* The United Nations on Friday paid tribute to the nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who lost their lives in the line of duty over the past 78 years, on the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, observed annually on May 29.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he does not see the point in a personal meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Thursday, Zelensky published a letter proposing a face-to-face meeting with Putin, with the participation of Europe and the United States, to discuss the peace process.
* St. Petersburg came under a massive Ukrainian drone attack on Saturday, St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said on his Max channel. According to the governor of the Leningrad region, which surrounds St. Petersburg, 86 UAVs had been shot down by Saturday morning.
* The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for maximum military restraint and full adherence to the localized ceasefire on Friday, after Russian personnel were reportedly injured near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
* Japan's parliament enacted a 3.11-trillion-yen (about 19 billion USD) supplementary budget for fiscal 2026 on Friday to ease the impact of higher energy prices amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
* The French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) on Friday launched an investigation into "torture" and "war crimes" in connection with the alleged violence against French nationals who were part of a Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.
* Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed on Friday that Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has imposed travel bans on Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
* China and Greece have been urged to step up practical cooperation in maritime affairs, shipping finance and green development during the Posidonia International Shipping Exhibition 2026 in Athens, as both sides seek to advance the shipping industry's transition toward decarbonization, digitalization and smart operations.
* NATO's Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF Finland) was officially established on Saturday, with a Swedish battalion-sized battlegroup serving as its core, Finland's Ministry of Defence said.
* A ceremony marking the start of construction of the first nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan was held in the country's Jizzakh region overnight Thursday, according to the Uzbek presidential press service.
* Poland will introduce a temporary airspace restriction zone in the eastern part of the country from June 10 to Sept. 9 for national security reasons, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) has announced.
* A maritime drone self-detonated on Friday morning in Romania's Constanta port, causing no casualties, said a press release from Romania's Ministry of National Defense.
* Repair work has begun on a key external power line serving the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the plant's operator said Friday.
* More than 3,500 Afghan refugees returned to their homeland Afghanistan in a single day on Friday, reported the official Bakhtar News Agency on Saturday. A total of 682 families, which were composed of 3,574 individuals, returned to Afghanistan on Friday, the state-owned media outlet added.
* Kuwait and Bahrain on Saturday both condemned the renewed Iranian attacks on their countries, calling them a flagrant violation of sovereignty and a dangerous escalation threatening regional stability.
* U.S. forces struck some of Iran's radar sites on Friday, the U.S. military said, in a fresh escalation that threatens the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.
* The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Friday night that it detected surface-to-air missile launches by Hezbollah, targeting Israeli Air Force aircraft.
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that it attacked U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain earlier in the day in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Qeshm Island and Sirik County in southern Iran.
* A senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to make decisions independently of Israel, stop the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, and release Iran's frozen assets.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Lebanon is not a "bargaining chip" for Iran.
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday slammed Iran for using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States and criticized Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem, saying the Lebanese people were tired of war and deserved to live in peace.
* Egyptian, Qatari, and Saudi top diplomats held separate phone calls on Friday to address rapid developments in the region, focusing on the Iranian crisis and the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
* Iran's semi-official Fars news agency on Friday rejected a report by Saudi-owned Al Arabiya network that Tehran has agreed to transfer its enriched uranium to a third country.
* Kuwait has handed over Afghanistan's embassy to a senior diplomat appointed by the Afghan government, local media outlet TOLOnews reported late Thursday.
* Egypt's Minister of Defense and Military Production Ashraf Salem Zaher here on Saturday signed a defense cooperation agreement with visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)'s Defense Minister Zukan Helez, read a statement by the Egyptian Defense Ministry.
* The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday that global goods trade remained resilient in the first half of 2026 despite headwinds from the ongoing Middle East conflict, partly thanks to rising artificial intelligence (AI)-related demand.
* Speaking at a plenary session of the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for launching a new investment cycle to restore economy, as Russia's economic growth has moderated.
* The rising oil prices and lingering tariff uncertainty have clouded the outlook for the U.S. employment market, despite its recent rebound, experts have warned. The U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.
* The Indian economy registered a full-year real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 7.7 percent for the financial year 2025-26 (April 2025-March 2026) as compared to 7.1 percent in FY 2024-25, government data released on Friday showed.
* Cambodia's international tourist arrivals plummeted almost 46 percent to 1.3 million in the first four months of 2026, down from 2.4 million over the same period last year, said a Ministry of Tourism report released on Friday.
* The South African National Treasury has welcomed Fitch Ratings' decision to upgrade the country's long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings. On Friday, Fitch upgraded South Africa's Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings from 'BB-' to 'BB' and maintained a stable outlook.
* Turkish authorities have banned entry to forested areas across Istanbul from June 8 to Oct. 15, the Istanbul Governor's Office announced Saturday. The measure also prohibits lighting fires near forests, including barbecues and camp stoves, among others, it said.
* The Mauritian government has imposed a temporary entry ban on foreign nationals who have traveled to, transited through, or stayed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, or South Sudan over the past 21 days following the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus.
* Kuwait resumed air traffic operations at 6:15 a.m. local time (0315 GMT) on Saturday after a two-hour closure of its airspace as a precautionary measure, the country's civil aviation authority said.
* Poland will restrict smartphone use in elementary schools across the country from Sept. 1 to protect young people from digital addiction and harmful content, the Polish government has announced.
* The Ministry of Emergency Management on Saturday activated a Level-IV emergency response for geological disasters in Chongqing and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as a new round of heavy rainfall hits southern China.
* Recorded influenza cases in Australia have plummeted 65 percent compared to the same period last year, but infectious diseases experts are urging the public not to underestimate the risk.
