* Republic of Korean President Lee Jae-myung will visit Japan for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru later this month, Lee's office said Wednesday. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told a press briefing that Lee will make a two-day visit to Japan from Aug. 23 for the summit meeting with the Japanese premier.
* Thailand's Constitutional Court announced on Wednesday it will hand down its verdict for a case against suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over her allegation of ethics violations on Aug. 29.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday had a telephone conversation with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and updated him on the upcoming meeting between the Russian and U.S. leaders, according to the Kremlin. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the further development of bilateral relations, the Kremlin said in a statement.
* Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York next month, local newspaper Indian Express said Wednesday.
* Pakistan and the United States on Tuesday reaffirmed their shared commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations during the latest round of the Pakistan-U.S. Counterterrorism Dialogue in Islamabad, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.
* Russia's nuclear-powered missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov is expected to begin sea trials in August or September, local media reported on Wednesday.
* The Ukrainian forces struck the Unecha oil pumping station in western Russia's Bryansk region overnight, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Wednesday.
* Türkiye and Georgia will continue to work "shoulder to shoulder" for regional cooperation, peace and development, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.
* Twenty-four foreign ministers from Britain, France, Australia, and other countries have jointly pledged to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, stressing that the humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached what they called "unimaginable levels."
* The joint military drills of Belarusian and Russian forces will take place from Sept. 12 to 16, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Tuesday on social media that Türkiye is willing to host a four-nation summit to advance the peace process in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
* Any agreement between the United States and Russia on Ukraine must uphold the country's sovereignty, the Speaker of the Lithuanian parliament Saulius Skvernelis said on Tuesday.
* The European Union (EU) should not set conditions for talks to which its leaders are not invited, but should initiate its own summit with Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday, explaining why Hungary did not join a joint EU statement on Ukraine.
* China's Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday that on Aug. 14, 2025, it will launch an expiry review of anti-dumping measures aimed at single-mode optical fibers originating in India.
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) at its next meeting in September, adding the Fed should have reduced the rates in June.
* Hundreds of people staged protests in the Greek port city of Volos on Wednesday against the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship carrying tourists and soldiers, Greek public broadcaster ERT reported.
* Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir on Wednesday approved "the main framework" of a government plan to expand the offensive in the Gaza Strip to areas not yet under Israeli control, the army said.
* A Hamas delegation arrived here in the Egyptian capital on Tuesday to discuss resuming Gaza ceasefire talks, with the goal of reaching a temporary 60-day truce agreement, according to Egypt's Al-Qahera News channel.
* The health authorities in Gaza reported that five people died over the past 24 hours due to malnutrition and starvation, bringing the total number of malnutrition-related deaths to 227, a UN spokesperson said Tuesday.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he believes the prospects for a partial ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas are no longer possible.
* Jordan on Tuesday hosted a trilateral meeting with Syria and the United States to discuss the situation in Syria, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
* UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said Tuesday that Yemen must not be drawn further into the regional turmoil, including the war in Gaza.
* Iran's First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref said here Tuesday that under favorable conditions, nuclear negotiations with the United States can be held directly, according to the official news agency IRNA.
* Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir on Wednesday approved the main framework of a government plan to expand the offensive in Gaza to areas not yet under Israeli control.
* Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told Secretary-General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, on Wednesday that Lebanon is willing to cooperate with Iran within the bounds of sovereignty and mutual respect, while rejecting any interference in its internal affairs.
* The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats has surpassed 50,000 since Keir Starmer became British prime minister in July 2024, Home Office data showed on Tuesday.
* Russia's foreign trade surplus in January-June 2025 fell by 18.4 percent year-on-year to 63.9 billion USD, the Federal Customs Service (FCS) said on Tuesday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has approved a loan of 400 million USD to help the Philippines reduce hunger, food insecurity, and poor nutrition amid escalating climate and disaster risks.
* The Indonesian government will almost double the budget for President Prabowo Subianto's flagship free nutritious meal program in 2026 to over 300 trillion rupiahs (about 18.52 billion USD), aiming to reach 82.9 million beneficiaries, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said here on Wednesday.
* Cambodia exported products worth 2.87 billion USD to the European Union (EU) market in the first seven months of 2025, up 18 percent from 2.43 billion dollars over the same period last year, said an official report on Wednesday.
* The Bangladeshi government has raised its export target by 16.5 percent to 63.5 billion USD for the current fiscal 2025-2026 year from July 2025 to June 2026.
* China's Ministry of Water Resources initiated a Level-IV flood-control emergency response on Wednesday for four provincial-level regions, as Typhoon Podul is forecast to bring torrential rainfall across extensive areas of the country in the coming days.
* Australia has launched a new forecasting system aimed at predicting marine heatwave disasters, offering up to three months' advance warning of extreme ocean temperatures and potential impacts.
* Greece is battling dozens of wildfires across the country, forcing mass evacuations and damaging homes, farmland, and industrial facilities as extreme winds and heat hamper firefighting efforts.
* One man has died late Monday night after a wildfire swept through the outskirts of Tres Cantos, a commuter town located approximately 20 km north of the Spanish capital Madrid.
