Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to ‘further strengthen the comprehensive partnership’, the Kremlin says.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will pay an official visit to China from May 19 to 20, the Kremlin has announced.

Putin and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, plan to “further strengthen the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” between Moscow and Beijing, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin is also scheduled to discuss economic and trade cooperation with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Russia’s TASS news agency reported that the visit is timed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, a key Moscow-Beijing agreement signed in 2001.

News of Putin’s forthcoming trip arrives one day after United States President Donald Trump departed China following the first presidential visit to Beijing in almost a decade.

Although Trump and Xi touted several broad trade deals, they appeared to make little public progress on key sticking points related to Taiwan or the US-Israel war on Iran.

They also touched on the Russia-Ukraine war, in which China is officially neutral and Xi has presented himself as a mediator.

Still, Xi’s “no limits” alliance with Putin – announced just before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – has undercut that stance.

China has also denied reports from Reuters and other news agencies showing that Chinese firms have single-handedly sustained Russian drone production, in part by shipping engines mislabelled as “industrial refrigeration units” to drone assembly plants.

“We discussed – well, it’s one that we’d like to see settled,” Trump said in remarks reported by the Kyiv Post.

Trading partners

As Washington and Beijing’s relationship has been beset by tension, Chinese-Russian relations have only appeared to deepen in recent months.

Although the duo are not formal military allies, they maintain extremely close political and economic ties, with China stepping in to buy Russian oil and goods after Western nations cut ties with Moscow.

Before a four-day trip to China last August, Putin decried “discriminatory” Western sanctions and heaped praise on Beijing.

China is now by far Russia’s biggest trading partner by volume, and transactions are almost entirely carried out in Russian roubles and Chinese yuan, Putin said at the time.

Last month, Xi pressed for “closer and stronger strategic coordination” between Beijing and Moscow in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Xi also visited Russia in May last year and pledged to stand with Moscow against “unilateralism and hegemonic bullying”.

No group ​claimed responsibility for the raid which bore the hallmark of the ​Boko Haram group.

Gunmen have ⁠kidnapped dozens of school pupils in Nigeria’s rebellion-ravaged northeastern state of Borno, residents ⁠told the Reuters and AFP news agencies.

The suspected fighters stormed Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira-Uba Local Government Area at about 9 am (08:00 GMT) on Friday while classes were in session and ⁠took several students with them, Ubaidallah Hasaan, who lives near the school, told Reuters.

A teacher at the school told Reuters that armed attackers had arrived on motorcycles. “Despite some students escaping to the bushes, I can tell you many were taken away,” the teacher ‌said.

No group claimed responsibility for the raid, which bore the hallmark of the Boko Haram group. Local lawmaker Midala Usman Balami called the attack “heartbreaking” and urged authorities to act swiftly.

Africa’s most populous country is battling a 17-year armed rebellion from such groups, who have made abductions a key tactic – including the infamous 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok.

Mass kidnappings have become a common way for gangs and armed groups to make quick money in Africa’s most populous country, especially in rural areas with little government presence.

A few weeks ago, gunmen raided an orphanage and kidnapped at least 23 children from an “isolated area” in Nigeria’s Kogi State capital, Lokoja, Kogi Information Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo said in a statement.

Borno ⁠and neighbouring states have seen repeated attacks on schools and communities despite ongoing military operations, raising concerns about ⁠security gaps in rural areas.

The community of Mussa lies near ⁠the Sambisa Forest, a longstanding stronghold ⁠of rebel fighters who have waged a campaign of violence in northeast Nigeria for more than a decade.

In a separate incident ‌on Friday, gunmen abducted students at Baptist Nursery and Primary School in the southwestern state of Oyo. The state has ordered school closures in the ‌area ‌while police launched a manhunt for the abductors.

Though violence has waned from the peak of Nigeria’s rebellions, kicked off by Boko Haram’s 2009 uprising, analysts have warned of a potential increase in attacks since 2025, especially in rural areas outside, or barely under, government control.

Gimba Kakanda, a Nigerian writer and public servant, told Al Jazeera that the expansion of territory in which these groups operate “matters because insurgencies are sustained not by ideology alone, but by terrain, supply routes, local economies, and the ability to move men and materiel through spaces where the state is weak or absent”.

“Violence in northern Nigeria is sustained by a combination of doctrinal extremism, chronic poverty, educational exclusion, and a state whose presence is often too limited to command confidence in the communities where armed groups seek recruits,” Kakanda said.

Iran says Trump signalled openness to talks as deadlock remains over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Lebanon has welcomed an agreement with Israel to extend a fragile ceasefire by 45 days beyond Sunday’s deadline following talks in the United States, even as Israeli forces continued attacks on towns and villages in southern Lebanon.

At least 12 people were killed on Friday, including three paramedics, according to Lebanese authorities.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during a BRICS meeting that Tehran had received communication from the administration of US President Donald Trump indicating openness to new negotiations aimed at ending the war. However, Araghchi said a “deadlock” remained over the issue of Iran’s enriched nuclear material.

Trump also suggested he could be open to Iran placing its civilian nuclear programme on hold for two decades, provided Tehran demonstrates what he described as a genuine commitment to a broader agreement.

Here is what we know:

In Iran

• Iran open to China’s help: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had sent messages indicating it was willing to continue talks, and that he was open to any support – including from China. “We appreciate any country who has the ability to help, particularly China,” Araghchi said.
• Tehran details toll of attacks on Iranian capital: The municipal government said US-Israeli attacks during the war caused at least 650 impact incidents across the capital, killing more than 1,260 people and wounding at least 2,800. Officials also said about 51,000 homes were damaged, along with more than 10,700 cars and 754 motorcycles, including nearly 150 taxis.
•  More ships pass through Hormuz: Iran is allowing more ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television has reported, because “many countries have accepted the new legal protocols” it has put in place.

War diplomacy

• China signals likely veto on Hormuz resolution: China’s UN envoy Fu Cong criticised a proposed US-backed Security Council resolution on the Strait of Hormuz as “not right” in both timing and content, signalling Beijing would likely oppose the measure alongside Russia.
• Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire: Lebanon and Israel on Friday extended a ceasefire for 45 days, despite a new flare-up in violence, the US State Department said after mediating talks. “The April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
• Lebanon sees path to ‘lasting stability’: Lebanon’s delegation at the talks in Washington said on Friday that the truce extension and the establishment of a US-facilitated security track pave the way for “lasting stability”.

In the Gulf

• UAE fast-tracks oil pipeline bypassing Hormuz: The United Arab Emirates said it will accelerate construction of a new ADNOC pipeline linking Abu Dhabi to Fujairah to double oil export capacity outside the Strait of Hormuz by 2027, with operations expected to begin next year.

In the US

• US charges alleged Kataib Hezbollah commander: US prosecutors charged Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an alleged senior Kataib Hezbollah figure linked to Iran’s IRGC, over his alleged role in at least 18 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and Canada. The FBI said al-Saadi was arrested in Turkiye before being transferred to the US.
• Tlaib marks Nakba anniversary in Congress: US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib commemorated the Nakba in a speech to Congress, saying the displacement of Palestinians “did not end in 1948” and calling for justice and the Palestinian right of return.

In Israel

• Israel intensifies attacks in southern Lebanon: The Israeli military said its forces killed more than 220 Hezbollah fighters over the past week and struck more than 440 targets across southern Lebanon during the same period.

In Lebanon

• Strike hits building in Lebanon’s Tyre: An Israeli strike hit a building in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Friday after an evacuation warning by the Israeli army, state media reported, despite the extension in the truce between Israel and Hezbollah. An AFP correspondent saw a strike hit one of the threatened buildings.
• New evacuation orders in southern Lebanon: The Israeli military ordered residents in nine towns and villages in southern Lebanon to flee ahead of planned attacks, hours after Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend their fragile ceasefire by another 45 days. The affected areas included Ansar, al-Marwaniyah and al-Baysariyah.
• Death toll rises in Lebanon: Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,951 people and wounded 8,988 others since renewed air raids and the ground invasion began on March 2, as some residents continue refusing to leave partially destroyed homes despite ongoing military operations.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has defended Spain’s boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation, saying ‘silence is not an option’ while citing the genocide in Gaza and the ‘illegal war’ on Lebanon.