Francis called relations with Beijing “very respectful,” though few clergy or Catholics from China went to see him during a visit to Mongolia, seemingly fearing reprisals.
Though a member of an opposition political party, Mr. Umerov has taken on several critical roles for the Zelensky government since the Russian invasion last year.
After penetrating Russian defenses to retake the village of Robotyne, Ukrainian forces have pushed the fight a few miles east, but formidable obstacles lie ahead.
The blaze, one of the worst residential ones in South Africa’s history, occurred in a building that officials and locals say had become an overcrowded death trap for the hundreds who lived there.