* Thailand on Friday called for efforts to create constructive and concrete approaches to tackle the region's transboundary haze problem. This came as Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha hosted an online trilateral meeting Friday with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and Myanmar Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) carried out another test of its newly-unveiled underwater strategic weapon system from Tuesday to Friday, the country's state news agency reported Saturday.
* Brazil on Friday officially announced it will rejoin the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), from which it withdrew in 2019.
* EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday condemned the escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians, urging all parties to exercise restraint and promote calm for the ongoing religious holidays.
* Türkiye agrees with Russia to solve the problems concerning Russian fertilizer and grain exports so that the Black Sea grain deal could be extended, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday.
* The latest round of tension between Israel and Gaza militants led by the Islamic Resistance Movement of Hamas came to a close on Friday with no truce declared by either side, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
* Saudi officials have arrived in Iran to discuss procedures for reopening Riyadh's embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad after China brokered a deal to restore relations between the two regional powers, the Saudi foreign ministry said on Saturday.
* Visiting Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has hailed the coordinated work that Georgia and Azerbaijan are carrying out together on the Middle Corridor, a trade route that spans the Central Asian steppe, the Caspian Sea and the Caucacus mountains.
* The Iraqi government called on Turkey on Saturday to apologize for what it said was an attack on Sulaymaniyah airport in northern Iraq, saying Ankara must cease hostilities on Iraqi soil.
* Chad's government ordered the German ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours, it said in a statement, a decision sources said was motivated by his comments about Chad's delayed transition to civilian rule after a 2021 coup.
* The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has opened an investigation into the rocket launches and air strikes that took place in southern Lebanon in the past two days, the Lebanese National News Agency reported on Friday.
* Pakistan's top security body in Islamabad on Friday agreed to launch an all-out comprehensive operation to wipe out the menace of terrorism with renewed vigor and determination, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
* The largest US maritime trade gateway was effectively shut down on Friday due to a shortage of West Coast port workers as negotiations for a new contract continued between the dockworker union and maritime shippers, sparking concerns about global supply chain disruption.
* High inflation and the state of the economy remain at the top of the list of Americans' biggest concerns, The Hill reported recently.
* Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko said Friday that his country has prospects to set up a major European gas storage hub on its territory.
* Myanmar attracted more than 1.64 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the 2022-23 fiscal year, according to figures released by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA) on Saturday.
* Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday said he had canceled his trip to Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on the orders of the prime minister due to the political situation in the country.
* Russia's Gazprom GAZP.MM said it would ship 37.2 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Saturday.
* Honduras' government on Friday extended until late May emergency powers that suspend some constitutional rights, part of an anti-gang push implemented by leftist President Xiomara Castro in the Central American country's largest cities.
* The Greek economy is expected to grow by 2.2 percent in 2023, higher than previous projections, the governor of the country's central bank (BoG) said on Friday.
* The Tunisian coast guards have thwarted 501 illegal immigration attempts in the first quarter of this year, the Tunisian National Guard said on Friday.
* Nigerian authorities said on Saturday that 85 people were abducted by gunmen suspected to be bandits in a village in the northwest state of Zamfara on Thursday.
* At least 20 migrants went missing after a boat sank off Tunisia's southeastern coast late Friday night, according to a judicial official from the Sfax province.
