* Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called for stronger labor protections and enhanced skills development, as the country marked International Labor Day.
* China is estimated to witness over 344 million inter-regional passenger trips on Friday, the first day of this year's May Day holiday. The figure represents a 3.4 percent increase from the same period last year, the Ministry of Transport said on Friday.
* China's Ministry of Commerce on Friday expressed strong opposition to the latest U.S. restrictions targeting test and certification as well as telecom-related sectors, urging the United States to stop its wrong practices immediately.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he may reduce U.S. military presence in Spain and Italy, one day after he announced that his administration is assessing a possible cut of troops in Germany.
* Germany is prepared for U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he is considering reducing the U.S. troop presence in the country, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed legislation to extend the country's martial law and general military mobilization for another 90 days, the parliament announced Thursday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will remove tariffs on Scottish whisky to celebrate the connection between the United States and Britain as King Charles III winds up his four-day visit to the United States.
* Azerbaijan's parliament voted on Friday to suspend all cooperation with the European Parliament, in what Baku described as a response to "anti-Azerbaijani activities" by the bloc's legislature.
* Russian forces launched six retaliatory strikes over the past week against Ukraine's military-linked facilities and gained control over additional frontline settlements, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday.
* Britain raised its terrorism threat level to "severe," the second-highest level, on Thursday after police declared a stabbing attack in London's Golders Green "a terrorist incident", Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said.
* The United States and Lithuania's Defence Materiel Agency have signed an amendment to a contract for purchasing the second HIMARS rocket artillery battery worth about 280 million U.S. dollars, Lithuania's Ministry of National Defence announced on Thursday.
* Russian strategic bombers conducted a routine patrol over the Barents and Norwegian seas, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Thursday.
* U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday he believes the ceasefire with Iran "pauses" a 60-day clock on congressional authorization for war.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned of devastating consequences of prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
* Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel "may soon have to resume military action against Iran."
* Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Friday reaffirmed Iraq's support for diplomatic negotiations, emphasizing the need for a final settlement that could help end regional conflicts.
* Iran has delivered a new proposal for peace talks with the United States to Pakistan, which is mediating the negotiations, the official IRNA news agency reported Friday.
* The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Friday it struck and destroyed more than 40 Hezbollah infrastructure sites across southern Lebanon over the past day.
* Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains in "complete good health" and continues to carry out his duties normally, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Friday.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri have strongly condemned Israel's "aggressive" actions against Lebanon.
* The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced Thursday evening a ban on its citizens traveling to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, citing the "current developments" in the region.
* Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Thursday urgently summoned Israel's charge d'affaires in Madrid, expressing his "strongest condemnation" over the detention of members of the Global Sumud flotilla, a pro-Palestinian humanitarian convoy bound for the Gaza Strip.
* Eleven countries, including Pakistan, on Friday strongly condemned what they described as an Israeli assault on the Global Sumud Flotilla, a pro-Palestinian humanitarian convoy, calling it a violation of international law and an obstruction of humanitarian efforts aimed at Gaza.
* Hamas, the Islamic Jihad Movement, and Hezbollah on Thursday condemned the Israeli navy's seizure of ships from an international flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip.
* The Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for one year, until April 30, 2027, with a reduced troop ceiling.
* Japan started an additional release of about 20 days' worth of oil reserves on Friday to ensure stable domestic supplies, which have been disrupted by the Middle East conflict.
* Indonesia and China have launched cross-border QR interoperability, marking a significant milestone in deepening financial cooperation and accelerating digital payment integration between the two countries.
* Cross-border taxi services between Singapore and Malaysia will be enhanced from May 4 to improve travel convenience while maintaining fair conditions for drivers, transport authorities said Thursday.
* Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned on Friday that supply disruptions stemming from the Middle East crisis are likely to persist and could worsen in the months ahead, raising the risk that some economies slip into recession.
* The British Royal Navy said on Friday that shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, with the number of vessels passing through the waterway falling from about 130 per day before the conflict to fewer than 10, a decline of more than 90 percent.
* New Zealand's exports to the European Union (EU) surged by 3 billion NZ dollars over two years under a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), the country's top trade official said Friday.
* Republic of Korea's export topped 80 billion USD for a second straight month owing to soaring demand for locally-made semiconductors, government data showed Friday.
* More than 1,000 Afghan families returned to the country in a single day, highlighting the continued flow of returnees from neighboring countries, the official Bakhtar news agency reported on Friday.
* Finland's economic recovery will be further delayed as rising energy prices caused by the crisis in the Middle East weigh on growth, household purchasing power and exports, the Finnish Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
* Euro area annual inflation is expected to rise to 3.0 percent in April, up from 2.6 percent in March, while economic growth remained weak in the first quarter, Eurostat said on Thursday.
* The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) issued its most severe heat advisory on Thursday, with the heat index in Thailand's capital forecast to hit "extremely dangerous" levels for the first time this summer.
