* China and New Zealand should promote trade and investment, Chinese President Xi Jinping told New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who led a trade delegation to China seeking more access for his country's primary exports and emerging sectors like gaming.
* Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone said on Monday that the government would not allow Laos to default on its debts and pledged to stabilize currency exchange rates, work harder to curb inflation, and regulate prices of products on sale at local markets.
* Russian President Vladimir Putin in a national address on Monday urged the members of the Wagner private military group to sign contract with the country's defense ministry, return home or go to Belarus.
* India's federal government on Monday approved capital investment proposals of 564 billion Indian Rupees (around 6.87 billion USD) for 16 states and regions to carry out developmental and infrastructural works during the current fiscal year.
* New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Tuesday she had a "very robust" discussion during an earlier meeting with her Chinese counterpart, as the leaders of the two countries prepare to meet.
* Sri Lanka has launched a fact-finding mission to explore avenues for an early entry into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement, a statement from the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
* Germany supports the African Union's bid to gain membership of the G20 group of large economies, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday on a visit to South Africa.
* Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and a senior Palestinian official discussed violence in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, with Gallant's office saying he offered reassurance about Israel's intention to crack down on Jewish settler riots.
* Europe is facing a multitude of health crises this summer, with long COVID, escalating temperatures, and a re-emergence of MPOX infections taking center stage, warned the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe on Tuesday.
* Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday discussed the expansion of bilateral relations and economic cooperation.
* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral economic ties.
* Britain and the European Union signed a long-delayed post-Brexit cooperation pact in financial services on Tuesday, but the rapprochement is unlikely to restore EU access for the City of London anytime soon.
* Northern Ireland's largest pro-British party could back a new proposal to solve post-Brexit trading difficulties between the province and Britain as part of a long-term solution, Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said on Tuesday.
* Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman earlier this month outlined one of the biggest reforms at OPEC in recent years and presented it as a reward for countries that invest in their oil industry.
* Brazilian financial analysts raised their projected GDP expansion in 2023 from 2.14 to 2.18 percent, the seventh consecutive weekly upgrade, and upped the 2024 forecast from 1.20 to 1.22 percent, the Central Bank of Brazil said Monday.
* Mexican authorities on Monday rescued 130 Guatemalan migrants crammed inside an extremely overcrowded cargo truck in the eastern state of Veracruz.
* The General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution urging UN member states to promote and improve mental health services.
* The U.N. refugee agency warned on Tuesday that an earlier projection that conflict in Sudan would prompt 1 million people to flee across its borders is likely to be surpassed.
* Over 2.4 million refugees globally will need resettling in 2024, a 20 percent increase compared to 2023, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Monday.
* The World Bank and the Ministry of Finance of Angola on Monday signed an agreement worth 300 million USD to boost the Central African country's economic diversification and create jobs.
