Sylvie Goulard, the new French Armed Forces Minister, pledged to continue working on European defence projects and improve cooperation with Germany.
Martin Schulz, Merkel's Social Democrat rival, promised to make his campaign for September's federal election in Germany similarly as France's Macron did.
The US technology and engineering conglomerate GE signed business deals worth $15B with Saudi Arabia as a part of the kingdom's initiative to diversify its economy beyond oil.
BMW expects its R&D budget to increase in 2018 to cope with CO2 emissions reduction, electrifying engines and autonomous driving.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved IPO applications of ten companies, with the firms expected to raise around $920M.
Audi resolved a dispute with its Chinese dealers, which could have undermined the luxury automaker's business in the world's second biggest car market.
The Netherlands' government said it was considering a law that would provide Dutch publicly listed companies a one-year timeframe to weigh whether to reject any approach by a foreign buyer.
The ECB will need to demonstrate a backbone when inflationary pressure increases in the Eurozone, although an expansive policy is justified for now, the Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said.
The ECB may be forced to tighten its monetary policy once inflation is considered to be on a self-sustaining path despite high unemployment, the ECB Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure said.
The oil giant Saudi Aramco expects to sign 16 agreements worth $50B with 11 US companies to provide boost of bilateral trade between the countries.
With the Russian Ruble being pegged by 70% to the crude oil price, the currency is more likely to weaken rather than strengthen, the former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said.
The sovereign investment fund China Investment Corporation plans to increase direct investments in the US, as it expects greater trade and investment potential in the world's biggest economy.
The Russian government's plan until 2025 assumes that the nation's economy growth will be above the world's average in the period 2019-2020.
The sixth round of four-day long pan-Syrian peace settlement negotiation ended in Geneva without any breakthrough decisions.
The US President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, the first stop on a nine-day maiden overseas trip.
Alibaba Group revenue reached all time high level of 158.3B yuan, while net profit declined 42% to 41.2B yuan for the year ended March 31.
At least several people died and more than 100 were rescued after a ferry caught fire in western Indonesia on Friday.
The Iran's incumbent President Hassan Rouhani has an unbeatable lead in the presidential election, reports state IRIB TV.
The nations agreed to improve ties at a meeting between the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Pantaleon Alvarez on Friday.
Investment in China's tourism is likely to reach 1.5T yuan in 2017, an increase of 20% from the previous year, the China National Tourism Administration says.
The Chinese economy is likely to advance 6.8% in the second quarter, remaining stable, albeit with a slightly weaker pace of growth, the State Information Center revealed.
An unofficial tally showed that Hassan Rouhani, the current Iranian President, leads in the Iran's Presidental Election and is expected to get a second term.
According to a draft of US President's speech, Trump is set to focus on the need for Saudi Arabia to confront radical Islam within the country.
On Saturday, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the center of the Philippine archipelago at 540 km depth, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.