* Germany's Ursula von der Leyen is poised for a second term as president of the European Commission after European political leaders reached a consensus on Tuesday, according to reports from multiple media outlets.
* Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear on Tuesday he would stay in office amid fresh questions about his future after the ruling Liberal Party lost a safe seat in a special election.
* Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Tuesday called it "outrageous" that the United States included the Caribbean island on its list of countries failing to meet the minimum standards for combating human trafficking.
* Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that if the West underestimated Moscow's resolve then it could lead to "tragic and fatal" consequences because the United States and its allies were confronting a major nuclear power.
* Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin have engaged in a phone conversation initiated by the U.S. side, the Russian Defense Ministry said on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.
* Russia firmly opposes the package of sanctions adopted recently by the European Union (EU) and considers them illegal, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
* The European Union (EU) will officially open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
* Russia and Ukraine have each exchanged 90 prisoners who were captured during their ongoing conflict, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
* Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele met Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss security and development ties.
* The Lao government is set to introduce a visa-free policy for Chinese visitors to promote tourism in the second half of Visit Laos Year 2024.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday welcomed the arrival of the first Kenyan contingent of international force in Port-au-Prince to support Haitian police, a UN spokesman said.
* The first contingent of Kenyan police arrived in the Haitian capital on Tuesday to launch a long-awaited peacekeeping mission in the Caribbean country that has been ravaged by gang violence, even as deadly protests back home prompted doubts.
* Hamas said on Tuesday that Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi's talk about a "post-war day plan" in northern Gaza will not find a way to be implemented.
* Israeli forces killed at least 24 Palestinians in three separate airstrikes on Gaza City early on Tuesday and the dead included a sister of Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of militant Islamist group Hamas, Gaza health officials and medics said.
* Yemen's Houthi group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for launching a missile attack against an "Israeli" ship in the Arabian Sea.
* German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to complete a deal to buy up to 2.35 million rounds of artillery ammunition for up to 15 billion euros ($16.06 billion), Der Spiegel reported on Tuesday.
* The Indonesian government said Tuesday that it would issue two protection policies, namely Safeguard Measures Import Duty (BMTP) and Anti-Dumping Import Duty (BMAD), for textiles and textile products as an effort to protect the local industry from surging imported textiles.
* Oil-exporting countries and some partners on Tuesday called for more international cooperation on sustainable and equitable development at a Development Forum in Vienna.
* Egypt needs to import around $1.18 billion worth of mazut fuel oil and natural gas to end persistent power cuts exacerbated by consecutive heat waves, its Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a televised address on Tuesday.
* Malaysia's inflation edged up 2 percent in May with the index points recorded at 132.8 as against 130.2 in the same month of the previous year, official data showed Tuesday.
* Poland's GDP growth should be among the strongest in Europe, estimated at 3.5 percent in 2025, the Polish Press Agency reported on Tuesday, citing a report of Santander Bank Polska.
* Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Tuesday that his country could phase out the ongoing summer power cuts by the third week of July should the generation fuel shortage be resolved.
* Over 2.35 million travelers, including arrivals, departures and transits, passed through South Africa's ports of entry and exit in May, official data showed on Tuesday.
* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory on Tuesday, alerting healthcare providers and the public of an unexpected increase in dengue virus infections in the country.
* The spread of mpox in Africa needs to be addressed urgently, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as scientists warned separately of a dangerous strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has begun testing more dairy products for evidence of the bird flu virus as outbreaks spread among dairy herds across the country.
* South Africa has recorded its third death from the viral infection mpox in an outbreak that started in May and has seen 16 laboratory-confirmed cases so far, its health ministry said on Tuesday.
