* U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Tuesday that his department will run out of money to pay employees' salaries the first week of May, as lawmakers have yet to resolve the prolonged shutdown of the department, which has stretched on for more than two months.
* A security zone on the Russia-Ukraine border is gradually being created, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) risks losing hundreds of millions of euros in European Union (EU) funding if it fails to accelerate stalled reforms, the EU Delegation to BiH warned Tuesday.
* France and Poland are considering joint military exercises as Paris seeks to involve European allies in its nuclear deterrence framework, Polish news website Onet reported on Tuesday.
* Spain on Tuesday called on the European Union (EU) to send a "clear and strong signal" to Israel by moving toward the suspension of their association agreement, citing concerns over international law and human rights.
* Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said Monday that the United States has paused ammunition deliveries to Estonia until at least the end of the conflict in Iran. If the war drags on, Pevkur warned, Tallinn may need to reconsider its earlier defense procurement decisions.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will extend the ceasefire with Iran as the current two-week truce is set to expire on Wednesday night.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that any move by the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would preclude a deal with Iran, warning that an agreement would be impossible unless "we blow up the rest of their country." He said in a Truth Social post that the Iranian leaders are also "included" in the potential move to bomb Iran.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday that diplomacy remains a tool to safeguard national interests and will only be pursued when conditions align with Iran's interests.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes Washington's extension of the ceasefire with Iran, said his spokesman on Tuesday.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday that he hopes the United States and Iran will continue to observe the ceasefire and conclude a comprehensive peace deal for a permanent end to the conflict.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday met with Iranian Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam, discussing the ongoing regional situation and peace efforts, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
* Qatar backs extending the ceasefire between the United States and Iran until a solution is reached, a Qatari official said Tuesday, warning that any closure of the Strait of Hormuz will escalate the current crisis from a regional issue to a global one.
* The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday that it had received reports that a cargo ship came under fire and is now stopped in the water west of Iran. The crew are safe and no damage to the vessel has been reported.
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday it had detained two vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without authorization.
* Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold their second ambassador-level talks at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S. media reported Tuesday. Israel and Lebanon will again be represented by their ambassadors to the United States, Yechiel Leiter and Nada Hamadeh Moawad, respectively.
* Ukraine on Wednesday resumed the transit of oil from Russia to some European countries through the Druzhba pipeline, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.
* Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov on Wednesday confirmed the suspension of Kazakh oil transit to Germany via Russia through the Druzhba pipeline, the Kazinform news agency reported.
* Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday announced the government has secured additional diesel shipments.
* France will maintain its energy support measures for households and businesses in May as fuel prices remain elevated due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East, Economy Minister Roland Lescure said Tuesday.
* Malaysia will review its plans to impose a carbon tax on industries as the economic spillover from the Middle East crisis continues to pose challenges, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Arthur Joseph Kurup said on Tuesday.
* The Latvian government on Tuesday approved a 40-million-euro (46.8 million USD) program to support individuals in purchasing environmentally friendly vehicles.
* Indonesia's central bank, Bank Indonesia, maintained its benchmark interest rate at 4.75 percent following a two-day board of governors meeting.
* Global rating agency Moody's upgraded Thailand's credit outlook to "stable" from "negative" on Tuesday, citing lower downside risks from external shocks and domestic political uncertainty, while keeping its sovereign rating at Baa1.
* Cambodia's trade volume with its fellow ASEAN member states hit 4.86 billion USD in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 10.5 percent, said an official report on Wednesday.
* Britain's unemployment rate edged down to 4.9 percent in the three months to February 2026, official data showed Tuesday, but the decline was driven by a rise in economic inactivity rather than stronger job creation.
* Indonesia plans a massive expansion of its railway network, aiming to add approximately 14,000 km of tracks across the archipelago to bolster connectivity and drive regional development, a senior official said Wednesday.
* China's transport sector handled 17.77 billion inter-regional trips in the first three months of this year, official data showed on Wednesday. The figure marked a 2.2 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to the Ministry of Transport.
* The number of Russia's electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles has surpassed 200,000 units as of early April 2026, according to industry data released Tuesday.
* Germany's Lufthansa said Tuesday it will cancel 20,000 short-haul flights through October as kerosene prices surge. The airline said the move is expected to save about 40,000 tonnes of fuel after prices doubled following the outbreak of the war in Iran.
* Extreme heat is severely disrupting global agrifood systems and threatening the livelihoods and health of more than one billion people, a joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday.
* The Philippines on Wednesday raised an El Nino alert, warning of possible dry spells and droughts across parts of the country from the coming months through early 2027, according to local authorities.
