* After sealing pledges of a "new era" of strategic partnership with China's Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday is set to highlight the growing importance of trade near the Russian border in China's northeast.
* A total of 9.5 million Rwandans have been registered as eligible voters in the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for July 15, the country's National Electoral Commission (NEC) said on Thursday.
* Panama's president-elect Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday presented most of his cabinet picks, saying they offered a "combination of experience, youth and competence that the country needs to meet the great challenges that lie ahead."
* Slovak doctors will meet on Monday to assess Prime Minister Robert Fico's health and discuss the possibility of transporting him from Banska Bystrica to the capital Bratislava, local media reported on Friday.
* Russia does not rule out the possibility of downgrading its diplomatic relations with the United States in certain scenarios, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday.
* German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson have cautioned against tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) following Washington's announcement of hefty levies.
* French police reinforcements have started arriving in New Caledonia as part of a massive operation to regain control of the capital Noumea, the top French official in the Pacific island territory said on Friday.
* Panama's next government is considering erecting new checkpoints along a stretch of thick jungle on its southern border that has become a treacherous part of the journey for growing masses of U.S.-bound migrants, the incoming security chief said on Thursday.
* Bulgarian authorities at the Danube Bridge checkpoint in Vidin near the Romanian border have captured 62 immigrants hidden in two trucks, who were attempting to leave the country, officials said on Thursday.
* Iraq will host next year's Arab League summit in Baghdad, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Thursday.
* The International Court of Justice (ICJ) opened its two-day hearings on Thursday regarding South Africa's request to halt Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
* The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass a bill that seeks to undo President Joe Biden's temporary suspension of arms transfer to Israel.
* The U.S. Central Command said on Friday trucks carrying humanitarian assistance began moving ashore via a temporary pier in Gaza at 9 a.m. local time.
* U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a phone call with Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, reinforced the "unquestionable necessity" of protecting civilians and ensuring the uninterrupted flow humanitarian aid before any potential military operation in Rafah, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
* Israeli government splits over the war in Gaza broke open this week, after the defence minister publicly demanded a clear strategy from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as troops returned to battle Hamas fighters in areas thought to have been cleared months ago.
* Spain has refused permission for an Israel-bound ship carrying arms to call at the southeastern port of Cartagena, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Thursday.
* At least 35,303 Palestinians have been killed and 79,261 have been wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Friday.
* The Sudan Transitional Sovereign Council led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan commenced talks with the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Thursday, with the aim of opening humanitarian corridors amid ongoing conflict.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the decision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday to allow members to re-channel their reserve assets to multilateral development banks (MDBs) through the purchase of hybrid capital instruments, his deputy spokesman said on Thursday.
* Tunisian authorities foiled the attempts of more than 21,500 undocumented immigrants to reach Italy via the Mediterranean in the first four months of 2024, the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported on Thursday.
* China's economic improvement will be further consolidated and strengthened as macro policies take effect, Liu Aihua, a spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics, said on Friday.
* The National University of Laos (NUOL) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) agreed to cooperate in digital innovation and sustainable economic development.
* A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the recovery in manufacturing, tourism, and consumer-facing services would fuel Singapore's GDP growth to 2.1 percent in 2024 from 1.1 percent last year.
* Malaysia's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of 2024, helped by household spending and a turnaround in exports, though some analysts said the rebound could be short-lived with price pressures set to increase.
* Russia's Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Friday, a volume in line with recent days.
* Pakistan's Minister for Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said that Gwadar Port being developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will act as a key player in Pakistan's economic prosperity, an official statement said on Thursday.
* As many as 151 people have died to date from south Brazil's worst climate disaster on record and another 104 people remain missing, the Civil Defense agency said Thursday.
* At least 227 suspected terrorists were killed by troops in various anti-terror raids held across Nigeria in the past week, the military said Thursday.
