Chinese President Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia from May 7-10 to participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

In a statement on Telegram, the Kremlin said that Xi will discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin the development of the two countries’ strategic partnership, as well as signing a number of documents.

“During the talks, the main issues of further development of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda will be discussed,” the Kremlin said.

The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War Two but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler committed suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945.

Several other national leaders are expected at the celebrations, including the presidents of Brazil and Serbia, and the prime minister of Slovakia.

Putin has proposed a three day ceasefire with Ukraine around the May 9 celebration, one of the most important in the Russian calendar.

Responding to Moscow’s offer of the three-day ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was ready as long as the ceasefire would be 30 days in length, something Putin had already ruled out in the near term, saying he wants a long-term settlement not a brief pause.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the traditional May 9 victory parade.

Zelenskiy has in recent weeks upped criticism of China, which he has said is providing weapons and gunpowder to Russia.

Russian state news agency RIA cited Putin, in a documentary film marking 25 years since his first inauguration as Russian president aired on Sunday, as saying that Russia’s relations with China were: “truly strategic in nature, deep-seated”.

(Reuters) 

Australia goes into elections as 18 million voters will determine who the next prime minister will be.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the left-leaning Australian Labor Party is seeking re-election and his challenger is Peter Dutton of the conservative Liberal-National coalition.

Cost of living is the main election issue. Voters are also concerned about the affordability of health care and housing.

Donald Trump also looms over the vote as Australia, whose people value “mateship” of friendship and loyalty, is not spared from the US president’s tariffs.

There’s a record 111 overseas voting locations across 83 countries this year, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The largest hubs of Australians abroad are in Berlin, Hong Kong, London and New York. 

Official results can take days or even weeks to come, but as soon as polls close, the Australian Electoral Commission will start releasing unofficial preliminary results, which historically indicates who will form the next government.

(Agencies)

India’s human rights body is investigating reports that more than 100 children fell ill from eating a school lunch after a dead snake was found in the food.

The cook reportedly still served the lunch despite removing the dead animal from it, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said in a statement.

The commission said about 500 children are believed to have been served the meal in the city of Mokama in Bihar state, eastern India.

After children started falling sick, locals blocked a road in protest, the NHRC said.

“The commission has observed that the contents, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of the human rights of the students,” it said.

The statement demanded a “detailed report” within two weeks from senior state officials which will include “the health status of the children”.

The free school meals, known as the Mid-Day Meal, were first introduced for children from poor backgrounds in the southern city of Chennai (Madras) in 1925.

One of the biggest such schemes in the world, it was introduced to combat hunger and boost school attendance. However, there have been complaints of poor food hygiene.

In 2013, tainted food was blamed for the deaths of 23 schoolchildren in Bihar state.

Police said “very toxic” levels of a pesticide had been detected by scientific tests.

(BBC News)