Ukraine's highest anti-corruption court has ordered the pre-trial detention of Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi on suspicion of misappropriation of state land worth millions. The preventive measure is initially set to run until June 24. There is a possibility that Solskyi will be released on bail, the reports said. The minister had previously submitted his resignation but continued to deny any guilt. Parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk published the handwritten letter of resignation on Facebook on Thursday. Parliament will decide on the dismissal soon, Stefanchuk wrote.

Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to agree to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, as he continues to resist this step despite repeated pleas from Kyiv. "I think the reason is you can't incrementally help Ukraine, you know, a bit of this and a bit of that. Do we want Ukraine to win? Or do we want them to lose?" Wallace said.

One soldier died and nine others were injured when a lorry truck collided with an army cab in the area called Mankulam in northern Sri Lanka on Friday, police said. The police said the injured soldiers were rushed to a local hospital, Agency reported.

On the last day of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China, Beijing has warned of a deterioration in relations between the two powers. Although the two sides are talking to each other again, the "negative factors" in the relationship between the US and China have increased, said China's chief diplomat Wang Yi on Friday in Beijing.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has supervised a test-firing of new shells for a multiple rocket launcher, saying the weapon system will bring about a strategic change in shoring up the country's artillery force, state media reported Friday.

Sexual exploitation content in which minors are groomed or coerced into filming themselves has risen over the past few years, while the punishment for the crime has been toughened, with average prison terms nearly doubling in five years in South Korea, data showed on Thursday.

North Korea on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to further strengthening ties with Russia on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the first-ever summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Five commuters lost their lives and another was injured in a road accident in Surubi district along Afghanistan's Kabul-Jalalabad highway. The accident occurred on Wednesday night, Agency reported.

The overall direction of South Korea's alliance with the US will not change no matter who wins the White House in November, as the breadth and depth of the alliance has never been greater, its top envoy to Washington said Thursday.

A Greek navy frigate fired on two drones approaching the ship in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday morning - one was shot down. The second unmanned aerial vehicle then turned away, as reported by Greek radio (ERT), citing the Ministry of Defence in Athens. The frigate is continuing its mission, it added.