* Italian outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Friday outlined a series of directives for members of his government to follow in the wake of his resignation.
* Russia and Ukraine separately signed a deal in Istanbul Friday with Türkiye and the United Nations to resume grain shipments from Ukrainian ports to international markets via the Black Sea.
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday called for efforts to effectively implement the agreements on transporting Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports and on promoting Russian exports of food and fertilizers.
* The European Union (EU) on Friday launched four new infringement procedures against Britain for not implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pledged on Friday to consistently strengthen the two countries' partnership and alliance.
* China will make great efforts to consolidate its economic recovery, putting a priority on stabilising employment and prices, state media reported.
* A gauge of global stocks edged higher on Friday, poised for a sixth straight day of gains, while the dollar dipped against a basket of major currencies following soft data on US business activity.
* Canadian home prices are dropping fast after surging during the pandemic, but that is offering little relief for consumers who face sky-rocketing rents and fading buying power as interest rates rise.
* Russia's central bank decided on Friday to cut the key interest rate by 150 basis points to 8 percent per annum, the fifth reduction in a row since April.
* Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that he was confident inflation control measures taken by his administration will slow down price rises in the country.
* Pakistan's 33.5 billion USD external financing needs are fully met for financial year 2022/23, the central bank chief said on Saturday, adding that "unwarranted" market concerns about its financial position will dissipate in weeks.
* The United Nations has allocated 1 million USD to help 340,000 people in areas affected by Rift Valley Fever in Burundi, a UN spokesman said on Friday.
* World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday he had to act as a tie-breaker to resolve a disagreement on whether to declare the Monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.
* China reported 1,011 new coronavirus cases for July 21, of which 175 were symptomatic and 836 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday.
* US President Joe Biden's symptoms from COVID-19 symptoms have improved, his doctor said on Friday, one day after Biden tested positive for the virus as a highly contagious subvariant drove a new wave of cases in the United States.
* India on Saturday recorded over 21,000 fresh cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day, officials said. According to health ministry data released on Saturday morning, 21,411 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,868,476 in the country.
* The main mountain border pass between Chile and Argentina reopened this week after a heavy snowfall in the Andes forced it to shutter for about two weeks, stranding thousands of trucks.
* An experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the form of an oral tablet has shown promising immune responses in a small preliminary trial designed mainly to evaluate its safety, according to drug manufacturer Vaxart Inc.
* Armed clashes erupted on Saturday on the outskirts of the Libyan city of Misrata between rival factions near the junction of the main coastal highway leading to Tripoli.
* At least 18 people were killed in flash floods caused by heavy rains in Iran's southern province of Fars, state media said on Saturday.
* Residents were evacuated on Saturday as a wildfire which started in mountainous forests in the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos threatened properties at the beach resort of Vatera.
* India's western state of Maharashtra has seen a rising trend in swine flu infection with seven deaths and 142 cases reported so far this year, officials said on Friday.
* Pakistan's polio count for the year has risen to 13 with one case reported on Friday as the South Asian nation looks to contain a disease mostly eradicated elsewhere, officials said
