* Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Friday announced a state of emergency in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, after a strong earthquake.
* Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has visited Governor-General Sam Mostyn to dissolve the federal parliament and formally call a general election for May 3. Albanese on Friday asked her to initiate the formal process for an election to be held on May 3 to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia.
* China is willing to work with the EU to strengthen dialogue and exchange, handle economic and trade differences in the proper manner, expand mutual openness, and promote the healthy, stable development of China-EU economic and trade relations, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said on Thursday.
* People-to-people exchanges between Russia and China, as an essential part of the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, are steadily advancing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday.
* The Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday that it has registered new Ukrainian attacks on Russia's energy infrastructures over the past 24 hours despite a previous agreement to halt strikes on energy facilities.
* The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Thursday that it plans to cut about 10,000 full-time employees as part of its "restructuring" effort.
* Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday reaffirmed that Greenland remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark, rejecting recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the United States would "go as far as they have to" to acquire the island.
* French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a range of initiatives to support Ukraine at a summit in Paris on Thursday, amid growing uncertainty over continued U.S. assistance.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday he will have a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the trade disputes in the next day or two.
* Mexico will give a "comprehensive response" on April 3 to a range of trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday.
* Poland is sending several dozen soldiers with heavy equipment to Lithuania to help with an ongoing search and rescue operation for four U.S. troops who went missing in Pabrade in eastern Lithuania, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Thursday afternoon.
* The Australian government has announced additional humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Pat Conroy, the minister for International Development and the Pacific, on Friday committed an extra 11 million Australian dollars (6.9 million USD) in "lifesaving" humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that the country has sent its official response through Oman to a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump seeking nuclear talks.
* The U.S. military launched more than 40 airstrikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Friday before dawn, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday that two rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel, with no reports of casualties or damage. One of the rockets was intercepted, while the other landed in Lebanese territory, the IDF said in a statement.
* Iran held a large naval parade on Thursday in both its northern and southern waters to show support for the Palestinian people, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
* The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that it killed Hamas spokesperson Abdul Latif al-Qanou in an overnight airstrike in northern Gaza.
* Algeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Moroccan embassy in Algiers on Thursday that it has declared Mohamed El-Sufiani, deputy chief of the Moroccan Economic Mission in Oran, "persona non grata."
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned with the escalating situation in South Sudan, warning that the country is on the brink of civil war, his spokesman said on Thursday.
* The African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in separate statements on Thursday, expressed "deep concern" over the escalating tensions in South Sudan, while calling for "maximum restraint" and dialogue to tame rising tensions.
* At least 14 million children face disruptions to nutrition support and services this year due to dramatical funding cuts, leaving them at heightened risk of severe malnutrition and death, according to the latest estimates from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
* Austria is set to experience its third consecutive year of recession in 2025, with economic recovery anticipated in 2026, according to forecasts released on Thursday.
* The Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) said Thursday it will again lower the benchmark interest rate amid the uncertainty generated by the changing economic policy in the United States.
* The current data suggest the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Hungary likely originated in Slovakia, a senior Hungarian official said Thursday.
* Malawi will resume uranium mine operations in June this year after over 10 years since the mine was closed due to low global prices, Minister of Mining Kenneth Zikhale Ng'oma said.
* Rwanda plans to expand its petroleum reserves from 111 million to 320 million liters within two years to ensure a six-month fuel supply, Rwandan Minister of Trade and Industry Prudence Sebahizi said on Thursday.
* Authorities have warned that a tropical cyclone is likely to cross the northern coast of Western Australia (WA) within 24 hours, bringing heavy rainfall and possible flooding.
