* Russia-U.S. relations will not improve in the coming years and even decades, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday during an interview with local media.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday in Brasilia, according to the president's office, which said the meeting would take place at 6 p.m. local time (2100 GMT).
* The presidents of Algeria and Mauritania opened on Thursday a gate at the border of the two north African countries to strengthen bilateral ties and boost trade.
* Poland's prime minister said on Thursday the Polish and Ukrainian governments would meet in Warsaw on March 28, but did not accept a request by Ukraine's president for urgent talks on border blockades by Polish farmers.
* Farmers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other central European countries protested along Czech borders on Thursday, blocking some crossings as they demanded less bureaucracy and changes to EU policy.
* Israeli bombs on Rafah flattened a mosque and destroyed homes in what residents called one of their worst nights yet, while the Hamas chief was in Cairo for talks Gazans hope could bring a truce in time to head off a full-blown assault on the city.
* Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hailed bilateral relations and fruitful cooperation between the two countries during their meeting in Rabat on Wednesday.
* The Qatari government on Wednesday voiced its deep regret over the impediment of a draft resolution proposed by Algeria at the UN Security Council, which called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
* Two missiles were fired at a cargo ship off the southeast coast of Yemen on Thursday, causing fire onboard, the British Maritime Trade Operations Agency (UKMTO) reported.
* Iran's Oil Minister Javad Owji said on Wednesday the blasts that hit the country's gas transfer pipelines a week ago were an "Israeli conspiracy."
* Denmark will donate a new aid package worth 1.7 billion Danish crowns ($247.40 million) to Ukraine, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday.
* Albanian lawmakers on Thursday ratified a migration deal with Italy under which it will build processing centres for migrants sent on to its Balkan neighbour across the Adriatic Sea.
* Tunisia in 2023 intercepted more than 75,000 illegal migrants while they were attempting to enter Europe via the Mediterranean Sea route to Italy, the private radio station Mosaique FM reported on Wednesday.
* The United Nations team in Costa Rica has unveiled a Comprehensive Preparedness and Response Plan aimed at assisting refugees and migrants in transit, a spokesperson for the UN confirmed on Wednesday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has approved a 23-million-USD loan to enhance access to quality fintech education, research, and innovation at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in India.
* The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday welcomed the African Union (AU)'s decision to dedicate 2024 to education, given that the continent is home to the largest out-of-school population in the world.
* European Commission representatives will tomorrow announce that Brussels has unblocked COVID-19 recovery funds for Poland, the prime minister said on Thursday.
* German trade union Verdi on Thursday called a near-nationwide public transport strike for the second time this month, raising pressure on employers in a dispute over pay and working conditions.
* Italy has spent around 45% of the almost 102 billion euros ($110.7 billion) it has received so far from European Union COVID-19 recovery funds, short of a target set in 2022, a report from its government showed on Thursday.
* Economists have foreseen a firmer trade for Malaysia in 2024 after the country's exports rebounded by 8.7 percent year on year in January.
* Turkey's central bank kept its interest rate unchanged at 45 percent on Thursday, completing a monetary tightening cycle to set the course for disinflation.
* United Airlines will resume its direct flights to Israel on March 2, the U.S. airliner said in a statement on Thursday.
* More than two thousand people have been ordered to evacuate from towns in the west of Australia's Victoria state due to a bushfire burning out of control on Thursday.
* Deadly wildfires like those that burned through central Chile and killed at least 133 people this month will become more likely in the South American country as climate change makes the world hotter and drier, according to a report released on Thursday.
