* US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi met in Vienna on Wednesday and Thursday and pledged to keep lines of communication open, the White House said on Thursday, as Washington and Beijing seek a path forward amid strained relations.
* Officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations on Thursday discussed recent U.N. proposals on a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, which Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports.
* Bangladesh and Malaysia agreed on Wednesday to explore the possibility of concluding a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to add further substance to the steadily increasing bilateral trade and economic relations.
* The boundaries of the Amurskaya Advanced Development Territory (ADT) in the Russian Far East have been expanded, the government's press service announced Thursday.
* Ukraine has received $16.7 billion in financial aid from its Western partners so far this year, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said on Thursday.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia has appointed its new ambassador to Tehran, according to the official IRNA news agency.
* A high-ranking Egyptian military delegation arrived in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Thursday to meet with officials from Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC).
* Dangerously high temperatures are being recorded in various parts of the Asia Pacific region, such as Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Vietnam and more, an international relief agency said Wednesday.
* The Anak Krakatau volcano in the waters of Indonesia's Sunda Strait erupted on Thursday, throwing thick gray ash 3,000 meters above its peak, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
* The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was ending a near year-long global health emergency for mpox, a viral disease that led to confirmed cases in more than a hundred countries.
* The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that a US debt default prompted by failure to raise the country's debt ceiling would have "very serious repercussions" for the US economy as well as the global economy, including likely higher borrowing costs.
* Germany's finance ministry said on Thursday it expects 148.7 billion euros ($163.69 billion) less in tax revenues for the German state in the 2023-2027 period compared with previous forecasts, leaving no extra room in budget negotiations.
* The Czech government will cut subsidies and lift taxes as part of plans to deflate state deficits and get the fiscal gap below 2% of gross domestic product in 2024, Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said on Thursday.
* The Bank of England (BoE) has raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.5 percent, the highest level since autumn 2008, it said in a statement on Thursday.
