Shares held firm and the dollar edged up on Monday as investors priced in reduced odds of a June rate hike by the Federal Reserve after a mostly encouraging U.S. jobs report, while oil prices jumped after Saudi Arabia pledged big output cuts.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that it saw no prospects for extending the Black Sea grain export deal, which is set to expire in mid-July, Russian news agencies reported.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Monday its forces had thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive at five points along the front in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk and killed hundreds of troops while Ukraine accused Moscow of spreading lies.

Moscow said on Monday it had thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive in the south of Ukraine's Donetsk region but Russia's main mercenary leader said Russian forces had lost ground around Bakhmut further north.

At least eight people have died and dozens are sick after drinking poisoned cider in western Russia's Ulyanovsk region, local officials said on Monday.

Prince Harry failed to appear on Monday at the High Court in London where he is suing a British tabloid publisher, with the judge saying he was surprised by his absence and a lawyer for the papers calling his no-show "extraordinary".

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India and the United States have concluded a roadmap for defence industry cooperation for the next few years, the Indian government said on Monday, a move expected to bolster New Delhi's defence manufacturing ambitions.

Libyan leaders were due to meet in Morocco on Monday to finalise a deal on new electoral laws, but any agreement they announce on voting rules or a new interim government is likely to trigger opposition that may further delay the political process.

LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel on Monday after top crude exporter Saudi Arabia pledged to cut production by a further 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from July to counter macroeconomic headwinds that have depressed markets.

India's official investigation into its deadliest rail crash in over two decades began on Monday, after preliminary findings pointed to signal failure as the likely cause for a collision that killed at least 275 people and injured 1,200.