* China and Russia agreed on Tuesday to fully implement the important consensus reached between the two heads of state on strategic security and advance bilateral strategic coordination toward higher quality. The agreement was reached at a meeting between Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
* Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, calling for safeguarding the outcomes of World War II (WWII) victory.
* The Trump administration has paused immigration applications, including green card (permanent resident) and citizenship cases filed by immigrants from 19 countries under U.S. travel restrictions placed earlier this year, U.S. media reported Tuesday.
* There is no compromise plan for the Ukraine crisis settlement yet after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff, TASS reported Wednesday, citing Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.
* Adjustments proposed by Europe to the Ukraine peace plan are aimed at blocking the peace process and are unacceptable to Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukrainian and U.S. delegations refined the Geneva peace plan during their recent meeting near Miami, Florida. He urged transparency in ongoing efforts to end the Ukraine crisis.
* The Ukrainian military said Tuesday that fighting in Pokrovsk (also known as Krasnoarmeysk) in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine was ongoing despite Russia's claims of seizing the city.
* Venezuela has approved a U.S. request to resume migrant repatriation flights, the country's transport ministry said on Tuesday.
* Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday sharply criticized the BBC for publishing what he described as fabricated allegations aimed at harming Georgia's national interests.
* Latvia, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania have inked a declaration on cooperation in joint procurement of medicines, said the Latvian Ministry of Health on Tuesday.
* Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met here on Tuesday with visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues.
* Amid continuing reports of Israeli attacks in all five Gaza governorates, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday that they answered a Civil Defense distress call and helped coordinate the rescue of injured people in Gaza City.
* The Israeli army on Tuesday imposed a curfew on the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, and demolished the homes of two Palestinian prisoners during military operations in the northern West Bank, Palestinian sources said.
* The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the March 23 Movement (M23) rebels on Tuesday traded accusations of violating a ceasefire in the country's east, each blaming the other for fresh attacks despite ongoing international mediation.
* China has continuously strengthened its inclusive finance support for small and micro firms during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with the average annual growth rate of inclusive loans to these entities exceeding 20 percent during this period.
* Cambodia will trial a policy granting visa exemption for Chinese citizens from June 15 to Oct. 15, 2026, said an official letter on Tuesday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will announce his selection for the next chairperson of the Federal Reserve in early 2026. Trump recently suggested that he has made a decision on the nomination.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday announced that it has approved a 300-million-U.S.-dollar loan to construct approximately 72 km of disaster-resilient roads along the southern coast of Java, Indonesia, aiming to improve connectivity and spur economic development in the island's southern regions.
* Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Tuesday he has enacted a law for strengthening transparency in the legislative process and meeting Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards Romania has pledged to adopt.
* Australia's Minister for Communications on Wednesday warned social media companies that they will face fines worth millions of dollars if they fail to comply with the social media ban for under-16s, local media reported.
* Hungary has submitted a 17.4 billion euros (20.2 billion USD) national investment plan under the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, exceeding its preliminary 16.2 billion euros allocation, the government said Tuesday.
* The Romanian government on Tuesday assumed responsibility in Parliament for a controversial bill aimed at reforming magistrates' pensions, raising retirement ages, and capping benefits.
* The expansion of poultry farms has created job opportunities for about 15,000 people in Afghanistan's western Herat province and helped the region achieve self-sufficiency in chicken meat, local media reported Wednesday.
* Global growth will slow to 2.6 percent in 2025, down from 2.9 percent in 2024, due to growing pressure from financial volatility and geopolitical uncertainty facing global trade and investment, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report released on Tuesday.
* Russia's inflation rate is expected to drop to about 6 percent by the end of 2025, below the government and central bank forecasts, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
* Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in the third quarter of 2025, according to official data released on Wednesday, falling short of economists' expectations.
* Saudi Arabia's Cabinet on Tuesday approved the state budget for 2026 with a projected deficit of 165.4 billion Saudi riyals (about 44.1 billion USD).
* Devastating monsoon rains and tropical cyclones have unleashed catastrophic flooding across parts of South and Southeast Asia, killing hundreds of people, displacing communities and causing major economic disruption, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday.
* The death toll from adverse weather triggered by Cyclone Ditwah has risen to 474 in Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) said Wednesday. Another 356 people remain missing, while more than 1.58 million people from 448,817 families have been affected nationwide, said the DMC.
* Türkiye's first domestically developed orbital transfer vehicle, the FGN-TUG-S01, has successfully started its mission in space, marking a major milestone for the country's emerging space capabilities, authorities said Tuesday.
* The search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume on Dec. 30, the Transport Ministry said on Wednesday. Exploration firm Ocean Infinity will recommence seabed search operations intermittently for a total of 55 days, the ministry said in a statement.
