* Dialogue must replace confrontation as the defining mode of international interaction, a senior United Nations (UN) official has said.
* Republic of Korea halted broadcasting propaganda through loudspeakers in the border area with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday.
* The Philippine Senate sitting as an impeachment court voted on Tuesday to return an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte to the House of Representatives for clarification. Voting 18 against five, the Senate returned the articles of impeachment just a few hours after convening a trial.
* Severely wounded and seriously ill Ukrainian servicemen returned home on Tuesday as part of a new stage of prisoner exchange with Russia, Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.
* U.S. President Donald Trump warned protesters on Tuesday to stay away from the military parade he has planned for Saturday in Washington, D.C. to mark the Army's 250th birthday, asserting that any demonstrators who "hate our country" would be met with "very heavy force."
* Demonstrations against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown have intensified and spread far beyond Los Angeles, with thousands of people gathering in at least two dozen cities by Tuesday night, U.S. media reported.
* The current U.S. administration will cut its military budget for Ukraine next year, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a hearing in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
* A three-day national mourning began on Tuesday in Austria after the country was "stricken at the heart" by a mass school shooting earlier in the morning. At least 11 people were killed, including the shooter, in the school shooting that happened in Austria's second-largest city of Graz, according to local media reports.
* Immigration problems cannot be solved with raids or violence but rather through "comprehensive immigration reform" that recognizes the role of migrants in the United States, especially those who have lived there for years, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday.
* Uzbekistan aims to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2026, said Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev Tuesday. Mirziyoyev reiterated the goal in a speech he delivered at the fourth Tashkent International Investment Forum.
* Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. has declared a state of calamity in Eastern Visayas in the central Philippines for about one year to hasten the repair and rehabilitation of the San Juanico Bridge, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Tuesday.
* Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced on Tuesday that Finland is striving to establish a European artificial intelligence (AI) gigafactory.
* The European Commission on Tuesday unconditionally approved satellite operator SES's 3.1-billion-dollar bid to acquire Intelsat, a deal expected to strengthen Europe's position in the fast-growing satellite broadband market.
* Lithuania's Defense Ministry is finalizing the procurement of stationary systems for detecting and neutralizing unmanned aerial vehicles, citing the present tense geopolitical environment, according to a press release issued on Tuesday.
* Contracts worth a total of 433.6 million leva (253 million USD) for the construction of 7,000 kilometers of fiber optic networks across Bulgaria were signed on Tuesday, marking a major step forward in the country's digital transformation.
* Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, speaker of Cameroon's National Assembly, said on Tuesday that the build-up to the country's presidential election is intense, urging restraint, responsibility, and patriotism.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that "significant progress" had been made in negotiations for a hostage release deal with Hamas, but cautioned that it was too early to raise hopes.
* The sixth round of indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington will take place in the Omani capital Muscat on Sunday, said Iran's Foreign Ministry early Tuesday.
* Syrian interim authorities have released "dozens" of detainees arrested during the country's conflict in December that led to the downfall of former President Bashar al-Assad, after investigations found no evidence of war crimes, a senior official said Tuesday.
* King Abdullah II of Jordan met with visiting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday to explore ways to deepen bilateral relations and address pressing regional developments, according to a statement released by the Royal Hashemite Court.
* Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said Wednesday that a joint decision by five Western countries to sanction two Israeli ministers is "welcomed."
* Yemen's Houthi group on Tuesday night claimed responsibility for launching two missile attacks toward Israel's Ben Gurion Airport.
* The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday said that 414 migrants were intercepted off the coast of Libya in the past week.
* Kenyan security forces killed two al-Shabab terrorists in a foiled terror attack early Tuesday in Mandera County, northeast of the East African country.
* Japan plans to release an additional 200,000 tons of rice from government stockpiles through direct contracts with retailers, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tuesday, as the staple food's price fell for the second consecutive week.
* The Philippines is actively pursuing deeper agricultural trade ties with Egypt to explore broader market access for high-value Philippine produce, particularly mangoes and bananas, the Philippines' Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.
* The World Bank slashed global economic growth forecasts on Tuesday citing heightened trade tensions and policy uncertainty. The turmoil resulted in lower growth forecasts in nearly 70 percent of all economies across all regions and income groups, according to the latest bi-annual Global Economic Prospects report issued on Tuesday.
* Economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa has demonstrated strong vitality, with a rapid increase in trade volume over the past 25 years, official data showed on Wednesday. China's total imports and exports with African countries increased from less than 100 billion yuan (about 13.9 billion USD) in 2000 to 2.1 trillion yuan in 2024, marking an average annual growth of 14.2 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).
* Laos has recorded a trade surplus of 56 million USD in April, with total imports and exports exceeding 1.5 billion dollars. In April, the country's exports were worth about 813 million dollars, while imports were valued at 757 million dollars, Lao national TV reported on Tuesday.
* Cambodia's economy has shown resilience, largely thanks to strong exports and a partial revival in private consumption, despite heightened global uncertainty, said a World Bank report released on Wednesday.
* The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) announced Wednesday that Malaysia secured 89.8 billion ringgit (21.18 billion U.SD) in approved investments, marking a 3.7 percent year-on-year increase amid a challenging global economic backdrop.
* Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Philippines declined by 27.8 percent year over year in March to reach 498 million USD, due to lower net inflows across all major FDI components, the Philippine central bank said Tuesday.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that all major economic indicators have stabilized due to the government's efforts, public resolve and the support of stakeholders contributing to the national economy.
* Thailand's stock investor confidence continued to improve in May, driven by the government's stimulus measures, local economic recovery, and fund inflow, a survey showed on Tuesday.
* Israel's budget deficit for the 12 months ending in May decreased to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the state's Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Tuesday. The deficit had risen to 8.5 percent of GDP by the end of September 2024 but has gradually narrowed since then to the current level.
* Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, saw its palm oil stocks grow 6.65 percent from April to 1.99 million tons in May, official data showed Tuesday.
* By the end of May, a total of 18.9 million or 78.3 percent fertile livestock gave birth across Mongolia, out of the 24.2 million heads of breeder livestock which was counted at the beginning of 2025, local media reported on Wednesday, citing the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry.
