* Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Tuesday formally called general elections for April 2026, hoping to put an end to a period of instability that has seen six presidents in eight years.
* Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko named national interests and the security of the country and people his top priorities during his 7th presidential term.
* United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has equipped Malawi Police Service (MPS) with advanced forensic and ICT equipment worth 100,000 USD to enhance public safety in Malawi ahead of the Sept. 16 election.
* The United Nations on Tuesday marked the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members, with the 101 personnel detained or arrested last year.
* Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously rejected former President Jair Bolsonaro's attempt to dismiss charges that he and several allies plotted to overturn the 2022 election results.
* China has made significant progress in government budget disclosure and fiscal transparency, providing support for the establishment of a modern budget system, according to the Ministry of Finance.
* Indian security personnel killed at least three armed rebels called "Naxals" in the central state of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, confirmed the local police.
* The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said the country brought home 176 alleged Filipino human trafficking victims (HTVs) from illegal scam centers in Myawaddy, Myanmar.
* Russia and the United States have agreed to ensure the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, provided that sanctions were eased on Russia's agricultural and food trade, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
* Russia and the United States have agreed on a category list of energy facilities spared from being targeted during a 30-day energy ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a Kremlin statement Tuesday.
* Washington has proposed a new version of the minerals deal to Kiev based on a previous framework agreement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Tuesday.
* Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Tuesday that Ukraine and U.S. held talks in Saudi Arabia, and "all parties" agreed the need to impose a ban on targeting energy infrastructure in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
* Addressing an official state ceremony Monday evening to mark Remembrance Day for the victims of the 1999 NATO bombing, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic highlighted the nation's resilience and self-determination, stressing Serbia was not defeated during the NATO intervention 26 years ago.
* U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that he will travel to Greenland this Friday.
* Hungary is hosting a major military exercise of the European Union (EU), involving more than 900 troops from 11 member states, the Hungarian defense ministry said on Tuesday.
* Transferring control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to Ukraine or any other country is impossible, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
* Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that she will discuss with visiting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem bilateral cooperation on security issues on Friday.
* Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein have exchanged views on Israel's renewed attacks against Gaza and Lebanon.
* Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez rejected on Tuesday the ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
* The U.S. military carried out two airstrikes on Yemen's northern Saada province Tuesday night, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
* Yemen's Houthi group said early Wednesday that it had launched fresh attacks on a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Red Sea and "military targets" in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
* Continuing attacks on civilians in Sudan, including a deadly air strike on a North Darfur market, has "gravely alarmed" the United Nations, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.
* Newly elected chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has called on the international community to fund stabilization efforts in Somalia.
* Libyan authorities said on Tuesday they had freed 82 migrants who were held captive by a criminal group demanding ransom.
* Kazakhstan has developed a national standard for ecotourism, set to take effect on June 1 this year, Kazinform news agency reported on Tuesday.
* Republic of Korea's births grew for the fifth straight month in January amid lingering worry about the continued population fall. The number of newborn babies jumped 11.6 percent from a year earlier to 23,947 in January, continuing to increase since September last year, according to Statistics Korea.
* Singapore's manufacturing output fell 1.3 percent year-on-year in February, reversing a seven-month growth trend, the Singapore Economic Development Board said in a report released on Wednesday.
* Australia's annual consumer price index rose 2.4 percent in the year to February 2025, down slightly from 2.5 percent in the previous two months, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said Wednesday.
* The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) kept its base rate unchanged at 6.5 percent on Tuesday, maintaining a tight monetary stance amid elevated inflation risks.
* Israeli residents' holdings of foreign assets increased to 774 billion USD by the end of 2024, the Bank of Israel reported Tuesday.
* The Sri Lankan central bank decided to keep the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 8.00 percent, according to a statement from it on Wednesday.
* Mongolia exported 10.2 million tons of coal worth 858.8 million USD in the first two months of 2025, local media reported on Wednesday, citing official data released by the country's Ministry of Road and Transport.
* The Czech Republic on Tuesday dispatched a team of 16 firefighters to neighboring Slovakia to assist in efforts to contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
* The Slovak government declared a state of emergency on Tuesday following the confirmation of additional cases of foot-and-mouth disease -- the first such outbreak in the country in 50 years.
* The death toll rose to 18, with 19 others injured, as deadly wildfires continued to rage in the Republic of Korea's southeastern region, government compilation showed Wednesday.
* More than 25,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into rivers and coastal areas in northern Ecuador after a pipeline rupture, state-owned oil company Petroecuador said Tuesday.
