Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
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Russian FM to Visit China April 14-15
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit China this week, Beijing said on Monday, as the two sides hope to boost cooperation.
"Russia's foreign minister Lavrov will pay an official visit to China from April 14 to 15," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference.
Lavrov will hold talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in which the two will "exchange views and coordinate positions on the development of bilateral relations, cooperation in various fields, and international and regional issues of common concern", Guo said.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that the pair would discuss the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.
Beijing and Moscow are close economic and political partners, and the relationship has deepened further since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Wang held a call with Lavrov on April 5, when the pair agreed Beijing and Moscow would work together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
China Urges Lasting Mideast Truce, Reopening of Shipping Laneshttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5273399-china-urges-lasting-mideast-truce-reopening-shipping-lanes
The US and Chinese flag at the Great Hall of the People prior to the state dinner of President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
China Urges Lasting Mideast Truce, Reopening of Shipping Lanes
The US and Chinese flag at the Great Hall of the People prior to the state dinner of President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
China called on Friday for a lasting truce in the Middle East and for shipping lanes to be reopened "as soon as possible", as the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed during the war with Iran.
Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital strait since conflict broke out with the United States and Israel on February 28 and Washington has blockaded Tehran's ports.
Iran's grip over the waterway has rattled global markets and given Tehran significant leverage.
US President Donald Trump has discussed Iran during a summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
In an interview with Fox News after the first day of the summit wrapped, Trump said Xi had effectively assured him that China was not preparing to militarily aid Tehran.
"He said he's not going to give military equipment... he said that strongly," Trump told Fox.
"He'd like to see the Hormuz Strait open, and said 'if I can be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help,'" Trump added.
When asked if the two presidents had discussed the subject, China's foreign ministry responded on Friday saying it hoped a lasting ceasefire could be reached "as soon as possible" to restore peace and stability in the Middle East.
"Shipping lanes should be reopened as soon as possible in response to the calls of the international community," it added.
"There is no point in continuing this conflict which should not have happened in the first place."
In peacetime, the Hormuz Strait accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that naval forces had allowed a number of Chinese ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the previous night.
Russia Pounds Ukraine in Heaviest Wartime Drone Attack Over 2 Dayshttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5273266-russia-pounds-ukraine-heaviest-wartime-drone-attack-over-2-days
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Russia Pounds Ukraine in Heaviest Wartime Drone Attack Over 2 Days
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Russia carried out its largest aerial attack over a two-day period since the start of its war in Ukraine, pounding the capital Kyiv and other cities with hundreds of drones, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.
Russia had launched 1,567 drones since the start of Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. At least 15 civilians have been killed over the two days, officials said.
He said Moscow had launched more than 670 attack drones and 56 missiles overnight, and air defense units shot down 41 of the missiles and 652 drones, the air force said.
"These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end," Reuters quoted Zelenskiy as saying.
"It's important that partners do not remain silent about this strike. And it is equally important to continue supporting the protection of our skies."
A curtain blows out of a broken window of a damaged residential building, following Russian drone and missile strikes in Kyiv on May 14, 2026. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP)
At least nine people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed in Kyiv. Six people were killed in a daytime attack focused on western Ukraine on Wednesday, officials said.
Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The war, which has killed hundreds of thousands and ravaged swathes of Ukraine, has continued despite a US-backed peace push although Moscow's battlefield advances have stalled this year.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on Thursday's attacks.
Kyiv was the main target of the overnight strikes, Zelenskiy said, adding that there was damage across 20 locations in the city and also in the Kyiv region.
About 40 people including two children were wounded, officials said.
Apartment interiors are seen in a damaged residential house following Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a day of mourning in the capital on Friday.
Dozens of emergency workers were cutting through concrete at the site of a Russian drone strike on a nine-story residential building where an entire section had been destroyed.
Zelenskiy said that nearly 20 people were still missing as rescuers cleared the debris.
More than 1,500 rescue workers have been deployed across Ukraine to deal with the aftermath of the strikes, including nearly 600 in Kyiv.
Zelenskiy said that overall 180 facilities had been damaged in Ukraine, including more than 50 residential buildings.
He said a UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs vehicle had come under fire from drones during a humanitarian mission in the southern city of Kherson.
Twenty-eight people including three children were wounded in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, where civilian infrastructure was targeted, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
Ukraine's energy ministry said electricity supplies in 11 regions had been disrupted, and the strikes also targeted port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region and railways, officials said.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack - while US President Donald Trump is visiting China - showed Russia wanted to continue fighting despite Washington's peace push, and that pressure was needed on Moscow to end the war.
France Allows Asymptomatic Passengers off New Cruise Ship Struck by Stomach Bug Outbreakhttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5273229-france-allows-asymptomatic-passengers-new-cruise-ship-struck-stomach-bug-outbreak
Passengers unaffected by an illness outbreak on a British cruise ship have been allowed off the ship in the French port city of Bordeaux, while authorities confirmed the cause of the outbreak is norovirus, a nasty stomach bug that spreads easily.
French authorities had initially ordered over 1,700 passengers and crew on The Ambition cruise ship to remain on board, but then decided late Wednesday to let those unaffected disembark. One passenger was spotted raising his arms in triumph while leaving the vessel.
It was not immediately clear how many left the ship, but the British operator of the ship said Thursday that passengers are able to disembark “with all scheduled shore excursions operating as planned today.” As of Thursday morning, 60 passengers and four crew members were experiencing gastrointestinal illness, according to Ambassador Cruise Line.
French authorities said there is no link to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a Dutch vessel that has put European health authorities on alert in recent weeks.
The Ambition was midway through a 14-night cruise from Belfast and Liverpool, with scheduled stops in northern Spain and along France’s Atlantic coast. It reached Bordeaux on Tuesday evening.
The boat will remain in Bordeaux overnight before continuing its journey on a revised itinerary from Friday to avoid bad weather.
“This will allow the ship to avoid forecast unsettled weather conditions in the Bay of Biscay this evening which would be less than ideal for guests and crew recovering from gastrointestinal illness while also providing valuable additional time for crew who have worked exceptionally hard in challenging circumstances over recent days,” Ambassador Cruise Line said.
Samples analyzed at Bordeaux University Hospital confirmed an outbreak of norovirus. Local authorities said at this stage no serious cases have been reported and that sick passengers were cared for onboard by the ship’s medical team.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks outbreaks on voyages that call on US and foreign ports, recorded 23 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships last year. Most were caused by norovirus, including a new strain.
Ambassador Cruise Line, a British operator catering to passengers over 50, was founded in 2021.
The operator said a 92-year-old male passenger died on Sunday but did not report any symptoms consistent with gastrointestinal illness.
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