(Reuters) - A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck northeastern Iran near its border with Turkmenistan on Saturday, state Iranian TV reported.

TOKYO (Reuters) - A telephone conversation between Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Russian President Vladimir Putin is being arranged for September 29, Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.

(Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday authorised the country’s provinces to impose lockdowns wherever necessary to stem a rapid rise in coronavirus cases.

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday authorized the country’s provinces to impose lockdowns wherever necessary to stem a rapid rise in coronavirus cases.

MOSCOW, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Russia's daily tally of new coronavirus cases hit its highest level since June 22 on Saturday at 7,523, bringing its total to 1,143,571, the country's coronavirus task force reported.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China needs to further open its capital markets and financial industry to avoid being globally isolated，a senior foreign exchange regulator said on Saturday.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia reported 4,494 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the total number of cases to 271,339, official data from the health ministry showed on Saturday.

PARIS (Reuters) - A suspected accomplice of a man believed to have attacked and wounded two people with a meat cleaver on Friday in front of a Paris office building has been released, a judicial source told Reuters.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's prime minister-designate quit on Saturday after trying for almost a month to line up a non-partisan cabinet, failing despite French pressure on sectarian leaders to rally together to deal with the worst crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war.