* Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham won a parliamentary by-election in the northwestern English constituency of Makerfield, according to results released early Friday, paving the way for his return to parliament and a possible bid for the Labour Party leadership.
* A 60-day countdown toward a permanent agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran has begun after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday.
* The U.S. forces on Thursday lifted the blockade on all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas, the U.S. Central Command said.
* A senior official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) lashed out at what she called the "unfounded politically-motivated rhetoric" against her country by the Group of Seven (G7), the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.
* Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday that recently declassified U.S. intelligence documents support Moscow's allegations that U.S.-funded laboratories in Ukraine were engaged in military-biological activities.
* Russia and Ukraine once again exchanged the bodies of fallen soldiers, with 522 bodies of Ukrainian servicemen handed over to Ukraine and 33 bodies of Russian soldiers returned to Russia, Russian news outlet RBC reported Thursday, citing Russian lawmaker Shamsail Saraliyev.
* Ukrainian and German defense firms signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the Freyja ground-based air defense anti-ballistic system, the Ukrinform news agency reported on Wednesday.
* Russia remains open to contacts and negotiations with European countries when not under ultimatums, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in regular press briefing on Friday.
* The Australian government on Friday announced it will provide an additional 100 million Australian dollars (70 million USD) in assistance to Ukraine.
* Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Friday that he had cancelled a planned visit to the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had "begged" for a photograph with him during the recent G7 summit.
* The United States has initiated a pilot plan for a partial Israeli military withdrawal from the "security zone" it holds in southern Lebanon, Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported on Friday.
* Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will travel to Egypt next week to attend a meeting of foreign ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
* Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the country is in no urgency to meet U.S. envoys for talks in Switzerland, while plans for a meeting in the coming days remain underway.
* Ibrahim al-Moussawi, a member of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc "Loyalty to the Resistance," said Friday that the group would continue to abide by the ceasefire agreement provided that Israel also respects its terms.
* Germany has dispatched two naval vessels to the Red Sea in preparation for a possible mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday.
* Indonesia and Kuwait agreed on Friday to strengthen cooperation on energy security as both countries seek to navigate geopolitical and global economic uncertainty.
* Pakistan on Friday rejected a claim by the Afghan authorities that Afghan forces carried out strikes against militant hideouts in two provinces of Pakistan, describing the claim false and misleading, according to the country's Information Ministry.
* Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency has temporarily suspended the free meal program for students during school holidays to improve program management and increase budget efficiency.
* China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday that it will impose an additional 55 percent tariff on beef imported from Australia, effective Saturday, on top of existing tariff rates.
* Russia's central bank on Friday cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 14.25 percent, citing easing inflationary pressures and continued moderate economic growth.
* Thailand has advanced four spots to rank 26th out of 70 economies in the 2026 World Competitiveness Ranking conducted by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development, driven by solid improvements in business efficiency and infrastructure.
* Germany's economy is expected to grow by 0.8 percent in both 2026 and 2027, as increased government spending offsets much of the economic impact from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, the Munich-based ifo Institute said on Thursday.
* New Zealand's exports rose 18 percent year-on-year in May to reach 8.9 billion NZ dollars (5.12 billion USD), driven by strong gains in meat shipments, official data showed on Friday.
* Moody's Ratings on Thursday affirmed Malaysia's A3 sovereign credit rating with a stable outlook because of its exports of artificial intelligence (AI)-related goods.
* The World Bank has approved 13 million USD in additional financing to enhance the quality of health services in Cambodia through improved training for health professionals, said its news release on Thursday.
* UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated 4 million USD from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the Ugandan government's response to Ebola, a UN spokesperson said Thursday.
* Despite recent improvements, critical operational constraints are currently undermining the continental Ebola response and preparedness efforts, as the death toll has surpassed 200 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, experts from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have warned.
