* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as mediator in the U.S.-Iran peace deal, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran aimed at ending the conflict, according to U.S. media reports. The signing ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in Switzerland on Friday.
* U.S. government officials on Wednesday released the full 14-point text of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran, which is expected to be formally signed on Friday in Switzerland, according to media reports.
* Iranian media released the text of a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday.
* The Republic of Korea's Defense Ministry said Wednesday it will ease restrictions on civilian access to areas near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as part of military facility regulation reforms.
* The G7 summit, chaired by France, concluded Wednesday in Evian without a final communique being issued. This marks the second consecutive year, following the G7 summit under Canadian chairmanship in 2025, that the group of seven Western powers has failed to adopt a final communique.
* British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday he wanted Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham to win the Makerfield by-election and have "a big role in government."
* Ukrainian and German defense firms signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the Freyja ground-based air defense anti-ballistic system, the Ukrinform news agency reported on Wednesday.
* Malaysia and Russia will pursue cooperation in the energy supply as well as trade in local currencies and other key areas, the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office said on Thursday.
* Türkiye's Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that NATO will deploy an Italian SAMP-T missile defense system in the central province of Konya to enhance the country's airspace security.
* France will allocate an additional 655 million euros (754 million USD) to the development of artificial intelligence under its France 2030 investment program, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced on Tuesday.
* Lithuania plans to make issues of defense, internal and social security, the bloc's enlargement, and transatlantic bond high on the European Union's (EU) agenda after taking over the EU rotating presidency next year, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in his annual address to parliament on Tuesday.
* The Finnish parliament on Wednesday approved amendments to the Nuclear Energy Act and the Criminal Code, removing the country's total legal ban on nuclear weapons entering Finnish territory.
* The European Parliament on Wednesday approved a new rule aimed at speeding up the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the European Union (EU) and allowing member states to transfer them to "return hubs" in third countries.
* Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday she will propose a single negotiator representing the European Union (EU) to handle contacts with Russia over the Ukraine issue at the upcoming EU summit.
* The multinational military exercise Eagle Partner 2026 involving troops from four countries kicked off in Armenia on Wednesday. The drills, organized as part of preparations for participation in international peacekeeping missions, bring together 250 service members from the peacekeeping brigade of the Armenian Armed Forces, 58 personnel from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa and the Kansas Army National Guard, 24 troops from France, and 11 from Greece.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday called U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat against Brazil "reckless," saying it contradicted ongoing trade talks between the two countries.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday expressed her opposition to the United States' decades-long blockade against Cuba. At her daily press conference, Mexico's president said that during her telephone conversations with her U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, she has made a case for sanctions relief for Cuba.
* Indonesia aims to stop importing garlic within the next three to four years as part of President Prabowo Subianto's food self-sufficiency agenda, deputy agriculture minister Sudaryono said Wednesday.
* Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed the country's commitment to addressing land degradation, desertification and drought, calling for collective action to protect and restore natural resources.
* The Bangladeshi government has given the go-ahead to a proposal for the establishment of its first two free trade zones in the southeastern Chattogram region situated at the apex of the Bay of Bengal.
* A total of 485 Afghan nationals who had been held in Pakistan prisons and released recently returned to their homeland on Wednesday, reported the official Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA) on Thursday.
* The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday that oil reserves in members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had fallen by a cumulative 163 million barrels since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, reaching their lowest level since December 1990.
* New Zealand's economy expanded in the March 2026 quarter, with gross domestic product (GDP) rising 0.8 percent, official data said on Thursday. This follows a 0.5 percent increase in the previous quarter, Stats NZ reported.
* The Central Bank of Uzbekistan decided on Wednesday to keep its policy rate unchanged at 14 percent per annum, citing robust domestic demand and persistent external economic uncertainties.
* Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of 459 million USD in May, reversing a deficit of 276 million dollars in April, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday. The country had posted a current account deficit of 44 million dollars in May 2025, the central bank said.
* The Bank of France has cut its forecast for the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2026 to 0.5 percent, down 0.4 percentage point from its March projection.
* Global fisheries and aquaculture production reached a record 235 million tonnes in 2024, underscoring the sector's growing role in global food security, according to a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
* Indonesia is targeting 19.1 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2027 to support economic growth and the tourism sector, Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana has said.
* Australia's population growth rate fell to 1.5 percent in 2025 as the country's migrant intake dropped, according to official data released on Thursday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the national population increased by 412,500 people to 27.8 million in the 12 months to the end of December 2025, with natural increase adding 111,500 people and net overseas migration adding 301,000 people over the year.
* Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Wednesday that the group will reject any proposal linked to disarmament, stressing that negotiations with Israel should focus on mutual security and the restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty.
* More than 240 children have been killed and nearly 1,000 others wounded in Lebanon since fighting escalated in early March, UNICEF said Wednesday, warning that prolonged violence is taking a growing toll on the country's youngest population.
* South Sudan and the United Nations (UN) have reaffirmed their commitment to ending protracted displacement for at least 60,000 South Sudanese by the end of 2026.
* Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province has been under a disaster emergency status since Wednesday after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake killed one person, injured 79 others and affected more than 6,400 residents, the National Disaster Management Agency said Thursday.
* At least nine people were killed and 11 others injured when a group of unknown gunmen attacked a community in Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna, a national lawmaker said Wednesday.
