* Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Wednesday that France, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a major country with an independent spirit, is a comprehensive strategic partner of China, and China-France relations have maintained a high level of development and always carried global significance that goes far beyond the bilateral scope.
* The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in Washington next week, Russian news agencies cited Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as saying on Thursday.
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday the World Bank should add disaster clauses to debt agreements with poorer countries, speaking ahead of a summit in Paris that will discuss how to boost crisis financing for low-income nations.
* One of the last arteries carrying Russian gas to Europe could be shut off by the end of next year when Ukraine's supply contract with Gazprom expires, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing an interview with Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Wednesday, during a whirlwind visit to the capital. This was his first visit with Meloni. They reportedly discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and economic cooperation between Italy and Brazil.
* The second Russia-Africa summit will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, on July 27-28, according to information posted on the summit's official website. The event was previously scheduled for July 26-29.
* President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic held a meeting with visiting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Belgrade on Wednesday, pledging to improve bilateral ties.
* Three Palestinians were killed Wednesday night in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
* Egypt on Wednesday called for an immediate halt to the attacks of Israeli settlers in a number of Palestinian villages in the West Bank.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday that his country has "no limit" for expanding relations with Kuwait in the areas of common interests.
* Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said on Wednesday that he had a meeting with Enrique Mora, the European Union's deputy foreign policy chief, to discuss the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
* Heavy clashes broke out between rival military factions in several parts of Sudan's capital on Wednesday as a 72-hour ceasefire that saw several reports of violations expired, witnesses said.
* South Africa advocates peaceful solutions to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, said African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, referring to an Africa peace mission.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply troubled by the continued violence and loss of life in the occupied Palestinian territory, his spokesman said on Wednesday.
* The United Nations is alarmed by attacks on health care sites in Sudan, mainly the impact on women and girls in the country, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.
* Somalia and international partners on Wednesday appealed for calm and restraint after at least 10 people were killed in fighting between the Puntland State government and opposition one day ago.
* India's palm oil imports in June are set to jump 46% from a month ago to their highest in three months as buyers took advantage of a dip in prices to their lowest in 28 months to increase purchases, five dealers told Reuters.
* The Bank of England is set to raise interest rates for a 13th time in a row on Thursday, a day after inflation data came in higher than expected once again, with investors split on just how big the new hike will be.
* Pakistan hopes funds allocated under the International Monetary Fund's bailout programme will be released as soon as possible, the country's prime minister said on Thursday, adding that the nation remains committed to fulfill all necessary requirements.
* South Korea logged its record-high current account surplus with the United States last year due to solid automotive export, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's current account surplus with the United States jumped to 67.79 billion USD in 2022 from 45.54 billion dollars in the previous year.
* Mexico's economic outlook is weighed down by an expected drop in trade with the United States and potential declines in consumer spending and investment, a Mexico City-based global rating agency said Wednesday.
* Norway's central bank raised its key policy rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 3.75% on Thursday in a bid to curb inflation, more than expected by a majority of economists surveyed by Reuters, and said it aimed for another hike in August.
* U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday talks between Zambia and its official creditors were progressing and could soon produce a debt restructuring agreement.
* Malaysia's exports of services surged 59.3 percent year on year to record 140.3 billion ringgit (30.16 billion USD) in 2022, supported by travel, official data showed Thursday.
* The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan came to 1,898,900 in May, equivalent to 68.5 percent of the May 2019 figure prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, government data showed.
* Turkish exporters on Wednesday welcomed a 34-percent hike in the minimum wage, but called for measures to curb inflation. The monthly net minimum salary will increase to 11,402 Turkish liras (484.08 USD) beginning on July 1.
* The Central Bank of Brazil on Wednesday decided for the seventh time in a row to maintain the benchmark interest rate (Selic) at 13.75 percent annually, a rate in effect since early August 2022.
* A tropical wave located midway between the west coast of Africa and the Lesser Antilles has a 90% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next two days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Thursday.
* The temperature in Beijing soared above 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday for the first time since 2014 and broke the record for the hottest day in June, with heatwaves that had seared northern China a week earlier expected to persist through the weekend.
* Soaring temperatures in Mexico are driving record electricity consumption that has prompted the country's energy authority to issue a rare alert over grid capacity, as the government played down reports of blackouts.
