DOHA, May 18 (Reuters) - The Arab League's welcoming back of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad into its ranks highlights how far behind Qatar has fallen in its bid to be a diplomatic voice that carries weight in the Middle East.

Earlier this month Qatar reluctantly withdrew its opposition to Saudi Arabia's initiative to readmit Syria. It made clear it opposed normalizing its own ties with Damascus but said it would not stand in the way of an Arab consensus.

BEIJING (AP) — China said Thursday its special envoy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during talks in Kyiv earlier this week.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the meeting came amid discussions between envoy Li Hui and Ukraine’s foreign minister and other government officials.

“There is no remedy to resolve the crisis,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. “All parties should create favorable conditions and accumulate mutual trust for the political settlement.”

PAK-IRAN BORDER, May 18 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the inauguration of Mand-Pishin border market and 100 megawatt power Gabd-Polan power transmission line added a new chapter to Pakistan-Iran relationship.

The prime minister, who along with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated the Gabd-Polan transmission line told the ceremony that the project would benefit the people of Gwadar and bring in the socio-economic development.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired 30 cruise missiles against different parts of Ukraine early Thursday in the latest nighttime test of Ukrainian air defenses, which shot down 29 of them, officials said.

One person died and two were wounded by a Russian missile that got through and struck an industrial building in the southern region of Odesa, according to Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the region’s military administration.

DAKAR, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The wonders of China come to life through the brushes of African artists at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

The recently opened painting exhibition, titled "Perspectives Across Oceans: China through the Eyes of African Artists," showcased a vibrant array of Chinese landscapes and scenes as seen by African painters.

TEHRAN, May 18 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran and Russia yesterday signed 10 documents for cooperation in the oil industry, in the Iranian capital, Tehran, according to Shana News Agency, affiliated to the Iranian Oil Ministry.

The deals were signed, following a meeting between Iranian Oil Minister, Javad Owji and Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, also the co-chairs of the Permanent Russian-Iranian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - Rail traffic has been suspended between Simferopol, capital of the Crimean peninsula, and the city of Sevastopol, after a freight train carrying grain derailed, the region's Russian-installed leader said on Thursday.

The derailment was caused by "interference by outsiders", Crimean railways said in a statement.

In a statement posted on Telegram, Sergei Aksyonov said that wagons loaded with grain had derailed and no one was injured.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader said Thursday the city’s public libraries would not recommend books featuring “bad ideologies” to residents after they pulled titles related to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and certain political figures, further shrinking the city’s freedoms.

Chief Executive John Lee was addressing a lawmaker’s question about dozens of books in public libraries that were taken down without a clear explanation. Those include publications about the bloody crackdown and others written by pro-democracy politicians and political commentators.

BEIJING, May 18 (APP): Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque has said that the joint production of JF 17 Thunder Aircraft at Chengdu Aircraft Industries Corporation has become a symbol of the special relationship between Pakistan and China.

He made these remarks in a meeting with Wang Xiaohui, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Sichuan Provincial Committee, the highest-ranking CPC official in the province of Sichuan.

This was the first meeting of the Ambassador during his four-day official visit to Sichuan province.

TOKYO, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan's trade deficit dropped by almost 50 percent to a one-year low of 432.4 billion yen (3.14 billion U.S. dollars) in April, owing in part to imports retreating for the first time in over two years on lower prices for crude oil, the government said in a report on Thursday.

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/: The Russian side has extended the Black Sea grain deal for another two months, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"We can confirm that the Russian side has also decided to extend the so-called Black Sea [grain] deal for a period of two months," Peskov said.

He added that, "there is a relative result in the negotiations with the participation of representatives of Turkey, Ukraine and the UN."

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.K.-based rights group on Thursday launched an interactive map documenting rampant human rights abuses and violence against civilians since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan nearly two years ago.