said it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar". It is justified, as Iran says, that "In attacking Rafah, Israel is sabotaging global efforts to stop Gaza war".
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday that the US still opposes a major Israeli offensive against Rafah.
Israel had faced myriad drone threats long before October 2023. The IDF has acknowledged accidental shootdowns of friendly drones in the past, as well. That being said, the IDF has arguably the most advanced integrated air defense system on the planet. So the fact that this is a huge issue for them, doesn't bode well for other militaries.Israel has been sucked into the Western illusion that high-tech is best. But high tech is also high ticket. A single Iron Dome missile costs $50K and in the recent Iran retaliation, the IDF launched $100-$200 million worth of them. In contrast Iran:
[...] Iranian ballistic missiles cost around $100,000 each, and its Shahed drones only $20,000-$50,000 each, according to reports by The Guardian. Experts have calculated the cost of the attack for Iran at $100-$200 million — perhaps five to ten times less than what Israel spent to repel it.If Israel can't even tell the difference between its own UAV and an opponent's, they're going to blow their defence budget pretty fast. And right now sugar daddy Uncle Sam is also trying to arm Taiwan for the next war, and keep Ukraine afloat until the election. It's not that there isn't enough money, there just isn't enough actual, physical weaponry to deliver.
Comment: Meanwhile Hungary and Italy denounced sending troops to Ukraine as dangerous.