* Russian forces carried out six strikes over the past week targeting Ukrainian defense-industrial facilities and infrastructure supporting the armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
* The Security Service of Ukraine said Saturday it struck three Russian warships, a radar system and logistics infrastructure in Crimea.
* Kiev is prepared for a potential high-level meeting involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with mediation by Türkiye and the United States, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Friday, citing Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
* Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday that Ukraine is ready to produce strategic drones and unmanned products in cooperation with Germany. Speaking at the ongoing Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Sybiha said Ukraine is attempting to replace manpower with drones to reduce battlefield casualties in the conflict with Russia.
* The U.S. Treasury Department has extended until May 16 a waiver allowing the delivery and sale of sanctioned Russian oil loaded on vessels as of Friday, according to a document posted on its website. The original 30-day waiver expired on April 11.
* Mexico will press the United States to remove existing tariffs during upcoming trade talks, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said Friday.
* A new round of U.S.-Iran talks will be held on Monday in Pakistan, CNN reported Friday, citing anonymous Iranian sources. U.S. and Iranian delegations are expected to arrive in Pakistan this weekend, said the report, noting that the U.S. side hasn't confirmed talks are scheduled.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington is talking to Tehran and Iran cannot "blackmail" the United States with the Strait of Hormuz.
* Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir underscored the need for dialogue, de-escalation, and peaceful resolution of outstanding issues through sustained diplomatic engagement during talks with the Iranian leadership, the military said on Saturday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Friday that Iran has "agreed to everything" for a peace deal including working with Washington to remove its enriched uranium without the involvement of U.S. ground troops.
* Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said on Saturday the country is determined to exercise control and supervision over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz until the war is definitively ended and a lasting peace is achieved in the region.
* Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Saturday the country's navy is ready to inflict "new bitter defeats" on the United States and Israel, according to the official news agency IRNA.
* Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, announced on Saturday the resumption of strict control over the Strait of Hormuz due to the continued U.S. blockade of the waterway, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
* Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said early Saturday if the U.S. blockade on Iran continues, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.
* Iran will not transfer its enriched uranium to a foreign country, and sending it to the United States has never been under consideration, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Friday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday told Israel's Channel 12 News that he estimates a deal with Iran will be signed "in the next day or two."
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Friday that Lebanon has entered a new phase focused on negotiating permanent agreements to safeguard the rights of its people, the unity of its territory, and the sovereignty of the state.
* Deputy head of Hezbollah's political council Mahmoud Qomati said on Saturday that his group was not concerned by Lebanon's planned direct talks with Israel, labeling them "weak" and "a failure."
* Following the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, thousands of the 1.2 million people displaced in southern Lebanon are returning home despite warnings of unexploded ordnance, UN humanitarians said Friday.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on the international community to choose a future governed by the rule of law rather than one driven by raw power in The Hague, the Netherlands.
* French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that Iran's announcement of reopening Strait of Hormuz goes in right direction. Macron made the remarks following a conference co-hosted by France and Britain in Paris, which brought together 49 countries to discuss securing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
* Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that Australia welcomes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and will consider deploying military assets to secure shipping in the region.
* The Indian government Friday said it welcomed the recently implemented ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The comments were made by India's foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a media briefing.
* The illegal transfer of crude oil in the Malacca Strait is increasing, with syndicates refining their tactics of ship-to-ship (STS) transfers to avoid detection, the head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the country's coastguard, has said.
* A framework is being developed to facilitate the evacuation of vessels stranded in the Gulf, the chief of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) told the agency's Legal Committee, which concluded its meeting on Friday.
* Indonesia is exploring potential energy cooperation with Russia, including plans to develop oil refineries and storage facilities, the country's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said on Friday.
* The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that more than 86,000 Afghan migrants returned to the country from Iran and Pakistan within one month, according to local media Tolonews on Saturday.
* The advance estimates of Malaysia's economy in the first quarter of 2026 showed a 5.3 percent year-on-year expansion, easing from the 6.3 percent growth recorded in the previous quarter, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said Friday.
* The number of cash loans issued in Russia surged in March 2026, rising 56 percent year on year to 2.04 million, local media reported on Friday. According to data released by the United Credit Bureau, the figure also marked a 27 percent increase from February, when 1.6 million loans were issued.
* Cambodia has seen a total of 71,191 foreign tourists traveling across the country during its three-day traditional New Year holiday, said a Ministry of Tourism's report on Saturday. The Southeast Asian country celebrated its lunar New Year from April 14 to 16.
* The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced Saturday that it has suspended its operations at a water station east of Gaza City after the Israeli army killed two drivers contracted by the organization.
* More than 73,000 people have been affected by recent floods across 31 provinces in Afghanistan over the past 12 days, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said, according to local media Tolo news on Saturday.
* The Thai government is closely monitoring the melioidosis situation amid the ongoing concern over the rising trend of infections, as a total of 732 cases have been recorded nationwide from Jan. 1 to April 16, with 23 deaths, an official said on Saturday.
