* Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday nominated Luis Montenegro as prime minister, following legislative elections and consultations with parliamentary parties.
*Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said on Thursday that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and Japan must actively draw lessons from that painful memory and history.
* The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday convened the Eighth Enlarged Meeting of the Eighth Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), state media said Friday.
* China and Japan held a new round of technical talks in Beijing on Wednesday over the safety of Japanese aquatic products, with the two sides achieving "substantive progress," according to China's top customs authority.
* Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that he and U.S. President Donald Trump further deepened their understanding of each other's views on tariffs, local media reported.
* A Chinese envoy on Thursday called on Russia and Ukraine to maintain the momentum of peace talks.
* Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that Turkey is well-positioned to serve as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia, offering a neutral ground for peace negotiations.
* The White House said on Thursday that Israel has signed off on a 60-day Gaza ceasefire proposal as Israeli army continues its military actions in the war-torn area.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that his government accepts U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff's proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, state-owned Kan TV news reported.
* A day after the U.S. Court of International Trade invalidated U.S. President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs and other duties, a federal appeals court on Thursday granted the Trump administration's request to temporarily pause the trade court's ruling.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday questioned the U.S. government for striking plea deals with Damaso Lopez Serrano, a member of a cartel the United States itself has labelled as "Foreign Terrorist Organization."
* Russian President Vladimir Putin noted Russia witnesses a growing number of large families at a meeting on Thursday with recipients of state awards.
* U.S. Trump administration is giving Harvard 30 days to contest U.S. Justice Department's ban on the university's enrolling international students, according to a "Notice of Intent to Withdraw" it from the Student and Exchange Visitor's Program filed with U.S. government on Thursday.
* Thailand is pushing forward its national transformation strategy with a bold vision to become a regional hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said Thursday.
* Greece will introduce tougher legislation to curb irregular migration, including stricter penalties for rejected asylum seekers and expedited deportation procedures, Migration and Asylum Minister Makis Voridis announced on Thursday.
* Sri Lanka Customs will launch several IT-based solutions in the coming week to make procedures more efficient for importers and exporters, said a spokesperson on Thursday.
* Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Thursday that Washington's decision this week to revoke the so-called licenses of transnational companies operating in the South American country has had no impact on oil production.
* The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Thursday marked the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers with pleas for lasting peace in the country.
* The Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to extend the authorization for UN member states to inspect vessels suspected of Libya arms embargo violation.
* The Ethiopian government announced Thursday that it has repatriated more than 700 nationals who were stranded in Myanmar.
* The Gaza Tribunal, an independent civil society initiative, concluded its four-day public assembly on Thursday at the International University of Sarajevo, issuing a declaration strongly condemning Israel's military operation in Gaza.
* Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Robert Golob, the prime minister of Slovenia made a joint declaration on Thursday, asking for an end to the ongoing violence in Gaza and the immediate entry of humanitarian aid into the region on Thursday.
* A senior Hamas official said Thursday that a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remains under review, even though it does not meet the core demands of the movement and the Palestinian people.
* Yemen's Houthi group took responsibility Thursday night for launching a fresh "hypersonic ballistic missile" attack against central Israel, saying it was aimed at Ben Gurion Airport.
* The Yemeni government announced Thursday the reopening of a key highway connecting the southern port city of Aden with the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa after a seven-year closure caused by the ongoing internal conflict.
* Revised data released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday showed that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by an annualized rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter, an upward revision of 0.1 percentage points from the initial estimate.
* Japan's industrial output in April was down 0.9 percent from the previous month for the first decline in three months, government data showed Friday.
* The Bangladeshi interim government is set to unveil next week a 7.90-trillion-taka (nearly 65 billion USD) national budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year starting in July.
* The Philippines' total external trade in goods decreased by 2 percent in April 2025 to 16.99 billion USD from 17.34 billion dollars in April 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
* The Nepali government on Thursday projected a 4.61-percent growth for the current 2024-25 fiscal year.
* The Israeli Ministry of Finance on Thursday night lowered its growth forecast for 2025 to 3.6 percent, from the 4.3 percent predicted in January.
* Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have increased by 70 million USD, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday.
* At least 21 bodies have been recovered and 10 others remain missing after torrential rainfalls triggered severe flooding in Nigeria's north-central state of Niger, local authorities said Thursday.
