* France attaches great importance to relations with China and firmly adheres to the one-China principle, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding France is willing to continuously deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides.
* 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.
* U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian officials on Thursday in Miami, Florida, two days after their attempt to promote a revised peace plan in Moscow fell short, the New York Post reported on Wednesday.
* German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday announced a new aid plan for Ukraine before departing for Brussels to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. According to a statement issued by the Federal Foreign Office, Germany will procure 200 million USD' worth of defense equipment for Ukraine.
* EU member states and the European Parliament reached a deal on Wednesday to ban all imports of Russian gas by autumn 2027.
* Hungary will challenge the European Union's (EU) ban on Russian energy sources at the Court of Justice of the EU once the decision is finalized, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.
* Belgium on Wednesday rejected a European Union (EU) plan to use profits from frozen Russian assets to back a major loan for Ukraine, saying the proposal fails to address the financial and legal risks it faces.
* Norway will provide 5 billion Norwegian kroner (495 million USD) of military support to Ukraine, the Norwegian government announced on Wednesday. The new military support packages, under the "Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List" initiative, will cover critical equipment, including long-range 155mm artillery shells, missiles for HIMARS systems, and guided bombs, said a government press release.
* Australia on Thursday announced a 95 million Australian dollar (62.6 million USD) new military support package for Ukraine that includes defense force material and equipment.
* Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Wednesday that Georgia had faced strong external pressure in the early weeks of the Ukraine crisis.
* Germany's defense ministry said on Wednesday that the armed forces have reached initial operational capability with the Arrow-3 air defense system at the Holzdorf Air Base in eastern Germany.
* Romania's Ministry of National Defence has signed an intergovernmental agreement to purchase a HISAR-class light corvette from Türkiye, the ministry announced on Wednesday.
* Armenia and the European Union signed the "Armenia-EU Partnership Strategic Agenda" to deepen bilateral cooperation in various areas, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
* The European Union (EU) on Wednesday announced an additional 12 million euros in grants to support Roma inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), reaffirming its commitment to improving the living conditions and social rights of the country's largest national minority.
* Presidents of the Visegrad Group (V4) - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation during a meeting on Wednesday in the Hungarian city of Esztergom.
* Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday said he expects more tariff relief for Brazilian goods following his telephone conversation Tuesday with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump.
* The Lithuanian government decided on Wednesday that it will accept half of the migrants assigned to the country under the European Union's (EU) solidarity mechanism next year, while paying a financial contribution for the remaining share, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported.
* The 46th session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Supreme Council concluded Wednesday with the Sakhir Declaration, which emphasized regional unity.
* The 49th Conference of Arab Police and Security Leaders kicked off Wednesday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers in Tunis, the council said in a statement on its Facebook page.
* Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that the main problem preventing the resumption of talks between Iran and the United States is the latter's "excessive demands."
* Israeli fire killed two Palestinians in Gaza City on Wednesday, while a new Israeli remains recovery operation was reported in northern Gaza, hours after Israel declared that bodies received a day earlier were not those of the two remaining hostages.
* The Rafah crossing, a key passage between Egypt and Gaza, will reopen in the coming days to allow civilians to leave the devastated enclave, according to a statement from Israel on Wednesday.
* Jordan on Wednesday facilitated the return of 140 Palestinian children and their family members to the Gaza Strip through the King Hussein Bridge after the children completed medical treatment in Jordanian hospitals, the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) said.
* Yemen's Houthi group on Wednesday released 10 sailors, including nine Filipinos, nearly five months after they were detained following the sinking of the cargo vessel Eternity C in the Red Sea off western Yemen.
* The United Nations on Wednesday allocated 6 million USD for people displaced by violence in a northern Mozambique province, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
* China's man-made carbon emissions rose 0.6 percent in 2024, a significantly slower pace than the previous year and below the global average growth rate, the country's meteorological authority said on Wednesday, indicating that efforts to meet the country's climate commitments are gaining momentum.
* U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a proposal to loosen federal fuel economy rules for manufacturers of passenger cars.
* Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday called for renewed regional cooperation to address rising security, economic and climate challenges in South Asia, warning that multilateralism and global governance mechanisms were under increasing strain.
* Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday outlined a plan for its security agency to shift from defensive to proactive operations by 2026, prioritizing the fight against cybercrime, illicit drugs, and environmental hazards.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday called for strengthening the domestic market as a key strategy to accelerate the country's economic growth.
* The Ukrainian parliament on Wednesday approved the state budget for next year, the country's Finance Ministry reported. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said the budget prioritizes defense expenditures, social support and economic development.
* Bangladesh's central bank governor Ahsan H. Mansur said Wednesday that steps are underway to integrate more international payment platforms to boost global market access for small entrepreneurs.
* Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.6 percent year on year in October 2025 after rising 0.9 percent in September, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development said Wednesday.
* Cambodia's economy was forecast to achieve a 5.2 percent growth in 2025, down from its earlier projection of 6.3 percent, due to U.S. tariff imposition and border tensions, the country's Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth has said.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday announced a 100-million-U.S.-dollar policy-based loan to further support Sri Lanka's push to strengthen and modernize its power sector.
* Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Wednesday revised its casualty figures for the floods and landslides in Sumatra, confirming that 770 people have died and 463 remain missing across the three worst-affected provinces.
* South Sudan said Wednesday that it has secured a total of 52.5 million USD in climate funding to boost resilience in flood-prone areas.
* As health emergencies emerge at an accelerating pace, 31 countries and areas across the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region took part in this year's International Health Regulations (IHR) Exercise Crystal, an annual drill designed to test and strengthen pandemic preparedness.
* More than 210,000 people with heart and breathing problems sought emergency care in Iran from Nov. 22 to Dec. 1 as air pollution spiked in several cities, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.
