* New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Wednesday announced that the country's general election will be held on Nov. 7, 2026.
* As many as 3,484 candidates from various political parties and independents have filed their nominations under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) category for the March 5 election of the House of Representatives in Nepal, said an official on Tuesday evening.
* Around 2,000 candidates are set to contest the polls for Bangladesh's 13th general election to be held next month, according to the Bangladeshi Election Commission.
* Robert Beugre Mambe has been reappointed as prime minister of Cote d'Ivoire, according to a statement released on Wednesday by the country's presidency. Mambe previously served as prime minister from 2023 until the government was dissolved earlier this month.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned Israel's demolition of a UN compound in East Jerusalem, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN chief, said in a statement.
* Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Wednesday convened a meeting of the ad-hoc committee to combat online scams, as the Southeast Asian country ramped up its fight against cyber scams.
* Malaysia unveiled its National Defense Industry Policy (NDIP) on Wednesday to strengthen its defense sector and to build a credible local industrial capability. This comes as Malaysia seeks to respond to current defense demands of the Malaysian Armed Forces, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in his speech at the policy's launch.
* Romania will soon deploy an anti-drone system to strengthen its airspace defense, Chief of Defense Staff General Gheorghita Vlad announced Tuesday.
* The leaders' meeting between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and China provides fresh impetus for improving bilateral ties, RoK’s President Lee Jae Myung told a New Year press conference on Wednesday. Mentioning his state visit to China earlier this month, Lee said the Chinese side had extended warm hospitality, as witnessed by people from both countries.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United Nations should continue because of its potential, but the Board of Peace he proposed "might" replace the organization.
* China has always been committed to true multilateralism, and will firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday. Guo made the remarks at a news briefing after U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the UN should continue because of its potential, but the Board of Peace he proposed "might" replace the organization.
* Air Force One, carrying U.S. President Donald Trump en route to Davos, Switzerland, returned to the Washington area on Tuesday after the aircraft experienced "a minor electrical issue," the White House said.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will not attend an emergency Group of Seven summit proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
* Venezuela on Tuesday rejected a map depicted in an altered picture posted on U.S. President Donald Trump's social media accounts that depicted the country as a U.S. territory.
* Venezuela has received 300 million USD from a U.S. sale of Venezuelan crude -- part of an estimated 500 million USD in total revenue -- and will use the fund to stabilize the foreign exchange market, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said on Tuesday.
* France has requested a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise in Greenland and is "ready to contribute," French media BFM TV reported on Wednesday, citing the Elysee Palace.
* European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) will step up investment in Greenland.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday expressed strong support for Greenland and Denmark and opposition to tariffs proposed by the United States.
* The European Union (EU) will defend itself against any form of coercion, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Wednesday.
* The European Parliament on Wednesday voted to refer the EU-Mercosur trade agreement to the EU Court of Justice for review, a move that could slow the ratification process and add uncertainty to the deal's implementation.
* Russia's presidential special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said his meeting with U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff in Davos, Switzerland was constructive, the Russian daily Izvestia reported Tuesday.
* Russia is committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis, and to helping reduce tensions in all areas, including around Venezuela and Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
* The U.S. forces seized a seventh oil tanker allegedly related to Venezuela in the Caribbean on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Southern Command said on X.
* Russian security agencies have thwarted a planned terrorist attack in the southeastern city of Ufa, with one suspect killed and another detained, local media reported on Wednesday.
* Russia's air raids caused large-scale power and water supply disruptions in Ukraine's capital of Kiev on Tuesday, said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on Tuesday to discuss tensions in Syria and ongoing efforts for peace in Gaza, the Turkish Presidency said Wednesday in a statement.
* Eleven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on Wednesday across Gaza amid escalating tensions, according to Palestinian sources.
* Hamas on Tuesday urged the international community to take effective action to compel Israel to immediately and fully halt what it described as ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
* Iran's intelligence and security forces have killed the operational ringleader of a "terrorist" group and arrested 11 of its members in three joint operations in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Wednesday.
* Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said Tuesday that his government is communicating with both Iran and the United States to explore establishing a dialogue platform in Baghdad for the two nations.
* A Russian satellite has detected a powerful gamma-ray burst that occurred 11.3 billion years ago, RIA Novosti news agency reported Tuesday. The gamma-ray burst GRB 260101A was recorded by a gamma-ray spectrometer installed aboard the 239Alferov CubeSat.
* Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on Wednesday restarted a reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture despite local opposition, marking the first operated by TEPCO to go back online since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
* Malaysia's trade performance reached historical levels in 2025, registering the highest trade, export and import values on record despite global uncertainties, official data showed Tuesday.
* Chinese capital Beijing's GDP exceeded 5.207 trillion yuan (about 743.79 billion USD) in 2025, up 5.4 percent year on year, surpassing the 5 trillion yuan mark for the first time, according to the municipal statistics bureau. Beijing has become the second city in the country to have an economic scale of more than 5 trillion yuan after Shanghai.
* Afghanistan's Hairatan land port has facilitated more than 2.2 million tons of commercial goods exports and imports with Central Asian countries over the past 10 months, according to a report by the official Bakhtar News Agency on Tuesday.
* Brunei's Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism is supporting the country's growth by increasing output in the food sector, driving industrial progress, strengthening tourism, and advancing the development and conservation of forest resources.
* The National Bank of Poland (NBP) has decided to increase its gold reserves to 700 tonnes, according to a statement by the central bank on Tuesday.
* International tourist arrivals grew by 4 percent in 2025, with an estimated 1.52 billion people making global trips in 2025 -- about 60 million more than in 2024, the Madrid-based UN Tourism reported on Tuesday.
