World News Roundup: Shanghai district to require all shops to shut, residents to stay home; Russia halts gas flow to Finland, says Mariupol steelworks siege has ended and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Shanghai district to require all shops to shut, residents to stay home

Shanghai's central Jingan district, a key commercial area of the Chinese financial hub, said on Saturday it will require all supermarkets and shops to shut and residents to stay home until at least Tuesday. The district plans to carry out COVID mass testing from Sunday until Tuesday, it said on its official WeChat account.

S.Korea, U.S. vow new measures to deter N.Korea, expand economic partnership

The United States and South Korea agreed on Saturday to step up measures to deter North Korea, and expand cooperation on a range of measures from cybersecurity and nuclear energy to regional security and supply chains. In a joint statement issued after the first summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, the two countries vowed to expand their alliance to tackle issues beyond North Korea, while remaining open to talks with Pyongyang.

Biden, S.Korea's Yoon vow to deter N.Korea while offering COVID-19 aid

President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart agreed on Saturday to hold bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. weapons if necessary to deter North Korea, while offering to send COVID-19 vaccines and potentially meet Kim Jong Un. Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol said their countries' decades-old alliance needed to develop not only to face North Korean threats but to keep the Indo-Pacific region "free and open" and protect global supply chains.

WHO calls emergency meeting as monkeypox cases top 100 in Europe

The World Health Organization was holding an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the recent outbreak of monkeypox, a viral infection more common to west and central Africa, after over 100 cases were confirmed or suspected in Europe. In what Germany described as the largest outbreak in Europe ever, cases have been reported in at least nine countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom - as well as the United States, Canada and Australia.

Australia's Labor opposition poised to oust ruling conservatives

Australia's opposition Labor Party appeared on track to win Saturday's general election, television stations projected, as voters deserted the ruling conservative coalition in favour of climate-focussed independents and smaller parties. A win would end nine years in opposition for Labor and leader Anthony Albanese, but they may yet have to rely on support from the Green Party and a group of so-called "teal independents", who campaigned on policies of integrity, equality and tackling climate change.

Russia says 963 Americans are banned from entering, adds 26 new Canadians

Russia said on Saturday it had so far banned 963 Americans from entering the country - including previously announced moves against President Joe Biden and other top officials - and would continue to retaliate against what it called hostile U.S. actions. The largely symbolic travel bans form part of a downward spiral in Russia's relations with the West since its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Washington and its allies to impose drastic sanctions on Moscow and step up arms supplies to Ukraine.

Shanghai makes way towards COVID lockdown exit, Beijing plays defence

Shanghai cautiously pushed ahead on Saturday with plans to restore part of its transport network in a major step towards exiting a weeks-long COVID-19 lockdown, while Beijing kept up its defences in an outbreak that has persisted for a month. Shanghai's lockdown since the beginning of April has dealt a heavy economic blow to China's most populous city, stirred debate over the sustainability of the nation's zero-COVID policy and stoked fears of future lockdowns and disruptions.

Biden signs Ukraine funding bill -White House

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a bill to provide nearly $40 billion in aid for Ukraine as part of efforts to boost military support over Russia's invasion, the White House said. Biden, who is in Seoul for his first summit with new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, also signed a bill aimed at improving access to baby formula, the White House said.

Israeli forces kill Palestinian teen militant during clash, group says

Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian militant in clashes in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group said. The Israeli military said Palestinian suspects fired on its soldiers and threw fire bombs at them. "The soldiers responded with live fire toward the suspects. Hits were identified," the military said.

Russia halts gas flow to Finland, says Mariupol steelworks siege has ended

Russia stopped delivering gas to Finland in an escalation of a dispute over energy payments with Western nations, and claimed victory in a weeks-long battle for Mariupol's devastated Azovstal steel plant as it presses for control of the Donbas. Russia also launched what appeared to be a major assault to seize the last remaining Ukrainian-held territory in Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the southeastern Donbas region: where Russian-backed separatists already controlled swathes of territory before the Feb. 24 invasion.

(With inputs from agencies.)