* Sri Lanka's ruling National People's Power (NPP) secured a victory in the 2025 Local Government Elections, winning 43.26 percent of votes and claiming 3,927 council seats, according to final results released by the Elections Commission on Wednesday.
* Human development progress is experiencing an unprecedented slowdown, making the smallest increase since 1990, according to a new report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday.
* Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on China and Russia to jointly resist any attempts to sow discord in the friendship and mutual trust between the two sides.
* Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, held talks with Cambodian Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen in Jakarta on Wednesday to discuss bilateral economic and defense cooperation and unity among Southeast Asian nations.
* Laos' Ministry of Public Security is raising awareness on digital transformation policies among police officers and staffs, and will continue efforts to ensure security forces actively support national digital progress.
* The Indian government on Wednesday confirmed carrying out air strikes on nine identified "terrorist-training camps" located in the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
* At least three Indian jets crashed Wednesday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, a local newspaper The Hindu said quoting government sources. According to the newspaper, the jets have crashed in Akhnoor, Ramban and Pampore areas of the region.
* The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan on Wednesday restored flight operations in major cities after India attacked civilian settlements in the country. Earlier, the CAA issued a notification, restricting airspace access for 48 hours, considering the security situation in the country.
* The Indian Air Force (IAF) will hold large-scale military drills on Wednesday in the western state of Rajasthan, along the international border with Pakistan, local media reports said Tuesday.
* India and the United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday concluded a long-awaited free trade agreement.
* Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday he had wide-ranging and constructive discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, although the two leaders disagreed on tariffs lifting and the "51st state," according to the live broadcast of CBC News.
* The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Tuesday a successful mediation of a new exchange of captives between Russia and Ukraine, with each side releasing 205 individuals.
* Russia is ready to facilitate negotiations between Iran and the United States on Tehran's nuclear program to reach a fair agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday in a phone call with Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.
* The European Commission's plan to stop the supply of gas, oil and nuclear fuel from Russia is not in Slovakia's interest, nor in that of other European Union (EU) member states, the Slovak Ministry of Economy said on Tuesday.
* Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday strongly criticized a proposed European Commission plan to end imports of Russian energy, noting that it would jeopardize Hungary's energy security.
* Qatar and Egypt reaffirmed on Wednesday that their joint mediation efforts in the Gaza conflict remain ongoing and coordinated, according to a joint statement issued by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
* Norway and Britain on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a Green Industrial Partnership.
* Bangladesh and Italy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help safe migration from the South Asian country. Bangladeshi Expatriates' Welfare Adviser Asif Nazrul and Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi signed the deal in Dhaka on Tuesday.
* The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday signed an agreement with 10 leading global insurers to mobilize up to 2.75 billion USD of private capital to support the ADB's lending for sustainable growth in Asia and the Pacific.
* New Zealand government agency announced on Wednesday a significant change to its visitor visa application process, easing the requirements for translating supporting documents.
* The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries plans to establish 200,000 hectares of new marine conservation areas this year to enhance marine resilience, preserve the environment, and support economic growth, a senior official said on Wednesday.
* A total of 2,276 Afghan families with 12,565 members returned to their homeland from neighboring Iran and Pakistan from Sunday to Tuesday, Afghanistan's High Commission for Addressing Returnees Problems said Wednesday.
* The United States will stop strikes against Yemen's Houthi group, President Donald Trump said Tuesday, after a nearly two-month bombing campaign.
* Oman has brokered a ceasefire between Yemen's Houthi group and the United States, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi said in a statement on Tuesday.
* Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday the definite date and venue of the fourth round of the indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States have not been determined yet.
* Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to visit France on Wednesday for a high-level meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, marking his first official trip to a European country since the fall of the previous government, state news agency SANA reported.
* The Houthis have vowed to retaliate against Israel for its airstrikes in Yemen on Tuesday, which killed seven and injured 97 others, according to the Houthis-run health authorities.
* Sudan's government said on Tuesday it would sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and withdraw its ambassador, declaring the UAE an "aggressor state."
* An Israeli drone strike in the Lebanese port city of Sidon on Wednesday killed a senior Hamas official, according to the Israeli military and Hamas.
* Sudan's government said on Tuesday it would sever diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and withdraw its ambassador, declaring the UAE an "aggressor state."
* Japan's key stock index falls for the first time in eight trading sessions on Wednesday as a stronger yen dampened enthusiasm for export-related stocks, weighing on the overall market.
* With the implementation of the new tariffs in March, Canada's trade with the United States fell in March, said Statistics Canada on Tuesday. Exports to the United States decreased 6.6 percent, a second consecutive monthly decline following the strong ramp up in exports to the United States that led to a record in January, said the national statistical agency.
* The Philippines' debt increased to 16.68 trillion pesos (roughly 301.37 billion USD) as of March, 0.13 percent higher than the debt incurred in February, the Philippines' Bureau of Treasury has said.
* New Zealand's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1 percent in the March 2025 quarter, according to the statistics department Stats NZ on Wednesday.
* Bangladesh's exports in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (July 2024--June 2025) grew by nearly 10 percent to more than 40 billion USD.
* China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has issued an emergency notice demanding strengthened safety measures in the cultural and tourism sector across the country following a fatal boat capsize accident in Guizhou Province.
* Cambodia has imposed a temporary ban on the import of livestock and related animal products from neighboring Thailand to prevent the outbreak of anthrax, said a statement released on Wednesday.
* Australians have been urged to get vaccinated against influenza amid a nationwide spike in cases. According to updated data published by the federal Department of Health and Aged Care on Wednesday, there have been 72,360 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza in Australia since the start of 2025, including 2,184 cases since the beginning of May.
* The Philippine Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Industry on Wednesday said it confirmed the detection of the country's first case of "High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Type A Subtype H5N9" in Camarines Sur province, southeast of Manila.
