China's elderly care service vouchers for seniors with moderate to severe disabilities have benefited 892,000 people, with redemptions totaling 1.72 billion yuan (around 249 million U.S. dollars) so far this year, an official said on Saturday.
Efforts have been made to boost the country's elderly care services and improve the well-being of older people, Civil Affairs Minister Lu Zhiyuan told a press conference on people's livelihood on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.
"Focusing on pressing difficulties concerning the seniors the most, we boosted village or community supported at-home elderly-care services, we develop canteens for seniors across the country, nearly 80,000 meal service stations have been built, serving over 3 million older people every day, meeting their needs for freshly cooked meals. We set up home-care beds, with the total number reaching 495,000 to bring professional care to the bedside. We also have completed age-friendly home renovations for 2.24 million households with seniors with special difficulties," he said. "Since the start of this year, we have been granting elderly care service vouchers to moderate to severely functionally paralyzed seniors. Till now, 1.72 billion yuan of vouchers have been redeemed, benefiting 892,000 older people,"he said.
China's elderly care service vouchers benefit 892,000 people
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone conversation on Wednesday, discussing the recent shooting at the White House press dinner, the situation in Iran and the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin said.
The Russian president informed his U.S. counterpart of Russia's readiness to declare a truce with Ukraine for the period of Victory Day commemorations.
Trump voiced strong support for the initiative, noting that "the holiday marks our common victory over Nazism in World War II," said Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov after the phone conversation that lasted over an hour and a half.
At Trump's request, Putin described the current situation along the contact line with Ukraine, where Russian troops maintain the strategic initiative and are pushing back enemy positions, said Ushakov.
Putin reaffirmed that the goals of the special military operation will be achieved in any case, the aide said. Russia would prefer this to be achieved through negotiations, for which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskymust respond positively to the well-known proposals that have been repeatedly put forward, including by the U.S. side, he said. Russia has handed over more than 20,000 bodies of the deceased to Ukraine, Putin told Trump, adding that Ukraine has returned just over 500 bodies to Russia since the beginning of 2025.
Among the issues on the international agenda, the two leaders focused primarily on the situation in Iran and the Persian Gulf, according to the Kremlin.
Putin viewed Trump's decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran as the right move, as it will help stabilize the situation, Ushakov said, adding that Putin drew attention to the inevitable, extremely dire consequences not only for Iran and its neighbors, but also for the entire international community should the United States and Israel resort to force again.
Russia remains firmly determined to fully support diplomatic efforts aimed at finding a peaceful settlement to the crisis, and has put forward a number of proposals intended to resolve differences over the Iranian nuclear program, said the presidential aide.
Ushakov noted that to this end, Moscow will maintain active contacts with Iranian representatives, leaders of Persian Gulf states, as well as with Israel and the U.S. negotiating team.
For his part, Trump also outlined his assessment of the Middle East situation to Putin.
Putin, Trump hold phone call on issues of Iran, Ukraine
