* The European Union on Tuesday launched four new programs worth 85.6 million USD in total in Cambodia, with a focus on promoting sustainable value chains, energy efficiency and renewable energy, said a joint press release.
* Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday thanked the support he received from the grassroots of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) for his candidacy in upcoming presidential elections scheduled for July 28.
* U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President Donald Trump have secured enough delegates to become their respective party's 2024 presidential nominee, U.S. media projected on Tuesday.
* Leaders from Japan, the United States and the Philippines are in the final stages of planning a summit meeting in Washington D.C. in April, the Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing several Japanese government sources.
* Russia will deploy its troops and strike systems near Finland and Sweden's borders following their accession to NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in an interview with local media.
* Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to meet in Berlin on Friday for hastily arranged talks on aid for Ukraine.
* The European Commission on Tuesday recommended opening European Union membership talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying the Balkan country had made more progress on reforms over the past year than in the previous decade.
* Denmark will increase spending on its own defence by 40.5 billion Danish crowns ($5.9 billion) over the next five years, its government said on Wednesday as it presented the NATO member's plans to bolster its military.
* Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for increased international pressure on Israel to ensure more humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza, and said Ankara will increase its support during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel would press forward with its military campaign into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, amid rising international pressure.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, on Tuesday exchanged views on bilateral relations and the latest situation in Gaza.
* The White House on Tuesday urged Hamas militants in Gaza to release women, elderly and wounded hostages and accept a temporary ceasefire in the fighting with Israel in order to secure a more lasting one.
* A ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid for Gaza left Cyprus on Tuesday in a pilot project to open a sea corridor to deliver supplies to a population that aid agencies say is on the verge of famine after five months of war.
* More than 31,272 Palestinians have been killed and 73,024 have been injured since Oct. 7 in Israel's military offensive on Gaza, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
* Italian warship Duilio, operating in the Red Sea, intercepted and downed two drones, defense authorities said on Tuesday.
* A Greek military vessel serving in the European Union's naval mission in the Red Sea has shot at two drones and pushed them back, a Greek Defense Staff official said on Wednesday.
* Lebanon and France signed an agreement on Tuesday to boost cooperation between their armed forces, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported.
* The parties to the peace agreement that ended a two-year civil war in northern Ethiopia have reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the peace accord, the African Union (AU) has said.
* Kenya has decided to pauses its deployment of police officers to lead an international security mission in Haiti following Prime Minister Ariel Henry's announcement overnight that he would tender his resignation, a senior Kenyan official said.
* Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday the government will create an investment fund worth 1 billion euros (1.1 billion USD) to promote the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
* The European Union must step up preparations for climate change risks, as a hotter planet threatens everything from farming to financial stability, the European Commission said on Tuesday.
* El Salvador's Congress approved on Tuesday a reform to remove income taxes previously imposed on money from abroad, in a move to attract more foreign investment.
* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed appreciation to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its partners for developing a solution to the Haiti crisis, a UN spokesman said.
* An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is arriving in Pakistan for a second and last review of a $3 billion standby arrangement this week, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.
* Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped 61 people from a village in northern Kaduna state, days after nearly 300 students went missing in an attack by an armed gang, residents said on Tuesday.
* Two people died and five are feared dead after they attempted to reach Spain's Canary Islands on a boat with migrants on board, authorities said on Tuesday.
* The number of children globally who died before their fifth birthday dropped to a record low of 4.9 million in 2022, but that still represents one death every six seconds, according to new United Nations estimates.
* Britain's economy returned to growth in January after entering a shallow recession in the second half of 2023, offering some relief to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of an election expected this year, official data showed.
* The Monetary Authority of Singapore said Wednesday that economists and analysts expect the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to expand 2.4 percent in 2024.
* Malaysia's wholesale and retail trade recorded sales value of 142.4 billion ringgit (30.4 billion USD), an increase of 5.4 percent year-on-year in January, official data showed Wednesday.
* The Afghan caretaker government's national procurement commission has endorsed 142 projects worth 40 billion Afghani (about 565 million USD), the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs said in a statement on Monday.
