REUTERS/Ettore Ferrari/Pool TPX Vatican Swiss guard Dominic Bergamin kisses his wife Joanne prior to a swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican May 6, 2015.
1. A national exit poll from the UK general election projects Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives to have won 316 seats -more than expected though still shy of the number needed to win an outright majority - as Labour lost Scotland to the SNP and The Liberal Democrats were wiped out.
2. Events across the UK and Europe will commemorate the 70th anniversary of VE Day, which marked the end of WII in Europe.
3. Iranian generals on Thursday said the country "welcomes war with the US" as Western powers prepare for a fresh round of nuclear talks.
4. Chinese exports unexpectedly fell in April from a year ago, another sign of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
5. Alibaba announced Thursday that that COO Daniel Zhang would replace Jonathan Lu as CEO.
6. The US justice department is expected to investigate the Baltimore police department for civil rights violations after the death of a black man due to injuries sustained while in police custody.
7. An al Qaeda leader who claimed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris was killed in a drone strike.
8. New satellite images show an expansion of land area at two Vietnamese-controlled sites in the disputed South China Sea.
9. Rome's main airport was badly damaged by a fire that broke out during the day when the terminal was crowded, leading to dozens of flights cancellations and leaving hundreds of people stranded.
10. An unmanned Russian cargo ship burned up on re-entry over the Pacific Ocean, after mission control lost contact with the ship following its launch.
And finally ...