* At least 20 candidates who collected nomination papers from the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to contest in the Sept. 16 presidential race are expected to present their papers to the MEC from July 24 to 30.
* Laos' Ministry of Industry and Commerce has convened a meeting to review the draft 2026-2030 industrial and trade development plan.
* Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold a third round of direct negotiations this week, focusing on draft memoranda on resolving the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
* Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, will head the Ukrainian delegation in the upcoming talks with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Tuesday.
* The Russian Navy has launched the large-scale operational exercise July Storm, involving forces from the Northern, Pacific, Baltic Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla, Russia's Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday.
* The United States announced Tuesday its decision to pull out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization two years after rejoining.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States has reached a trade deal with Japan, which will impose a 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods.
* U.S. President Donald Trump met his Philippine counterpart, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on Tuesday at the White House over trade and bilateral relations. After the meeting, Trump said in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, that “the Philippines will pay a 19 percent Tariff".
* Russia has substantially expanded its entry ban list of representatives of EU institutions and member states, as well as other European countries, the Russian foreign ministry said Tuesday.
* Mexico is working to secure the immediate repatriation of 14 Mexican nationals held at a U.S. immigration detention center, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday.
* Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Israel must act for a complete victory in the war in Gaza.
* Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that his country is ready to resume indirect negotiations with the United States if sanctions are lifted and Tehran's right to use nuclear technology for "peaceful" purposes is respected.
* Iran on Tuesday strongly condemned Israel for killing Palestinians in Gaza and depriving the coastal enclave's residents of food, water, medicine and other daily necessities.
* Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Tuesday called on Arab and Islamic countries to take practical steps in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza, amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the enclave.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi exchanged views on Tuesday on the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran and their repatriation to Afghanistan.
* Turkish police rounded up 835 suspects in a sweeping public safety operation across Istanbul, the city's police department said on Wednesday.
* Cambodia and the Republic of Korea have launched the first carbon credit project under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, aiming to reduce transport-related emissions through investment in electric mobility, said a joint press release on Tuesday.
* With 2 trillion USD flowing into global clean energy last year, the energy transition is "unstoppable," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday, noting that the figure was 800 billion dollars more than fossil fuels and up almost 70 percent in 10 years.
* Australia must achieve net-zero emissions by 2035 in order to contribute to global efforts to hold global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, a leading advocacy group said.
* Indonesia's Special Economic Zones (KEK) recorded a significant investment inflow in the first quarter of this year, reaching 17.5 trillion rupiahs (around 1.07 billion USD), contributing to greater job absorption in Southeast Asia's largest economy, an official said here on Tuesday.
* The number of visa-free entries into China in 2024 reached nearly 20.12 million, a 112.3 percent increase from the previous year, a senior Chinese public security official said.
* Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued visas to nearly 250,000 foreign nationals from 176 countries and regions over the past 12 months, reflecting a significant rise in international engagement, according to official data released on Wednesday.
* Sri Lanka received 61.1 billion USD in remittances from overseas workers over the past 10 years, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra told Parliament recently.
* The Afghan interim government's national procurement commission has approved six new development projects worth 828 million afghani (about 12 million USD), according to an official statement released Tuesday.
* Malaysia's inflation rate for the second quarter of 2025 increased more slowly to 1.3 percent as compared to 1.5 percent in the same quarter of 2024, official data showed Tuesday.
* The consumer price index (CPI) for all items in Singapore rose by 0.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, down from the 1.8 percent increase recorded in the second half of 2024, the Department of Statistics said on Wednesday.
* Myanmar's Department of Fisheries aims to export over 530,000 tons of fishery products in the current fiscal year 2025-2026, aiming to earn 750 million USD, state-owned daily The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Wednesday.
* A six-year-old boy from southeast Cambodia's Tboung Khmum province has been confirmed for H5N1 avian influenza, raising the number of cases to 13 so far this year, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday.
* Nigeria issued on Tuesday a fresh flood alert for 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory due to a high risk of massive flooding between Tuesday and Aug. 5.
