* International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi on Wednesday condemned the reported drone strike that killed the chief engineer of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), calling it an "unacceptable attack."
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday announced Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as co-chair of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates group.
* Ukraine and the European Union (EU) agreed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signing a letter of intent on a strategic defense-industrial partnership, according to the presidential press service.
* The Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the National Development and Reform Commission have jointly issued a plan to improve eco-environmental monitoring during China's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
* The Philippine government lifted its temporary ban on imports of livestock and related products from Hungary after international animal health authorities restored the country's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)-free status, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday.
* Russia's Investigative Committee said on Thursday that it has opened a criminal case into the death of the chief engineer of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on his vehicle.
* The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday voted to appoint Sergii Koretskyi, CEO of Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz, as the country's new prime minister.
* The U.S. State Department on Wednesday approved the sale of weapons worth an estimated 1.96 billion USD to Saudi Arabia.
* The U.S. military on Wednesday conducted a new round of strikes against Iran, U.S. Central Command said.
* The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the British ambassador to Tehran, Hugo Shorter, over the British government's move to designate the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as a national security threat.
* Israel and Colombia's incoming government have agreed to restore full diplomatic relations, more than two year after ties were severed over Israel's military operations in Gaza, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
* The Indian government has ordered shipowners, ship managers and recruitment companies to avoid deploying the country's seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages through the Strait of Hormuz.
* Nepal has secured the ability to export up to 1,650 MW of electricity to India and import up to 1,400 MW through two 400 kV cross-border transmission lines connecting the two countries, Nepal's Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said on Wednesday.
* New Zealand and Fiji renewed their bilateral cooperation on Thursday with the signing of a refreshed Duavata Partnership which sets priorities for the next five years.
* Two people were killed, and six others were injured in Russian missile strikes on Kiev early Thursday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. According to Klitschko's Telegram post, three of the injured were hospitalized.
* A total of 1,416 Afghan nationals were released from prisons in Pakistan and returned to Afghanistan over the past week, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said on Thursday.
* The Philippines expanded its aid program to provide financial assistance to about 37.5 million Filipinos affected by rising fuel prices, according to local media reports on Thursday.
* Indonesia's realized investment rose 7.2 percent year on year to 1,010.6 trillion rupiah (about 56 billion USD) in the first half of 2026, Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said Thursday.
* More than 1,600 metric tonnes of food supplies have arrived in Afghanistan after a prolonged delay, the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan announced, as reported by local media Tolo news on Thursday.
* A newly detected strain of H5N1 avian influenza is likely to become endemic in New Zealand within months, after the country recorded its first case in a wild seabird, a senior veterinary official said on Thursday.
* The United States on Wednesday night announced 25 percent tariffs on certain goods from Brazil under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which will be effective on July 22.
* The United States expanded Ebola-related travel controls on Wednesday, adding new restrictions on Americans returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
* Iran has allowed a U.S. citizen, who was detained in December 2024, to leave the country, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday.
* More than 900 excess deaths were recorded in the Netherlands during a recent heatwave, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said on Wednesday.
An estimated 911 excess deaths occurred between June 22 and July 5 compared with the expected number of deaths for the period, it said.
* Israel and Lebanon concluded a new round of talks in Rome on Wednesday, moving closer to launching a pilot project, under which control of parts of southern Lebanon would be transferred from Israeli forces to the Lebanese army, according to Italian media.
* The Council of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday agreed its position on the EU's draft annual budget for 2027, the seventh and final annual budget under the bloc's 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework.
* Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul have discussed European security, support for Ukraine and closer bilateral defense cooperation, the Norwegian government said in a statement on Wednesday.
* Iran has requested Yemen's Houthis to remain ready for the closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in case the United States attacks Iranian power plants, Reuters reported on Thursday.
* Kuwait's armed forces said Thursday that the country's air defense systems were responding to hostile drones, urging the public to follow safety instructions issued by the relevant authorities.
* Iran's main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned on Thursday that any U.S. attack on Iranian power plants and bridges would trigger a devastating response against all infrastructure across West Asia, as Iranian forces struck U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
* A Hezbollah lawmaker said on Thursday that any discussion over its weapons should take place after a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
* The death toll from the June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela has risen to 4,829, Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Wednesday.
* Humanitarian workers involved in the response to the Ebola outbreak were evacuated early Thursday after violence erupted overnight at an Ebola treatment center in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
