* Japan's Diet, the country's parliament, on Friday enacted into law a bill to create a pool of funds to cover part of a substantial increase in defense spending.
* The ruling Workers' Party of Korea of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) opened the 8th enlarged plenary meeting of its 8th Central Committee on Friday, the state news agency reported Saturday.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin told African leaders on Saturday that Russia welcomed their balanced approach to the conflict in Ukraine and was open to discussions.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday met with a visiting delegation of African countries' leaders to discuss ways to bring peace to Ukraine, the presidential press service reported.
* UN Undersecretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo on Friday concluded her two-day visit to Moscow, where she exchanged views with senior Russian officials, said the press office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday.
* Nearly 200 settlements have been affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Friday.
* Iran signed 35 cooperation deals covering energy, industry, mining, biotechnology and the construction of power plants with Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba during President Ebrahim Raisi's five-day tour of the three Latin American countries.
* President Joe Biden will address union members in Philadelphia on Saturday in his first political rally since announcing his re-election campaign, aiming to shore up a key part of his political coalition and bolster support among white working-class voters.
* The Philippine armed forces said Saturday that three suspected rebels were killed in a clash in the southern Philippines.
* Japan issued 1.29 million visas to foreign nationals in 2022, up roughly 14 fold from the previous year after the country dropped COVID-19 border control measures, the government has announced.
* Air strikes killed civilians and pummeled multiple parts of the Sudanese capital on Saturday, residents said, as mediators pushed the warring factions towards a new ceasefire.
* Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to France next week to show support for Rome's bid to host the Expo 2030, a government source said on Saturday.
* Australia's centre-left Labor government said on Saturday it would commit A$2 billion ($1.4 billion) to deliver thousands of new affordable homes nationwide, as the country grapples with soaring living costs.
* Militants linked to Islamic State killed 37 people and abducted six others in an attack on a school in western Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, the military said on Saturday.
* The World Bank approved a new $500 million loan to Costa Rica aimed at strengthening support for the government's budget, according to a statement from the international lender released on Friday.
* Teachers in England will strike on July 5 and July 7, the National Education Union (NEU) said on Saturday, staging further industrial action over a pay and funding dispute with the government.
* The Bank of Japan (BOJ) decided on Friday to maintain its ultralow interest rate policy as it concluded its two-day policy-setting meeting, holding the view that it requires time to achieve its 2 percent inflation target.
* Malaysia's foreign direct investment (FDI) recorded 74.6 billion ringgit (16.15 billion USD), while its direct investment abroad (DIA) registered 58.6 billion ringgit (12.9 billion dollars) in 2022, official data showed on Friday.
* Inflation in Italy stayed above the average for the eurozone for the eighth consecutive month in May, according to data released by Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) on Friday.
* Norway will provide 1.7 billion Norwegian kroner (161 million USD) in support to assist those affected by the crisis, earthquakes, and the steep rise in food prices in Syria and its neighboring countries, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt said on Friday.
* The Bank of Slovenia on Friday increased its 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 2 percent from 0.8 percent published last December. For 2024, the bank now expects the country's economy to grow by 2.2 percent, up 0.2 percentage points on earlier forecast.
* Sweltering heat has killed 34 people in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, health officials said Saturday.
