* Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed global food security and the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis during a telephone conversation on Friday with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
* Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said on Friday he was "pleased" with his talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on removing trade barriers, but added that his visit was "just another step" in stabilising ties.
* Troops from Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged fire with weapons including mortars and drones on their joint border on Friday, killing one soldier from each side two days before top-level talks on a long-term peace deal.
* Palestinian militants in Gaza resumed rocket fire on Israel early on Saturday after Israeli aircraft bombed Islamic Jihad targets in the enclave overnight, as fighting entered a fifth day.
* Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered authorities on Saturday to identify and arrest all those involved in violent acts after former Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest this week sparked deadly unrest.
* The European Union must speed up the supply of ammunition to Ukraine as the country's forces need 1,000 artillery shells every day in the Bakhmut area alone, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he was in Rome to meet with Italy's president and prime minister, as well as with the Pope.
* Group of Seven (G7) finance chiefs on Saturday warned of heightened uncertainty and vowed to take actions to ensure financial stability amid concerns following US bank failures.
* Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday called a showdown over raising the US debt ceiling "more difficult" than in the past but said she remained hopeful a solution could be found to avert a first ever US default.
* British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday it would be "absolutely devastating" if the United States failed to reach agreement to raise its debt ceiling and had its gross domestic product "knocked off track".
* The risk of a US payments default is adding to problems facing a slowing global economy, with rising interest rates and high debt levels already choking back investments needed to fuel greater output, World Bank President David Malpass said on Friday.
* The US Trade Representative's Office said on Friday it was extending exclusions from tariffs for 77 of 81 Chinese medical product import categories related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
* India's retail inflation in April was recorded at 4.7 percent, the lowest in the past 18 months, official data showed on Friday. The retail inflation dropped from 5.66 percent in March, and 6.44 percent in February.
* The Russian government has allocated an additional tranche of 10 billion rubles (about 130 million USD) to support local grain producers, according to a press release of the Russian government.
* The United Kingdom's (UK) economy grew by 0.1 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, official figures showed on Friday.
* Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said on Friday that the country's oil reserves increased by 10 billion barrels and its natural gas reserves increased by eight trillion cubic feet.
* German railway union EVG called off a planned 50-hour strike due to take place from Sunday to Tuesday, state train operator Deutsche Bahn said on Saturday, after the operator took the matter to court.
* The Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers said the determination of the two countries to expand bilateral relations is evident in the measures and steps they have taken so far toward normalizing ties, the Iranian Foreign Ministry website reported on Saturday.
* The Israeli air force continues striking at militant targets in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, as hopes for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas-led militant groups appear to dwindle.
* Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday urged Lebanese authorities to send a ministerial delegation to Damascus to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, Lebanon's al-Manar TV channel reported.
* Up to 100,000 Ethiopians and 30,000 third-country nationals are projected to enter Ethiopia from Sudan, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
* United Nations agencies spent Friday preparing for the potential disaster caused by an intensifying cyclone Mocha in the Bay of Bengal.
* The death toll in the recent violence that shook India's northeastern state of Manipur has risen to 71, officials said Saturday.
* Mongolia on Saturday stepped up efforts to plant more trees across the country to combat desertification and protect the environment, its Ministry of Environment and Tourism said.
