* More than 28,600 people were affected after a strong tornado hit a city in northeast China's Liaoning Province on July 3, causing an economic loss of over CNY1 billion (US$145 million), the local government announced on July 6.
* The combat against climate change as a business opportunity that needs major investments was a key message as EU ministers responsible for competitiveness convened in Helsinki on July 4-5. Meanwhile, it was also mentioned that the performance of the EU single market had worsened of late.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order on Friday to bestow posthumous honors to 14 submariners killed in a recent fire on one of the navy's research submersibles.
* European leaders attending the Western Balkans Summit in Poland tried to reassure public opinion on Friday that the European Union (EU) integration process is on track despite delays.
* Venezuela on Friday urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to intervene against the US trade and financial sanctions which are undermining Venezuela's economy.
* US President Donald Trump said on Friday mass deportation roundups would begin "fairly soon" as US migrant advocates vowed their communities would be "ready" when immigration officers come.
* Cameroon and Nigeria agreed on Friday to take further measures to boost multifaceted cooperation in fighting against terrorism along their borders.
* In the final stretch to Sunday's national elections, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras asked Greek voters on Friday evening to give him and his Radical Left SYRIZA party a new chance to build a better Greece -- this time without the restraints of the bailout programs.
* The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Friday that 152 illegal immigrants were voluntarily deported from Libya to Mali.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi reiterated on Friday the importance of unifying Arab efforts in face of the region's challenges to Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah during a phone call.
* The medical services of the Chinese and German armed forces started an integrated exercise on medical support in Germany's southern military base of Feldkirchen on Friday. The drill, codenamed "Combined Aid 2019," is the first time that China's paramedical forces in complete units and with field equipment have been deployed in Europe.
* French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner on Friday announced that 4,000 police officers would be poured into French regions to secure the country's tourism sites during summer holidays.
* Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi decided to extend the state of emergency for another month starting Friday. The state of emergency in Tunisia was first declared on Nov. 24, 2015, following a bloody bomb attack on a bus of the presidential guard, killing 12 agents.
* Russia successfully launched its Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket on Friday with a hydrometeorological satellite and 32 small satellites, the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos said.
* African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) commanders started a three-day meeting in Mogadishu on Friday to review and evaluate the implementation of the mission's exit strategy.
* US employers added 224,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate edged up to 3.7 percent, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
* Qatar's ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on July 9 to exchange views on the latest regional and international developments, Qatar's state news agency said on July 6. The White House said in June the visit would deal with economic and security ties as well as counterrorism issues.
