The European Union approved Wednesday a tariff deal with the United States to cap tariffs on most EU exports at 15%, avoiding a direct clash with President Donald Trump ahead of his July 4 deadline.

Fierce debates raged among the 27-nation bloc's lawmakers and leaders, jeopardizing the hard-won bargain governing the massive exchange of goods and services across the Atlantic Ocean between two of the world's largest economies, now weathering dangerous fallout from the war in Iran.

Residents of Vilnius were told to take shelter and Lithuania's president and prime minister were taken to safe locations Wednesday because of an alarm over drone activity near the border with Belarus, underlining jitters on NATO's eastern flank over incursions related to Russia's war with Ukraine.

An emergency announcement from the military told people in the Vilnius region to "immediately head to a shelter or a safe place."

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his close ties with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and said their countries are partners in trade and international affairs as they opened bilateral talks Wednesday on his trip to Beijing.

Xi welcomed Putin with a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People only days after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The quick succession of Trump's and Putin's visits highlighted Beijing's growing role as an international superpower, experts say.

U.S. President Donald Trump convened a meeting on Iran with his top national security team on Monday evening that included a briefing on military options, two U.S. officials told U.S. news outlet Axios on Tuesday.

The meeting took place several hours after Trump announced he was suspending attacks he claimed were planned for Tuesday.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that Iran talks are making good progress but Washington was "locked and loaded" to restart military operations if there is no deal.

Vance's comments came hours after President Donald Trump said he had come within an hour of ordering fresh strikes and gave Tehran "two or three days" to reach an agreement.

Rescue teams in eastern Germany searched Tuesday morning for three people who were missing after a building collapsed in the eastern city of Görlitz near the Polish border.

Police said a gas explosion may have been the cause for the collapse of the building, which took place Monday night.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up his own trip to Beijing.

Putin is scheduled to be in China on Tuesday and Wednesday in a visit likely to be closely watched as Beijing seeks to maintain stable relations with the United States while also preserving strong ties with Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "hold off" an attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday at the request of Gulf leaders.

Trump said on his Truth Social network on Monday that "serious negotiations" were now underway with Iran and that Gulf states believed "a deal will be made."

U.S. President Trump on Monday said that he is “not open” to any concessions for Tehran after receiving the latest Iranian response on peace deal talks.

Iran has given an updated proposal for a deal to end the war, but the White House believes it is not a meaningful improvement and is insufficient for a deal, a senior U.S. official and a source briefed on the issue told U.S. news portal Axios.