Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

N.Korea's Kim calls for stronger military as nuclear test work 'well underway'

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on the country's military to "bolster up their strength in every way to annihilate the enemy", state media reported on Friday, as new satellite imagery showed increased preparations for a possible nuclear test. Kim made the remarks during photo sessions with troops, state media broadcasters, and others involved in a massive military parade staged on Monday, which marked the 90th anniversary of the army's founding.

Expats flee as Shanghai's COVID lockdown drags

Shanghai's heavy-handed COVID-19 lockdown is driving scores of foreign residents to flee the commercial centre, denting the appeal of mainland China's most cosmopolitan city and prompting others to rethink their futures in the metropolis.

While no official statistics are available for departures in recent weeks, pet movers, property agents and law firms say they are seeing a sharp uptick in departure queries, while online chat groups swapping advice on how to leave the city amid lockdown curbs have swelled.

Ukraine, China in focus for Japan PM Kishida on Southeast Asia visit

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sets off on Friday for an extended visit to Southeast Asia, aiming to marshal regional responses to the Ukraine crisis as well as counter China's growing assertiveness in the region. As Asia's sole member of the Group of Seven (G7), Japan hopes to hold talks on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and consolidate responses in Southeast Asia, where only one nation, Singapore, has joined sanctions against Russia, officials say.

IAEA probing Ukraine report that missile flew over a nuclear power plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday it was probing a Ukrainian report that a missile had flown directly over a nuclear power station, saying this would be "extremely serious" if true. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Kyiv had formally told it on Thursday the missile flew over the south Ukraine plant on April 16. The facility is near the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk, some 350 km (220 miles) south of Kyiv.

Blasts on vans carrying Shi'ite Muslims in northern Afghanistan kill nine

Bombs exploded aboard two passenger vans carrying Shi'ite Muslims in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday, killing at least nine people, an official said. The blasts follow an explosion at a Shi'ite mosque in the city last week, which killed 11, as Afghanistan grapples with a rise in attacks by Islamic State following the withdrawal of foreign forces last year. {nL2N2WJ0K1]

S.Korea to lift outdoor mask mandate starting next week -Yonhap

South Korea will lift an outdoor face mask mandate starting next week, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday, in the country's latest step to ease COVID-19 restrictions as the Omicron variant recedes. The move would come two weeks after South Korea scrapped most of its pandemic-related precautions, including a midnight curfew on restaurants and other businesses, on April 18.

Tourist favourite Thailand's recovery lags on COVID rule changes

When 23-year-old Norwegian Anastasia Johansen and her boyfriend were planning their first vacation in two years, they considered going to Thailand but chose nearby Vietnam instead, for its simpler entry rules on the coronavirus. "The regulations to enter Thailand ... were complicated to me and we had to pay for the hefty PCR test," Johansen said.

Erdogan visits Saudi Arabia hoping for new era in ties

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday in the first high-level visit in years which he hopes will herald a new era of relations after intense efforts to repair strained ties. Erdogan met with King Salman in an official ceremony in the al-Salam palace in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Blasts hit Kyiv as U.N. chief visits, U.S. pledges new Ukraine aid

Russia fired two missiles into Kyiv on Thursday during a visit by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow pressed an assault in the east that drew new U.S. pledges of military and humanitarian aid. The rockets shook the central Shevchenko district in Ukraine's capital and one of them struck the lower floors of a 25-storey residential building, injuring at least 10 people, Ukrainian officials said.

Peru police carry out second day of evictions at halted Las Bambas mine

Peruvian police on Thursday are carrying out a second day of evictions at MMG's Las Bambas copper mine, seeking to remove a remaining indigenous community that had camped inside company property in a protest, a community adviser told Reuters.

The action at the Chinese-owned Las Bambas, which supplies 2% of the world's copper, follows an eviction on Wednesday of a separate community that had also camped inside the mine, settling near its massive open pit.