Special Yoga sessions were held across the globe on Friday, marking the 50-day countdown to the International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2025.

In Australia's Perth, senior members of Health Support Services performed chair Yoga.

"We marked the 50 Day Countdown to International Day of Yoga 2025 with unwavering energy and unity of HSS Seniors of Perth, demonstrating some chair Yoga. Yoga for One Earth, One Health," the Consulate General of India in Perth posted on X.

In Sri Lanka's Kandy, teachers, principal and more than 50 students from the Kathiresan Central College in Nawalapitiya participated in the yoga session organised by the Assistant High Commission of India.

The Consulate General of India in Hambantota also organised a special yoga session for children at a detention home.

A total of 653 survivors have been rescued by emergency teams following Myanmar's 7.7-magnitude earthquake, the state-owned daily Myanma Alinn reported on Friday.

Both local and international rescue teams carried out search and rescue operations. They were also able to retrieve 779 bodies as of Thursday, the report added.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28. As of May 1, the disaster has claimed 3,835 lives and injured 5,105 people, with 105 others still unaccounted for, news agency reported.

Myanmar has experienced a total of 157 aftershocks following the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28.

The aftershocks ranged from magnitude 2.8 to 7.5, the department said.

South Korean Acting President Lee Ju-ho presided over his first Cabinet meeting on Friday and stressed the need to devote efforts to state affairs ahead of the June 3 presidential election.

Lee made the calls during the first Cabinet meeting since he assumed the interim leadership following the resignation of former acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok on Thursday.

Noting the National Assembly's passage of the extra budget Bill the previous day, Lee also said, "This supplementary budget was passed in just 11 days, the fastest in the past 20 years."

"It is now time for the government to fulfill its responsibility," he added.

On Thursday, the National Assembly passed a 13.8 trillion-won ($9.6 billion) extra budget aimed at helping disaster response efforts and revitalising the economy.

Top economic and financial policymakers on Friday vowed to maintain round-the-clock monitoring of the financial markets amid heightened political uncertainties following the resignations of the prime minister and finance minister, the finance ministry said.

The renewed pledge was made during an emergency meeting on macroeconomic and financial issues, chaired by acting Finance Minister Kim Beom-suk and attended by Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, and the chiefs of the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, reports news agency.

"The officials said it is regrettable that Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok inevitably resigned due to the impeachment motion, especially at a time when uncertainties in the economy and financial markets are high due to the U.S. tariff shocks, and with just one month to go before the launch of a new administration," the ministry said in a release.

Severe weather hit New Zealand on Thursday, leading to a state of emergency being declared in part of the country.

In the South Island, heavy rain has already caused flooding, and people have been evacuated from their homes.

Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced that Christchurch has entered a state of emergency at a press conference on Thursday.

Parts of Canterbury region have recorded between 100 and 180 mm of rain since the start of Wednesday to midday Thursday, some parts have seen more than double a month's amount of rain in that time, said the National weather authority MetService.

A massive wildfire raging through Israel has triggered a national emergency in the nation, forcing the evacuation of thousands and casting dense plumes of smoke over Jerusalem.

Authorities have described the blaze as one of the most severe in the nation's history, erupting on Wednesday -- coinciding with Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers -- and spreading swiftly due to strong winds and parched conditions.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sounded the alarm, warning that the fast-advancing fire could reach Jerusalem itself.

"This is a national emergency, not just a local one," he said.

Emphasising the urgency, Netanyahu added, "The priority right now is defending Jerusalem," and called for additional fire engines and the creation of firebreaks.

South Korea's exports gained 3.7 percent from a year earlier in April, marking a third consecutive month of increase, while outbound shipments to the United States dropped sharply on the Donald Trump administration's hefty tariffs, data showed on Thursday.

Outbound shipments came to US$58.2 billion last month, the highest-ever for an April, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports dropped 2.7 percent on-year to $53.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.88 billion, reports news agency.

Exports to the U.S. decreased 6.8 percent on-year to $10.6 billion, leading to a $900 million drop in Seoul's trade surplus with the U.S. from a year earlier.

The 2022 Hunga volcano eruption in Tonga released a record-breaking steam plume, triggering far-reaching and unexpected climate impacts, driven not by sulfur, but by water vapour, New Zealand and Tongan scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers, staff, and students from the University of Auckland have been collaborating with Tongan partners to explore the broader impacts of submarine volcanism in the Southwestern Pacific, following the Hunga eruption, the most powerful volcanic event of the modern era.

The research showed the submarine eruption blasted up to three billion tons of water vapor into the atmosphere in just one hour, sending moisture more than 57 km into the stratosphere and mesosphere, the highest volcanic plume ever recorded, a news release of the University of Auckland said on Wednesday.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday called for strengthening the role of the committee overseeing the ceasefire mechanism in southern Lebanon, urging continued international pressure on Israel to halt its violations, withdraw from occupied territories, and release Lebanese detainees.

His remarks came during a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, outgoing head of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, US Major General Jasper Jeffers, and incoming committee head Major General Michael Leeney, who officially assumed his duties on Wednesday.

According to a statement released by Lebanon's presidency, Aoun emphasised that "the Lebanese army is fully carrying out its duties in the south, particularly south of the Litani River, where it continues to confiscate weapons and ammunition and dismantle armed groups."

He cited Israel's occupation of five strategic hills and ongoing violations as "the main obstacle to completing the army's deployment."

Clashes intensified in the southern suburbs of Damascus amid rising sectarian unrest, according to a major monitoring group in Syria.

Renewed clashes involving light and medium weapons, including RPGs, were reported in Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Gunfire and at least one explosion, believed to be caused by a mortar shell, were reported in Sahnaya and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, prompting the General Security Directorate to enforce night curfews in both towns.

SOHR reported that the death toll from the ongoing violence had risen to 18, including nine residents from the areas of Jaramana, Sahnaya, and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, and nine members of pro-government forces.

At least 15 others were wounded, with several in critical condition. The casualty figures are expected to rise due to continued instability.