* Turkish lawmakers on Tuesday approved a long-delayed bill on Sweden's bid to become the 32nd member of NATO.
* The Philippines has barred entry into the country of 3,359 foreigners in 2023, the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Wednesday.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the EU path, said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in Sarajevo on Monday.
* The U.S. military carried out more strikes in Yemen early on Wednesday, destroying two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at the Red Sea and were preparing to launch, the U.S. military said in a statement.
* Strikes by the United States on Iraqi military positions will lead to "irresponsible escalation" and violate the country's sovereignty, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday spoke via telephone with his Ecuadorian counterpart Daniel Noboa about spiraling violence, and the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking.
* Russia plans to send 10 manned spacecraft and 15 cargo ships to the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) from 2028 to 2033, according to local media.
* Police of the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday dispelled fears of insecurity amid reported threats of terrorism, saying that the law-and-order situation is under control and citizens can continue their routine lives.
* The Republic of Korea's consumer sentiment improved for the second straight month on the back of positive signs over the economy, central bank data showed Wednesday.
* The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Monday released a report on Italian economy, suggesting an array of reforms that it said would help the country avoid an economic slowdown.
* Singapore's all-item consumer price index (CPI) rose by 4.8 percent last year, down from 6.1 percent in 2022, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Monetary Authority of Singapore Tuesday.
* In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), neighboring Tanzania, and Somalia, UN teams are currently battling the devastating consequences of deadly floods and the ensuing diseases, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.
* Some tourist towns along Australia's Great Barrier Reef and other places in northeastern Queensland state are bracing for a potential tropical cyclone which is expected to make landfall on Thursday, the day before the Australia Day long weekend.
