Russia's army said Friday it was responding "symmetrically" to attacks by Ukraine during a unilateral two-day ceasefire ordered by Moscow that Kyiv never agreed to.

The Russian defense ministry said in a statement on social media that Ukraine fired hundreds of drones across the front line as well as tank and artillery attacks, adding that Moscow's troops were "responding symmetrically."

British voters cast ballots Thursday in local and regional elections that could shake up the country's politics and deliver a heavy blow to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer's center-left Labour Party is bracing for big losses in polls that will choose about 5,000 local councilors and a handful of mayors across England, as well as semiautonomous parliaments in Scotland and Wales.

France's aircraft carrier strike group is moving south of the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea in preparation for a potential French-British mission in the Strait of Hormuz, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday.

The deployment puts Europe's most powerful warship closer to the strait whose effective closure has come to epitomize the war in Iran, stranding hundreds of ships and triggering what the International Energy Agency calls the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.

Pakistan's military warned Thursday it would respond strongly against any attack as it marked the anniversary of last year's four-day conflict with neighboring India that brought the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of war before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted the fighting.

The military said that any "hostile design" against Pakistan would be countered with "greater strength, precision and resolve" than what India witnessed during the May 2025 conflict, which Islamabad named "Marka-e-Haq," or "Battle of Truth."

China's top diplomat said Thursday that ties with the U.S. have been in general stable despite "many twists and disruptions," and called on both countries to find a way to contribute to global peace, a week before President Donald Trump is expected to visit.

During a meeting with members of a U.S. bipartisan congressional delegation, led by Sen. Steve Daines, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi credited Presidents Xi Jinping and Trump for "helping steer the direction of bilateral relations at critical moments."

Russian air defenses shot down 347 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday, in what appeared to be a major attack after Moscow spurned Kyiv's ceasefire earlier in the week and tension mounted over Russia's upcoming Victory Day celebrations.

Incoming drones were destroyed over 20 Russian regions, including Moscow, according to the Defense Ministry, in Ukraine's second-biggest aerial attack since Russia's all-out invasion more than four years ago. The largest was last March when it launched 389 drones.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday to underscore strong bilateral ties, after U.S. President Donald Trump's broadsides against Pope Leo XIV for his opposition to the Iran war angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between them.

The U.S. State Department said that the meetings with Leo and the Vatican's top diplomat covered peace in the Middle East and "underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See," and reflected the "enduring partnership" between them.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war was "very possible" following "very good talks" over the past day.

"We've had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it's very possible that we'll make a deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about striking a deal with Iran, which could include Iran exporting its highly enriched uranium to the United States, in a phone call Wednesday with PBS News.

Trump said he feels the U.S. is closing in on a deal, "but I felt that way before with them, so we'll see what happens."

Iran foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Wednesday that a U.S. proposal to end the war is still "under review" by Tehran, local media reported.