The Dominican Republic on Friday began expanding its anti-migrant border wall with neighboring Haiti, continuing President Luis Abinader's crackdown on illegal arrivals. The new 13-kilometer section of the barrier is being built in northern Dajabon province. It will take the wall's length to around 105 miles, covering about half of the entire border between the Dominican Republic.

Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner swap on Friday, said the Russian defense ministry.

In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements on June 2 in Istanbul, a group of Russian military personnel was returned from the territory controlled by Ukraine on June 20, the ministry said, not giving the number of released prisoners. "In return, a group of prisoners of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was transferred," it added.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan on Friday appointed Senate President Ilie Bolojan as the country's new prime minister, following weeks of coalition negotiations among major political parties.

According to local media, the new cabinet will be formed through a coalition between the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Save Romania Union (USR), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR).

Italian Prime Minister Meloni on Friday announced a new initiative to address debt burdens of African countries at an international meeting held in Rome. She co-chaired the meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which was attended by representatives from some African countries and international financial institutions.

China sent a new satellite into space on Friday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The satellite Chinasat-9C was launched at 20:37 (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket, and entered the preset orbit successfully. The launch marks the 582nd flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.

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The Iranian foreign minister met with top European diplomats in Geneva on Friday in a bid to ease the conflict between Iran and Israel.

After the meeting, the Europeans issued a statement saying they support continuing the discussions, and welcomed US efforts to seek a "negotiated solution." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany, as well as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, at a hotel in the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed a willingness to advance technical cooperation with friendly countries in military fields such as the joint development of weapons. Putin spoke at a plenary session of an international economic forum in St. Petersburg on Friday.

For the first time in Viet Nam, an AI-based system combining remote sensing and machine learning is being used to monitor seawater quality in Hạ Long Bay and Cửa Lục, Quảng Ninh Province. These areas are not only ecological and scenic treasures but also economic and tourism hubs, making water management a strategic priority.

For the first time in the history of Turkmen medicine, local doctors successfully performed a neurosurgical operation on a newborn with a diagnosis of “occlusive hydrocephalus. The patient was a one-month-old child from the Balkan velayat. The operation was performed at a domestic medical institution by Turkmen specialists and was successful. The baby’s condition is assessed as stable.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed guests in Rome for a summit aimed at boosting African economies, in a bid to curb illegal migration to the EU.

Meloni has prioritized cutting irregular immigration and launched a 5.5-billion-euro plan targeting 14 countries including Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Senegal to support industries from energy to health care. Meloni's plan aims to strengthen trade relations between Italy and African nations in the energy sector particularly.