Reuters World News Summary

A so-called declaration of principles was signed in Saudi Arabia late on Thursday after nearly a week of talks between the two factions, which had shared power before falling out over a transition to civilian rule. US military to bolster defensive posture in Gulf after Iran seizes tankers The U.S. military will work to bolster the defensive posture in the Gulf region following Iran's seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels in recent months, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Two soldiers killed in new Azerbaijan-Armenia clash ahead of peace talks

Troops from Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged fire with weapons including mortars and drones on their joint border on Friday, killing one soldier from each side two days before top-level talks on a long-term peace deal. It was the second straight day of exchanges of fire - ahead of Sunday's planned meeting in Brussels between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan granted bail, leaves court

A Pakistani court ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan's release on bail for two weeks, his lawyer said on Friday, after his arrest in a land fraud case ignited deadly protests and a tussle with the military. Khan departed the court premises, headed towards his hometown Lahore, amidst high security. He had remained inside for hours after being granted bail, saying he was not being allowed to leave by security officials.

South Africa rejects U.S. accusations of arms shipment to Russia

South African officials on Friday hit back at U.S. accusations that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town late last year, a move investors fear could lead Washington to impose sanctions. The U.S. ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said on Thursday he was confident that a Russian ship under U.S. sanctions took aboard weapons from the Simon's Town base in December, suggesting the transfer was not in line with Pretoria's stance of neutrality in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Russia acknowledges retreat north of Bakhmut, Wagner boss calls it a 'rout'

Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine's battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, in a retreat that the head of Russia's Wagner private army called a rout. The setback for Russia, which follows similar reports of Ukrainian advances south of the city, suggests a coordinated push by Kyiv to encircle Russian forces in Bakhmut, Moscow's main objective for months during the war's bloodiest fighting.

Warring Sudanese factions fight on after failing to agree truce

Air strikes and artillery pounded Khartoum on Friday after Sudan's warring army and Rapid Support Forces paramilitary failed to agree to a ceasefire despite committing to protect civilians and allow humanitarian access. A so-called declaration of principles was signed in Saudi Arabia late on Thursday after nearly a week of talks between the two factions, which had shared power before falling out over a transition to civilian rule.

US military to bolster defensive posture in Gulf after Iran seizes tankers

The U.S. military will work to bolster the defensive posture in the Gulf region following Iran's seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels in recent months, U.S. officials said on Friday. In the past two years, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigational rights of 15 internationally flagged commercial vessels, officials said.

Exclusive-IAEA chief aims to present Zaporizhzhia deal to UN this month -diplomats

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi plans to present an agreement with Russia and Ukraine on protecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the U.N. Security Council this month, indicating a deal is close, four diplomats have told Reuters. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Grossi has been trying for months to secure an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident from military activity like shelling at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which is in Ukraine and has been occupied by Russia for more than a year.

Communities torn as Ukraine turns its back on Moscow-linked church

As a crowd gathered outside the white-brick Orthodox church in the village of Karyshkiv in western Ukraine, raised voices quickly turned to shouting. Soon old women were crying.

The villagers were quarrelling over the affiliation of their parish church, which belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) that the government in Kyiv accuses of being under the influence of Moscow.

Exclusive: G7 summit statement to target China's 'economic coercion' - source

Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries are set to issue a statement of concern about China's use of "economic coercion" in its dealings abroad when they gather next week, according to a U.S. official familiar with the discussions. The statement, a likely component of the overall communique that will be released by leaders during the May 19-21 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, is expected to be paired with a broader written proposal for how the seven advanced economies will work together to counter "economic coercion" from any country.

Six children, Russian official reported hurt in Luhansk missile strike

Russian-installed officials on Friday said missiles fired by Ukrainian forces had injured six children and a Russian parliamentarian and damaged two disused factories in eastern Luhansk region's main city, about 100 km (60 miles) behind the frontlines. Luhansk authorities, in a post on Telegram, said two Ukrainian-made "grom" tactical missiles damaged or destroyed administrative buildings at a packaging plant and a factory producing cleaning materials in the city of Luhansk. Windows had been blown out in five homes, it said.