* Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang assured his Russian and Indian counterparts of deepening bilateral ties, promising that "coordination and cooperation" will only grow stronger, in a show of solidarity with two of China's biggest neighbours.
* Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted French President Emmanuel Macron's invitation to be the guest of honour at France's traditional military parade held during Bastille day, on July 14th, the French presidency said on Friday.
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Wednesday's drone incident at the Kremlin was a "hostile act" and Russia would respond with "concrete actions".
* Heavy gunfire echoed around Khartoum again on Friday as civilians trapped in the Sudanese capital said the army and rival paramilitary forces were fighting on and ignoring their plight.
* Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected troops and equipment from Russia's southern military district on Thursday, the state news agency TASS reported.
* France must apologise to end a dispute over over what Rome considers insulting remarks, including some over its handling of immigration, Italy's foreign minister said on Friday, while also signalling the spat might be short-lived.
* Five Indian Army soldiers were killed and one wounded during an operation against militants in Kashmir on Friday, the army said.
* More than 1 million polio vaccines have been lost as collateral damage in Sudan during the upsurge in violence since April, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF told Reuters on Friday.
* Belgian police have arrested a suspect of Iraqi nationality on suspicion of having taking part in a series of bombings in Baghdad as part of an al Qaeda cell, the federal prosecutor said in a statement on Friday.
* The foreign ministers of India, Russia and Pakistan on Friday called for a representative government in Afghanistan and the protection of women's rights, almost two years after the Islamist Taliban swept to power in Kabul.
* The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Friday called on governments to allow civilians fleeing Sudan into their territory and not to send them back to the conflict-torn country.
* Iran has expelled four Azerbaijani diplomats a month after a similar move by Baku highlighted a deterioration of relations between the neighbours, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Friday.
* The pace of shipments from Ukraine under a U.N.-backed initiative has slowed as concerns grow over ships getting stuck if a deal is not renewed later this month, according to sources and data.
* Humanitarian workers have recovered at least 72 bodies from a village in east Democratic Republic of Congo hit by flooding on Thursday, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.
* Police arrested a suspect on Friday after eight people were killed and 14 wounded in Serbia's second mass shooting in two days in what President Aleksandar Vucic called a "terrorist attack" as the government approved tough new gun controls.
* The United Nations food agency's world price index rose in April for the first time in a year, but is still some 20% down on a record high hit in March 2022 following Russia-Ukraine’s crisis.
* US employers boosted hiring in April while raising wages for workers, pointing to sustained labor market strength that could see the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for some time.
* Norway's plan to nationalise gas pipelines owned by the Gassled company also includes an additional goal to take over other assets, including at the Nyhamna processing plant, a letter from the Norwegian energy ministry to the owners showed.
* The French government plans to spend two billion euros ($2.2 billion) through 2027 to improve cycle infrastructure and help people buy bikes in an effort to reduce car use and boost cycling, government ministers said on Friday.
* Bolivia's senate early on Friday morning gave final approval to a so-called "gold law" aimed at strengthening the country's foreign currency reserves.
* An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 struck on Friday off Japan's western prefecture of Ishikawa, authorities said, as media reported some buildings had collapsed while people were injured.
