* Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday led his Bhumjaithai Party in submitting a draft constitutional amendment to parliament, becoming the first party to formally launch the process of rewriting the country's charter.
* Israeli lawmakers gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to a bill to dissolve parliament, a move that could bring the next election forward by several weeks.
* Chinese and U.S. law enforcement authorities have jointly cracked a transnational criminal case involving the trafficking of new psychoactive substances, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Thursday.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that there "won't be escalation" against Cuba, after U.S. federal prosecutors indicted Cuban Revolution leader Raul Castro and a U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in the Caribbean.
* Hundreds of members from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were brought to Israel's Ashdod Port on Wednesday, as far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released a video showing some of them shackled and forced to the ground.
* Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani issued a joint statement on Wednesday, condemning Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the treatment of the activists of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, calling it "unacceptable."
* Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Wednesday Canada will summon the Israeli ambassador, condemning the Israeli side's taunting of detained activists from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.
* Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday condemned Israel's treatment of volunteers aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla 2.0, describing the actions as inhumane and inconsistent with humanitarian principles.
* The U.S. military will deploy its Typhon mid-range missile launcher and High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to southwestern Japan next month for joint exercises with the Self-Defense Forces, local media reported.
* Germany's government on Wednesday announced a plan to invest 10 billion euros (11.6 billion USD) by 2029 to upgrade its civil defense and emergency response capabilities.
* Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar on Wednesday voiced support for closer cooperation within the Visegrad Group (V4, including Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic), in a sign of improving regional ties.
* Türkiye's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that Germany will deploy a Patriot air defense system to Türkiye in June for a six-month mission under NATO measures aimed at strengthening the country's air defenses amid regional tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
* The U.S. military on Wednesday boarded and searched an Iranian-flagged commercial oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman before directing the vessel to alter course, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
* U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration is "in final stages of" peace talks with Iran and is willing to wait a few days for the "right answer."
* Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces are at the "highest level of alert", as the United States threatened to resume attacks on Iran.
* Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday warned that if the U.S. and Israeli "aggression" against the country is repeated, the war will extend beyond the West Asia region.
* The Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that 26 vessels, including oil tankers as well as container and commercial ships, passed through the Strait of Hormuz within the past 24 hours in coordination with its forces.
* Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon overnight into Wednesday killed at least 29 people, including women and children, and wounded dozens more, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
* Colombia's Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that it has expelled Ariel Percy Molina Pimentel, charge d'affaires of the Bolivian Embassy in Colombia. The move was taken on a reciprocal basis after Bolivia asked Colombian Ambassador Elizabeth Garcia to leave.
* The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday urged Iraq to prevent all hostile acts originating from its territory.
* A special committee has been formed to coordinate with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following recent drone attacks targeting the two countries, the spokesperson for Iraq's Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces said Wednesday.
* Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said Wednesday that a new west-east oil pipeline project designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz is nearly 50 percent complete, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accelerates efforts to strengthen energy export security amid regional tensions.
* Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, secretary-general of the League of Arab States, on Wednesday strongly condemned any intended move by the northwestern region of Somalia, the self-declared "Republic of Somaliland," to open an embassy in occupied Jerusalem.
* The Sierra Leonean government on Wednesday confirmed the arrival of the first batch of migrants deported from the United States under an arrangement between the two countries.
* One civilian was killed every 14 minutes in armed conflicts around the world last year, the chief of the UN global humanitarian response unit said Wednesday.
* The Lao central bank, the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL), convened its second Monetary Policy Committee meeting of 2026 to assess recent economic developments and outline measures to maintain monetary stability and support economic growth.
* Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday announced a new regulation requiring exports of several strategic natural resources commodities to be conducted through state-owned enterprises, as part of efforts to strengthen state control over export revenues and improve governance in the sector.
* China's fiscal revenue expanded 3.5 percent year on year to 8.34 trillion yuan (about 1.22 trillion USD) in the first four months of 2026, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Wednesday.
* Japan posted a trade surplus of 301.9 billion yen (about 1.9 billion USD) in April for the third straight month in the black on robust exports and a sharp drop in oil imports, government data showed Thursday.
* Britain and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have sealed a trade deal estimated to bring British exporters 3.7 billion pounds (4.96 billion USD) worth of opportunities in the long run.
* New Zealand's total exports rose 12 percent year-on-year to 8.6 billion NZ dollars in April, driven by strong gains in meat, dairy, gold and crude oil, official data showed on Thursday.
* Bank Indonesia on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate, the BI-Rate, by 50 basis points to 5.25 percent, ending a streak of eight consecutive months of holding rates unchanged. The decision was announced following the central bank's two-day Board of Governors meeting held from May 19 to 20.
* The national bank of Belarus on Wednesday decided to lower its refinancing rate to 9.25 percent from 9.75 percent, effective from June 1.
* In a first-of-its-kind move to combat natural disasters, the Bangladeshi government has launched a major initiative to establish a specialized institute for climate disaster research and manpower development.
* The risk of the Ebola epidemic is "high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level," and the situation is not a "pandemic emergency," the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
* The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) said on Thursday that it has elevated surveillance and prevention measures for the Ebola virus disease within the country's civil aviation system.
