* Iraq's cabinet on Wednesday approved Nov. 11, 2025, as the date for the country's next parliamentary elections, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani.
* South Africa's ruling party African National Congress (ANC) said Tuesday that it remains committed to the Government of National Unity (GNU) and will hold talks with all political parties following disagreements over the national budget bills.
* The death toll from Myanmar's earthquake reached 3,649 as of 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday, the Information Team of Myanmar's State Administration Council reported. In addition, 5,018 people were injured and 145 remained missing due to the earthquake, the report said.
* China will raise the additional tariffs on products imported from the United States to 84 percent, effective from 12:01 p.m. Thursday, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced Wednesday.
* Senior officials of the Japanese government and central bank held emergency talks Wednesday, as Tokyo stocks continued to fluctuate sharply amid growing concerns of a global economic slump triggered by sweeping U.S. tariffs.
* European Union (EU) member states on Wednesday backed the bloc's first package of retaliatory measures against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
* Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that the country has "enormous opportunities" with regional partners in the wake of sweeping U.S. tariffs.
* Mexico should adopt strategic measures to strengthen infrastructure and develop technological capabilities to make it more resilient and competitive amid U.S. protectionist trade policies, the International Chamber of Commerce Mexico said Tuesday.
* Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday confirmed that Canada's new countermeasures announced last week in response to the U.S. tariffs on the Canadian auto industry will come into force at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 9.
* The Spanish government on Tuesday passed a range of measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the 20 percent tariff imposed on goods produced in the European Union (EU) by U.S. President Donald Trump.
* A Chinese military spokesperson on Wednesday said that the Chinese military stands ready to work with the Indian side to safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas.
* Russian and U.S. officials will hold a new round of talks in Istanbul in the coming days, local media reported Tuesday, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.
* Cambodia and Malaysia on Tuesday launched the second phase of cross-border QR code payment linkage, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) said in a press release.
* The presence of any foreign troops in Ukraine would be seen as a threat to Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.
* Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kiev has developed its position on the proposed minerals agreement with the United States and has outlined its vision for the text, the Ukrinform news agency reported Tuesday.
* China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday night released a notice urging Chinese tourists to fully assess the risks of traveling to the United States, and to exercise caution when traveling to the country.
* Russia has declared the defense attache at the Romanian embassy in Moscow and his deputy personae non gratae, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
* The Indian government has terminated a trans-shipment facility that allowed Bangladesh to export cargo to third countries through Indian land customs stations, officials said Wednesday.
* The United States will move troops and equipment from Jasionka, a key logistics hub near the Ukrainian border, to other locations in Poland, Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) on Tuesday.
* Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that under the guidelines of the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the upcoming negotiations with the United States in Oman will be held indirectly.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged immediate and unimpeded aid access to the Gaza Strip, as Israel's month-long blockade worsened the humanitarian crisis and deepened the suffering of civilians in the enclave.
* The Indonesian government is currently discussing a new policy aimed at eliminating import quotas to facilitate and streamline trade, a senior official said on Wednesday.
* Malta's trade with the United States saw a sevenfold decrease in the first two months of 2025 when compared to the same period last year, according to national statistics published on Wednesday.
* Greece was hit by a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, called by trade unions to protest against inadequate salary increases amid the high cost of living.
* Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced early Wednesday that Indonesia is ready to evacuate Palestinian civilians affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Gaza. In the first phase of the evacuation, at least 1,000 individuals are expected to be included.
* Yemen's Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea said Wednesday that the group had launched fresh attacks at a "military target" in Tel Aviv, and the USS Harry S. Truman north of the Red Sea.
* A ministerial conference of the Khartoum Process kicked off on Wednesday in Cairo, aiming at combating migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
* Algerian naval forces rescued 23 undocumented migrants of African origin after their boat was found stranded off the country's northern coast, the Defense Ministry announced Tuesday.
* Economic growth in the Pacific is projected to moderate to 3.9 percent in 2025 and 3.6 percent in 2026, said a new report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast a moderate economic growth for Laos, projecting a 3.9 percent increase in 2025 and 4 percent in 2026, with logistics and tourism services serving as key drivers of the country's growth.
* Cambodia is expected to maintain a steady economic growth trajectory in 2025 and 2026, driven by external demand for manufactured goods and the continued recovery in the tourism sector, said an Asian Development Bank (ADB) economic report released on Wednesday.
* The Philippines' gross domestic product is forecast to rise by 6 percent in 2025 and 6.1 percent in 2026, higher than the 5.6 percent growth last year, a new report by Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday.
* Mongolia's economy will continue to grow, driven by increased mining output and services in 2025 and 2026, particularly as copper concentrate production at the Oyu Tolgoi mine ramps up further, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday.
* The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday lowered the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 3.5 percent, in line with widespread expectations.
* Azerbaijan's non-oil exports rose 14.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 to $771.9 million, as the government's efforts to diversify the economy beyond hydrocarbons gained further traction, the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication said on Tuesday.
* Over 15 million foreign visitors traveled to Kazakhstan in 2024, the press service of the Kazakh Prime Minister reported on Tuesday.
* The death toll from an outbreak of a tropical disease linked to heavy rainfall in Australia's northeast has increased to 26.
* A three-year-old girl in western Mexico died after contracting avian influenza A (H5N1), becoming the country's first fatal human case of the disease, health authorities said Tuesday.
