* Russia will come back to full compliance with the New START treaty if Washington abandons its "hostile stance" toward Moscow, Russian news agencies reported, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
* Japan will not use its growing military strength to threaten other countries, its defence minister said on Saturday, while affirming its aim to prioritise diplomatic efforts and dialogue to avert misunderstandings.
* Indonesia's defence minister on Saturday proposed a peace plan to end the conflict in Ukraine, calling for a demilitarised zone and a United Nations referendum in what he called disputed territory.
* The Iranian foreign minister said on Friday that the new "positive" atmosphere in the Middle East is in the interests of all regional states, according to a statement published on the Foreign Ministry's website.
* The United Nations (UN) Security Council on Friday urged parties concerned in Sudan to immediately cease hostilities and facilitate humanitarian access.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani agreed on Friday to launch a joint initiative to support and provide relief to people in Sudan.
* Turkey plans to send commandos to Kosovo on Sunday and Monday in response to a NATO request to join the alliance's KFOR peacekeeping force following unrest in the north of the country, the Turkish defence ministry said.
* Myanmar has extended the smoking ban to 10 more areas in the Bagan-NyaungU Ancient Cultural Zone in NyaungU Township, Mandalay Region, the state-run newspaper the Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Friday.
* The Israeli military said two of its soldiers were killed in a security incident that occurred at the southern border with Egypt earlier on Saturday.
* OPEC and its allies begin two days of meetings on Saturday which may culminate in further production cuts of as much as 1 million barrels per day, OPEC+ sources told Reuters, as the organisation faces flagging oil prices and a looming supply glut.
* In efforts to boost trade and manage a balance of payments crisis, Pakistan has implemented Business-to-Business Barter Trade Mechanism to allow barter trade with Russia, Iran and Afghanistan, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce.
* The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated on Friday that Malaysia's economic growth will moderate to 4.5 percent in 2023. The IMF executive board said in a statement that the slower growth is reflecting largely the global headwinds.
* Cyprus seems to be on course for a record year for tourism as arrivals are already 8 percent higher than in the same period of the record year 2019 and almost 38 percent higher than last year, Deputy Tourism Minister Costas Koumis said here on Friday.
* Turkey's export value in May increased by 14.4 percent year on year to 21.7 billion USD, marking the highest figure of the month ever, a cabinet minister said Friday.
* Iran's top banker said Iran cannot provide the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the access to certain of its classified economic data because of the U.S. "unilateral and illegal" sanctions, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported Friday.
* Ukraine's combined grain and oilseed harvest is expected to stand at 68 million tons this year, down about 8.5 percent from 2022, as shown in a recent forecast released on Thursday.
* Electric car sales in Portugal increased by 157.1 percent in May 2023 compared to the same month of last year, the Automobile Association of Portugal (ACAP) said on Friday.
