* Colombia's National Electoral Council on Wednesday officially declared Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing candidate, president-elect for the 2026-2030 term following ballot counting for Sunday's election. Earlier on Wednesday, Ivan Cepeda, the candidate of the left-wing coalition Historic Pact, conceded defeat during a livestream.
* Outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will remain a Member of Parliament (MP) after stepping down as prime minister, Sky News quoted his official spokesperson as saying on Wednesday.
* Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine at any time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. He said that a political-diplomatic settlement of the situation around Ukraine is still quite possible.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran had assured Washington it is not seeking tolls, insurance fees, or other charges from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, warning that negotiations between the two sides would end immediately if the information proved false.
* U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that U.S.-Iran technical talks are expected to resume next week, likely on June 29 or 30 in Switzerland.
* Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Wednesday called on the U.S. government to refrain from making interpretations that are "completely in contradiction" with the recently signed Iran-U.S. peace memorandum of understanding (MoU). He made the remarks in a post on the social media platform X, slamming "contradictory" statements made by U.S. officials regarding the MoU's provisions.
* U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday renewed criticism of NATO allies over their stance during the war with Iran, saying he expects "loyalty" from European partners.
* The White House on Wednesday asked the U.S. Congress for 87.6 billion USD for Iran war costs and a few other programs, one day after the Senate passed a war powers resolution on Iran in a symbolic protest against President Donald Trump's handling of the war.
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said that safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is only allowed via routes designated by Iran, warning that any newly announced shipping lanes without coordination are unacceptable and dangerous, according to media reports on Thursday.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud held a phone call on Wednesday, stressing efforts to support stability in West Asia and advance Iran-U.S. negotiations, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.
* Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday reaffirmed Lebanon's demand for a full Israeli withdrawal from its territory, saying Beirut will not accept any continued Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon.
* The African Union Commission, the League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday condemned the "illegal practices" of the Israeli occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory, warning that such actions threaten the prospects for lasting peace and undermine international law.
* Israeli firebombs displaced families in Gaza overnight, and the expansion of the so-called Yellow Line prevented families from returning to their homes, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
* U.S. forces killed a senior ISIS leader, identified as Ali Husayn al-'Ulaywi, in northwestern Syria on Friday, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday.
* South African police on Wednesday met representatives of the private security industry to coordinate security arrangements ahead of anti-immigration protests, planned for June 30, amid concerns over possible unrest and xenophobic violence.
* Brent crude futures fell below 75 USD per barrel on Wednesday for the first time since the United States struck Iran in late February, as concerns over supply disruptions eased.
* The oil price shock triggered by the war in the Middle East could reduce euro-area GDP growth by around 0.4 percentage points over the first year following the shock, according to a European Central Bank (ECB) study released on Wednesday.
* Malaysia will accelerate the development of its low-altitude economy (LAE), which it sees as a potential new engine of economic growth, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said on Wednesday.
* Kazakhstan has adjusted its gas supply logistics following a disruption at the Orenburg gas processing plant in Russia, the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry.
* Australia's unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in May as the number of employed Australians grew by over 40,000, according to official data released on Thursday. Monthly data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the official unemployment rate fell from 4.5 percent in April to 4.4 percent in May.
* Finland's unemployment rate rose to its highest level this century in May, while the number of unemployed people reached its highest level since 1998, Statistics Finland said on Wednesday. According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 376,000 unemployed persons aged 15 to 74 in May 2026, up from 308,000 in May 2025.
* New Zealand on Thursday set out a long-term strategy to grow its tourism sector, aiming to double the value of tourism exports by 2034.
* The Afghan government has approved 16 projects with a total investment of 3.5 billion afghanis (more than 53.4 million USD) to accelerate the development and reconstruction process of the post-war country, the office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs announced late Wednesday.
* The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday revised down its growth forecast for Portugal to 1.7 percent in 2026, citing the economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East.
* Russia plans to launch its new Spectr-UV space telescope, designed to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope, on Oct. 24, 2031, a senior official said Wednesday.
* Rescue operations are ongoing as Venezuela on Wednesday declared a state of emergency following strong earthquakes that could result in high casualties and extensive damage. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 7.1 quake at 2204 GMT on Wednesday, followed just one minute later by an even stronger magnitude 7.5 tremor. Both struck near the coastal town of Moron, about 160 km west of Caracas.
* The global risk posed by the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa remains low despite rising case numbers in the affected region, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
* The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday reported 1,118 confirmed Ebola cases, including 291 deaths, as the WHO warned that the outbreak continues to outpace the response.
* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday announced the conclusion of public health response to the Hantavirus exposure event associated with the M/V Hondius cruise ship, with no confirmed cases reported in the United States.
* France has identified and isolated five people who may have been exposed to Ebola after sharing a flight with a doctor who tested positive for the virus. French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Wednesday that the doctor had worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo before returning to France.
* At least four people were injured after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan on Thursday morning, Kyodo News reported. The temblor, revised up from a preliminary magnitude of 6.9, occurred at around 7:30 a.m. local time off the eastern coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of about 40 km.
* The record for the hottest ever June day in Britain has been provisionally broken, the BBC reported Wednesday. Temperatures have risen to over 36 degrees Celsius in parts of England, surpassing Britain's previous June temperature record from 1976, the report said.
* Peninsular Spain recorded its highest daily average temperature for June since comparable records began in 1950, according to preliminary data released on Wednesday by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET).
