* Cameroon's National Assembly, or the Lower House of parliament, on Tuesday approved a bill extending the mandate for its current lawmakers for a year from its expiry date of March 10, 2025 to to March 30, 2026.
* Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday held a symposium on the economic situation, listening to opinions and suggestions from experts and entrepreneurs on the country's economy and relevant work.
* The Lao government is upgrading the operations of tourism-related businesses to spur development and investment in tourism by ensuring that businesses are licensed and operate in line with rules.
* The New Zealand government on Wednesday announced plans to build more resilient infrastructure and boost clean energy production, as well as support for climate mitigating technologies and increasing forests as part of a new climate strategy.
* Russia and India have vowed to deepen cooperation across multiple sectors as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Moscow at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a joint statement released on Tuesday.
* Malaysia and Singapore are aiming to sign a deal and unveil their plans to develop a special economic zone (SEZ) in southern Malaysia in September, Malaysia's Economic Minister Rafizi Ramli told reporters on Wednesday.
* Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held talks with his Thai counterpart Maris Sangiampongsa in Beijing, and co-chaired the second meeting of the Consultation Mechanism between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of China and Thailand.
* The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia's military was still working to create a "buffer zone" in Ukraine's Kharkiv region but this would take time.
* Poland will do whatever it takes to resolve a migrant crisis on its border with Belarus, a deputy defence minister said, as Warsaw weighed options that may include closing the frontier.
* The United States and its allies will deliver to Ukraine five additional air defense systems, including Patriot missile batteries and Patriot components, the leaders of those countries said in a joint statement during the NATO summit.
* Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov urged his compatriots throughout Europe on Tuesday to sign up for a Ukrainian legion to be based in neighbouring Poland, describing it as a key step in improving battle readiness with Western help.
* NATO has placed an order for Stinger anti-aircraft missiles worth almost $700 million in the name of several member states, the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
* China will continue to levy anti-dumping tariffs on optical fibre preform imported from Japan and the United States for five years from July 11, Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
* The Saudi defence ministry said on Wednesday it had signed a deal with Airbus AIR.PA to buy four A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft.
* UN humanitarians describe as "dangerously chaotic" confusing Israeli evacuation orders to Gazans, which is causing the displacement of tens of thousands of people, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.
* Brazil has put into effect a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority that has been waiting for ratification for more than decade, in a show of support for the Palestinian people.
* Neutral Switzerland has applied to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) air defence scheme at a time of heightened anxiety over security due to Russia-Ukraine’s crisis.
* The European Union's ambassador to Georgia said on Tuesday that the bloc had frozen 30 million euros ($32 million) in military aid to Georgia amid what he said was "a low point" in relations between the two.
* Lithuania has bought RBS70 NG, a mobile short-range air defense system, from a Swedish company for 147 million euros (about 159 million USD), Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense said Monday.
* Europe's latest rocket Ariane 6 successfully lifted off Tuesday on its maiden flight from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
* The Ministry of National Defense of Niger and the U.S. Department of Defense announced on Monday the end of the first phase of the withdrawal of U.S. forces and equipment from Nigerien territory.
* Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday reaffirmed Tehran's support for Syria during a phone call with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
* Iran's President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani on Tuesday exchanged views on enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation.
* Negotiations to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war will resume in Doha on Wednesday, with the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the United States, and Israel in attendance, Egypt's state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV and sources said on Tuesday.
* Israel's Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Wednesday that 60% of the fighters of Palestinian militant group Hamas have been killed or wounded as a result of Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
* Palestinian officials said an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza Strip killed more than two dozen people while advancing tanks in Gaza City forced residents to flee under fire as Israel on Tuesday stepped up an offensive that Hamas warned could jeopardise ceasefire talks.
* Israel's military said on Wednesday its aircraft hit a Hezbollah site in the area of Janta, southern Lebanon.
* Yemen's Houthi group on Tuesday said they have attacked three ships owned by the United States and Israel in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.
* Rent and housing costs are keeping U.S. inflation higher than preferred but consumer price pressures will continue to come down over time, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday, as a top White House adviser cited what she called "tremendous progress" in bringing down inflation.
* Malaysia's unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent in May with the number of unemployed reduced to 566,100 persons from 566,400 persons in April, official data showed Wednesday.
* The Philippines' total external trade in goods decreased by 1.2 percent in May 2024 to 17.26 billion USD from 17.46 billion dollars in May 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.
* New Zealand Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee agreed to maintain the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 5.5 percent on Wednesday.
* Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.12 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2024, provisional data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) showed.
* Senegal's population grew to 18,126,390 in 2023, according to figures released by the National Agency for Statistics and Demography on Tuesday.
* President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he spoke with Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about an emergency declaration after deadly Tropical Storm Beryl knocked out power to a large portion of Texas.
* More than 130 people including tourists were trapped in Tibet near China's rugged Himalayan border with Nepal on Wednesday after incessant rains unleashed landslides and floods, severing road links, according to Chinese state media.
* South Korea's national rail company on Wednesday suspended some regular routes and slowed bullet trains because of heavy rain in the central region that caused flooding and landslides.
* The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan issued an alert for urban flooding in parts of the country's south Sindh province during the ongoing spell of monsoon rains.
* An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 jolted south of Africa at 0455 GMT on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter, with a depth of 10.0 km, was initially determined to be at 53.31 degrees south latitude and 25.31 degrees east longitude.
