* Mongolian Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar has submitted a resignation letter to the governing board of the ruling Mongolian People's Party, local media reported on Friday, citing Yangug Sodbaatar, the party's general secretary.
* Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos confirmed that the 48th ASEAN Leaders' Summit and Related Summits will be held in Cebu from May 8 to May 9, said local media on Friday.
* China's commerce ministry on Friday announced trade barrier investigations into U.S. actions and measures which harm global production and supply chains as well as impede trading of green products.
* The Indian government on Friday approved proposals for acquiring defence equipment, such as aircraft, S-400 missiles and strike drones, worth nearly 2.38 trillion Indian Rupees (about 25 billion USD) for all three defence wings.
* Malaysia is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of its potential nuclear energy program, covering policy development, legal and regulatory frameworks, project feasibility, industry participation, stakeholder engagement and human capital development, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof said on Friday.
* Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday issued a directive to all provincial governors, ordering immediate and uncompromising law enforcement against fuel hoarding, price gouging and cross-border smuggling.
* India's federal government on Friday announced a cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel imports, and also rejected media reports of a lockdown-like crisis in the country.
* The Japanese government on Friday approved a stopgap budget of 8.56 trillion yen (about 54 billion USD) to cover expenditures for the first 11 days of April, as it struggles to secure the enactment of the regular budget plan before the start of fiscal 2026 on Wednesday, local media reported.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, claiming that talks between the two sides are "going very well."
* U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that Iran has allowed 10 "boats of oil" through the Strait of Hormuz, including eight bearing Pakistani flags, touting this as a "present" to the United States amid reported U.S.-Iran "indirect talks."
* U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday confirmed that the White House has sent a 15-point plan to Tehran via Pakistan in an attempt to end the war with Iran.
* New Zealand has updated its national fuel plan to respond to fuel supply uncertainty driven by the Middle East conflict.
* Australia's fuel supply looks good in the short term, but it will get more difficult in the coming months, said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday that Canada has met NATO's defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP, achieving the benchmark five years ahead of schedule.
* Malaysia and Indonesia will work towards aligning their positions in addressing the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader Kim Jong Un held talks with visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
* Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and visiting Tajik President Emomali Rahmon agreed Thursday to deepen their countries' partnership and alliance relations.
* Higher energy prices are expected to push up U.S. inflation more than declining import tariffs can offset, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Thursday.
* Russia remains a reliable guarantor of energy security and consistently fulfills its obligations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
* France has withdrawn its invitation to South Africa to attend the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit due to continued pressure from the United States, an official of the South African presidency said Thursday.
* The Russian Emergencies Ministry has delivered 313 tons of medicines to the Iranian government as part of a humanitarian aid mission, local media reported on Friday.
* The federal government of Austria decided on Friday to introduce a social media ban for students up to the age of 14, the Austrian news agency APA reported.
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday that Russia seeks to safeguard the interests of all Middle Eastern states, criticizing U.S. interference in the region.
* The latest talks between representatives of the Russian and U.S. lawmakers were productive and successful, Russian Ambassador to the United States Alexander Darchiev told RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday.
* Norway and Belgium on Thursday signed an agreement aimed at facilitating infrastructure for the transport of carbon dioxide (CO2) by pipeline from Belgium to the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
* Georgia is set to assume the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Forum for Security Co-operation on April 13, the Georgian Public Broadcaster reported on Thursday, citing the country's embassy in Austria.
* Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday announced a series of measures aimed at lowering fuel prices amid soaring global energy costs triggered by the Middle East conflict.
* The Romanian government on Thursday approved an emergency ordinance declaring a crisis situation on the crude oil and petroleum products market, including gasoline and diesel, for the period from April 1 to June 30.
* A group of 163 Russian specialists has been evacuated from Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and is scheduled to cross the Iranian-Armenian border, Alexey Likhachev, director general of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said on Thursday.
* Armenia and the European Union (EU) will hold their first bilateral summit here on May 4-5, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
* Russia said Thursday that no progress has been made on key issues in talks on the Ukraine crisis, including territorial questions.
* United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday urged the United States to promptly conclude its investigation into a strike on an elementary school in Iran and make public the findings, stressing that "there must be justice for the terrible harm done."
* Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Türkiye, and Pakistan held separate phone calls to discuss their efforts to facilitate direct negotiations between the United States and Iran, according to statements by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Friday.
* Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have reached an agreement to enhance defense cooperation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
* The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday that more than 1 million people in Lebanon have been forced to flee their homes since the escalation of the Lebanon-Israel conflict on March 2, warning of "a deepening humanitarian crisis."
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that more than 600 schools across Iran have been demolished or damaged since the United States and Israel launched military actions against the country on Feb. 28, with over 1,000 students and teachers killed or injured.
* Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Friday that Israeli strikes on Iran "will intensify and expand to additional targets."
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday that it struck Iran's primary military naval site for the production of missiles and sea mines in central Iran.
* The Pentagon is considering deploying up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give U.S. President Donald Trump more military options beyond diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
* Iran has issued Thursday "decisive" warnings to hotel owners in regional countries, especially Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to refrain from accepting U.S. military personnel, otherwise they will become legitimate targets for the Iranian armed forces, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
* Kuwait reported on Friday a coordinated attack of drones and cruise missiles on Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port, the second port strike in the country within the same day.
* Russia's next-generation crewed transport spacecraft is expected to begin space flights in 2028, a senior space official said Friday.
